SALVIMAR SAPIENS CARBON 85

PRECISE, LIGHT, GOOD-LOOKING

Intrigued by some (inaccurate) reviews  available on the net, I decided to test the Salvimar flagship speargun: the Sapiens Carbon.

I told my friend Massimo Quattrone about it and he promptly sent me a 85cm one equipped with all the standard accessories. At first glance it looks great, anyone who chooses it in fact, will find it housed in a transparent pack that reveals its eye-catching silhouette.

The particular shape of the barrel is certainly the aspect the user will notice first. It is a tube (with an inner diameter of 24.5 mm) which is gets a cuttlefish bone shape near the handle. On the upper part it is provided with an integrated shaft guide made of carbon.

The handle is comfortable and houses such a backed aluminum mechanism, that the line release pin is practically located on the (removable) chest support  and provides a band useful stroke of 91cm (on a 85cm model). I can’t deny that in the water during the test, the combination of very backed line-release and shaft pins, turned in some cases the loading operation a little bit difficult, since the arms already largely closed, were no longer able to give strength. The safe is positioned in the notch that houses the index finger and that makes impossible not realizing that it is activated.

Having reviewed the general characteristics let’s go through the most important technical features. The speargun comes from the factory with a neutral and perfectly balanced floating so  if you throw it into water it will float horizontally. For this reason it comes inexplicable the creation of a ballast housing in the muzzle but since there is one you should know it. The barrel is filled with polyurethane foam that contributes to the weapon tightening with obvious advantages on the shooting accuracy side. The central portion of the barrel is sealed with both polyurethane and a layer of carbon fiber and you can see it yourself if for example you disassemble the muzzle. The muzzle is open and it is equipped with two fins that direct the bands once they are stretched. It is provided with a pair of 14mm threaded bands and two non-articulated wishbones with different width to facilitate the loading operation. Salvimar has justified this choice by arguing that it was more intuitive to load for the average user. I honestly do not agree with this choice as the target user of a top of the range product is an experienced one. In addition, once the bands are stretched they protrude from the barrel silhouette neutralizing all of its benefits. For this reason I would suggest the use of Dyneema wishbones that, as you can see, keep the aiming line clean and leave no room for vibration during the swing . After having tested this configuration in fact I was tempted to compare it to a black stiletto that cuts the water with ease.

The compactness of its shape is also reflected in its weight that with complete equipment (rod, rubber bands, reel ) is only 1263gr: barrel (with handle and muzzle) 712gr , reel 81gr, shaft (120cm x 6.5mm) 306gr, bands 162gr.

One of the points criticized by some reviews is the size of the shaft guide which seems to adequately accommodate a 6mm shaft at the expense of those with a greater diameter. In the end this is a false problem because the greater diameter shafts, by touching a smaller surface, has less friction and accelerates more easily while remaining firmly in the ideal firing trajectory. Finally, during the usual swing the shaft does not move because it is firmly held down by the monofilament.

As you can notice in the video below, it is particularly clear the greater penetration of the TORSION shaft in comparison to the traditional one. The absence of the barb, allows the shaft to cross with greater efficiency the target. The aim is intuitive and does not require wrist balancing. Surely the shooting line is cleaner bands equipped with Dyneema wishbone. The trigger sensitivity adjustment screw ensures even greater precision. However, the shots in this video were very precise although the adjusting screw was left with the factory default setting.

The judgment is definitely positive from both the design and the functional point of view. During the in-water tests it turned to be well balanced, light and precise . In my opinion (except for the bands that should be substituted as mentioned above), there would be nothing to change of the original configuration and this is an incredible advantage for those who buy a weapon which does not have anything to worry about.