Benefits of Carbon material in Spearguns vs. other material

[BoltSnap]

I see in my part of the world (Mediterranean) that the "carbon" spearguns are very popular in comparison with other spearguns made of different material (guns made from wood aren't popular or known here) despite the fact that carbon spearguns are substantially more expensive. Can anyone here explain what the benefits of carbon material in spearguns vs. other material please?

 

[tbone1004]

by weight, carbon is one of the most rigid materials out there. As such you can get the most rigid, lightest, composite structure which is advantageous. It also is a huge marketing advantage, similar to the use of Kevlar. Functionally there is an advantage because of the rigidity of the material, but you are in the laws of diminishing returns, so it will not be significant enough to warrant the cost.

 

[Water Boy76]

The carbon guns are beginning to gain popularity with the freedivers in the US. I think they use Pathos guns?

When you factor strength, vs buoyancy, vs. weight, vs customization, vs cost. I believe that wood can't be beat.

 

[BoltSnap]

The carbon guns are beginning to gain popularity with the freedivers in the US. I think they use Pathos guns?

Is the Pathos gun product-line something special compared with OMER, Beuchat, etc.? I see more noise about it here in Libya and I have contacted them but I don't know much about them.

When you factor strength, vs buoyancy, vs. weight, vs customization, vs cost. I believe that wood can't be beat.

We don't have the big fish in the Mediterranean you will have in the US in the ocean, will wood still be relevant to us? My understanding that guns from wood are used to hunt for the big fish commonly found in the oceans when the other type material isn't good for big size guns as wood.

 

[tbone1004]

carbon is just fine for the big fish we have here, but they are too expensive to get the strength required so wood still wins.

 

[dumpsterDiver]

by weight, carbon is one of the most rigid materials out there. As such you can get the most rigid, lightest, composite structure which is advantageous. It also is a huge marketing advantage, similar to the use of Kevlar. Functionally there is an advantage because of the rigidity of the material, but you are in the laws of diminishing returns, so it will not be significant enough to warrant the cost.

The benefit of light weight is really a non-issue. CF guns are typically hollow and have rubber plugs in them to trap air. If you have a gun that is so light that it becomes buoyant to any significant degree - then that is undesirable. Gnerally you want the gun to be very close to neutral with a shaft and float without the shaft.. However bottom fishing scuba hunters may prefer a more negative gun. The heavier and more massive a gun is, the less the recoil..another reason that pursuit of a super light weight gun is impractical.

Unless you are talking about a very short gun and you want to use a heavy reel with it, then the lightness of CF is not beneficial.

One benefit over an aluminum barrel gun are that there is no potential for corrosion with CF. Also for really long guns, over 1.3 meters, maybe.. the extra rigidity of CF may be advantageous. Some really long aluminum barrel guns begin to bow under extreme tension, which may affect accuracy.

I've used some aluminum barrels up to 1.4 meters long and was unable to detect any bowing.. However, take a look at a JBL 450 XL gun with three bands... the barrel flex is downright scary.

CF looks cooler than aluminum as well.

Some extremely large fish have been shot with aluminum pipe guns. Wood guns are typically more expensive, may require more maintenance and can be subject to warpage if stored improperly. Some custom manufacturers make hybrid guns using CF barrels and a rear stock of wood.

Cost, aesthetics and many other issues result in a large variety of materials being used.

 

[Vicko]

The bigest advantage of carbon guns is that they are rigid, but still easy to manufacture in to different shapes. So you can have a very thin and wide gun that will not bow when you put 2-3 rubers on it.

As for ocean hunting, maby the bigger models like the c4 Urukay and Bleutec Oceanborn are better then low grade wooden guns, but they cost like the high grade wooden guns so it's a matter of prefrence. I'm not very experienced with open water hunting so I might be wrong on this one.

However, for catching smaller fish carbon guns can be made very manuvarable while retaining rigidity, something that wooden and aluminium guns can't do. For example the pathos laser carbon can withstand 2*20 guns (it will kick back like a mule) without bending, while the similar diameter aluminium gun probably can't. I personaly prefer round barrel carbon guns for hunting in the surf,my favorite is the bleutec bastard but it's way to expensivem becouse they have a smaller diameter barrel and so they have less drag when turning them quickly into a wave.

 

[lemke]

A lighter gun is going to have more recoil and is harder to stabilize while aiming. I prefer a balanced and ballasted wood gun.

 

[BoltSnap]

The bigest advantage of carbon guns is that they are rigid, but still easy to manufacture in to different shapes. So you can have a very thin and wide gun that will not bow when you put 2-3 rubers on it.

As for ocean hunting, maby the bigger models like the c4 Urukay and Bleutec Oceanborn are better then low grade wooden guns, but they cost like the high grade wooden guns so it's a matter of prefrence. I'm not very experienced with open water hunting so I might be wrong on this one.

However, for catching smaller fish carbon guns can be made very manuvarable while retaining rigidity, something that wooden and aluminium guns can't do. For example the pathos laser carbon can withstand 2*20 guns (it will kick back like a mule) without bending, while the similar diameter aluminium gun probably can't. I personaly prefer round barrel carbon guns for hunting in the surf,my favorite is the bleutec bastard but it's way to expensivem becouse they have a smaller diameter barrel and so they have less drag when turning them quickly into a wave.

Vicko,

I am South of you on the southern coast of the Med., Libya. Is there big game blue water hunting where you are or in the Med in general?

 

[Vicko]

Vicko, I am South of you on the southern coast of the Med., Libya. Is there big game blue water hunting where you are or in the Med in general?

Stricly speaking here in Croatia big game fishing is forbbiden for spearfishing. That said in the recent years a lot of our gun manufacturers have turned out massive wooden guns, classic and roler that have 10 mm shaft capability and are designed for slip tip and brake away lines. So yes, we do some big game hunting but primarely for bluefin, and only rare speros that have big boats, witch are rare.