TEST SPEARFISHING BUOY TORPEDO BALISE BY ESCLAPEZTEST SPEARFISHING BUOY TORPEDO BALISE BY ESCLAPEZ
The modern spearo lives in a constant stream of innovation that has permanently affected his way to dive through the countless new materials and processing techniques. Often, spearfishing equipment manufacturers introduce on the market fascinating brand new products with unique and innovative features and lead us to believe that they are indeed useful and necessary, but in most of the cases that is only marketing.
However, sometimes small artisans or companies managed by true sea lovers, produce some articles that make the difference as they are designed to solve a real problem. We have often heard that the most effective solution to a problem can sometimes be the simplest one and this is the case of the buoy "Balise" by Esclapez.
Everyone knows that the diving buoy is an essential instrument at sea and it can save our life, despite that, manufacturers have done nothing to improve its visibility. As a consequence, if you search for the visibility data on the technical sheets of the main buoys on the market, you will see, with disappointment, there is none.
TECHNICAL DETAILS
It's made of 201D nylon with TPU reinforcements and it is only available in orange colour. It does not have any air chamber inside and it can be inflated through an high quality valve (similar to the life vests ones) which facilitates and speeds up the operation. In the lower portion, right in the middle there is a pocket in which you can put a 2kg lead to stabilize the buoy balance when you use it in the torpedo mode. Whenever you want rear it up you simply need to remove the lead from the pocket and hook it on the front end. It is equipped with two elastic straps for carrying guns and two comfortable handles for transportation out of the water. Its weight is derisory (only 350gr) and in the package it is also included a 45cm flagstick that place the flag at:
120cm above the surface (vertical mode)
I'm really excited about this article because it is light to carry, easy to inflate and really more visible in the water. A lazy user might suggest to implement a pivoting system allowing to always keep the flagstick in the proper position when you switch from a mode to another in order to avoid user to remove the stick from a hole and place it into another one.
Anyway if we are using the buoy in the vertical mode, we don’t need to switch to the horizontal one to move from a spot to another while speafishing. You just need to pull it as usual and it will keep its vertical position.
Just try it and you’ll see it yourself!
MIDLAND XTC 280 SPEARFISHING POV CAMMIDLAND XTC 280: SPEARFISHING POV CAM TEST AND COMPARISON WAITING FOR THE XTC 400
A few months ago MIDLAND introduced on the market the brand new XTC 280 replacing the XTC 300 and 200 but the revolution is not over yet as a new top model camera is about to come: the XTC 400 (we will soon publish a test article).
The XTC 280 is sold in an attractive package that is an high-tech product itself as you can even find on its back the unpacking instructions! Inside the box you can find the camera submergible case, the lithium battery, the usb cable and the helmet adhesive mount, let's see them in detail.
The battery pack is the same as the model 200 XTC, that is a 900mah battery which can last up to three hours recording, which in our case means about 90 2-minutes dives.
In opposition to the XTC 200 in the 280 box we cannot find neither the adapter for microSD’s nor the power adapter to recharge the battery through the sockets in our own house. However, both operations may be carried out with the supplied USB cable. A very negative aspect of this product is the absence of the goggle mount, replaced helmet one which is absolutely useless for our activity. Never mind, you can buy it separately, a small sacrifice for a high quality product you will be satisfied of.
In regards to video instead, the XTC 280 records in FULLHD with a 1920x1080 resolution at 30 fps and has a 130° degrees wide angle (not 110 as you can read in other sites), finally it is equipped with a 5.2Megapixel CCD sensor. So go through these technical terms in order to understand them better. The higher the wide-angle value is, the farther objects will appear in our films, as a consequence the lower that value is the closer the objects will appear. The main advantage for all spearos is that fishes will look bigger and closer in our spearfishing action films.
UNDERSTANDING THE TECHNICAL TERMS
The resolution is nothing more than the size of the rectangle in which the images are captured, in other words if you think the movie is a collection of many pictures taken in rapid sequence by the cam, the FullHD resolution makes each picture measuring 1920 pixels (points) width and 1080 pixels height. The advantage is that the greater the number of dots (pixels) is, the higher the sharpness of the image will be. An important contribution is provided by the number of "snapshots" taken per time unit (fps = frame per second), so the higher this value is, the better the quality of the output video will be.
The XTC 280 can also record in "low mode" with a 1280x720 resolution and 90° angle and in opposition to what happened with the XTC 200 both the LOW and the HIGH mode keeps the 16:9 format. Finally, the CCD is an integrated circuit whose task is to interpret and transform light into digital information. Its sensitivity is measured in megapixels and, in principle, the higher its value is, the better the image definition will be.
The functioning is basically identical to the previous models one, everything is driven by a single button and three LEDs (accompanied by a beep) help user to understand what is happenning. The mimetic variant called XTC 285 instead, only differs for the absence of sound signals . Find below some comparative examples of filming with the two cams this article is about and a summary of the technical features.
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SIGALSUB SPEARFISHING ACCESSORIES: 2014 CATALOGUESIGALSUB SPEARFISHING ACCESSORIES: 2014 CATALOGUE CARBON SPEARGUNS, PULLEYS, CAMERA MOUNTS, ROLLER MUZZLE
Sigalsub, the famous italian spearfishing equipment manufacturer will officially present the 2014 catalogue at the MEDISHOW in Palermo this weekend. This new catalogue will features exciting products to make our passion a state of art, lets take a look at these wonders:
This kit represents an easy solution to make your own roller speargun and it is available in three versions: with stoppers in stainless steel, in anticorodal aluminium or in carbon. All of them can be ordered with simple pulleys, roller pulleys or pulleys with bearings.
The kit includes a complete roller muzzle, two stainless steel hooks for the bands, a ring to pass the line in and all the necessary screws. It also includes a step by step instruction booklet to help you out while assembling.
The new roller muzzle can be mounted on almost any speargun thanks to two adaptors. The standard one has a 26mm diameter (suitable for SEAC, PATHOS, SALVI, CRESSI, ETC) while the other one has a 25.4mm diameter (suitable for SEATEC and OMER). The muzzle is available in three versions with stoppers in stainless steel, in anticorodal aluminium or in carbon. The main body of the muzzle is made of plastic material and fibreglass to enhance its mechanical robustness. All of them can be ordered with simple pulleys, roller pulleys or pulleys with bearings. The muzzle weight is: 94gr (stoppers in stainless steel), 76gr (stoppers in aluminium), 72gr (stoppers in carbon) adaptor 13gr.
Pulleys are available in three models: Simple: diameter 26mm, throat 20mm, thickness 16.5mm, hole for the axe 6mm. They are made of black Delrin, a high mechanical performance and self-lubricating material. With roller: diameter 26mm, throat 20mm, thickness 16.5mm, hole for the axe 6mm. It is made of black delrin and the core roller is made of white pom. With bearings: diameter 26mm, throat 20mm, thickness 16.5mm, hole for the axe 6mm. It is made of black delrin and every single pulley has two bearings with pom balls (also available in stainless steel).
Mounts The sigalsub mounts for cameras with the well known A+B system today are suitable for any commercial speargun (both railgun or pneumatic) and can be ordered in three different versions: stainless steel, anticorodal aluminium or carbon. Among the several models available I would like to highlight the one for midland XTC cameras which allows you to exploit the side binaries rather than the lower mount (that as we know has some limitations during the shot).
Bands The success of the sigal extreme (violet ones) with 1mm inner hole led the Italian firm to introduce such a characteristic into the production of the brown reactive band (brown one). In other words both the models will only be available with 1mm inner hole. Furthermore both bands will also be available in the version with plastic threads.
Sigalsub will introduce three brand new release mechanisms called Jako, Easy and Smart and a very excellent carbon speargun. All its accessories will be 100% sigalsub, release mechanism, bands, roller muzzle and shaft.
The manufacturer informs that at least at the beginning it will be fully customizable (in terms of accessories) but mainly available on demand (20 days). So what are you waiting for? Visit the MEDISHOW and touch with your hands these great wonders by SIGALSUB!
IMERSION ESKWAD SPEARFISHING BUOYIMERSION ESKWAD SAFE SPEARFISHING BUOY
Summer has finally arrived and our favourite off coast spearfishing spots are waiting for us to come. The lethargy is however also finished for those pirates who, equipped with anything able to float in the water, start to pass by at high speed. Why can’t we get ready to face all this?
Imersion is just presenting its latest product, the Eskwad buoy. Its exclusive design (which reminds a small dinghy) and its orange colour make it particularly visible in the water and turn it into an indispensable tool. Further to the increased visibility at sea, it is an essential support for our safety because it allows us to get our entire torso out of the water when we get tired. The "hull" in fact measures 65cm X 90cm (overall) while the area between the tubes housing our chest measures 30cm X 65cm. Despite its large size and the double 0.35 PVC covering, the weight is only 2.3kg, much less than other plastic models.
If you are worried about any friction that it might develop in the water then you need to pay attention to those specific devices designed to facilitate the navigation. First of all, the bow is raised and the hook for towing is fixed to a low point of the "hull" in order to avoid traction to lower the bow towards the waterline, creating friction. Furthermore the tubes were particularly shaped in order to get some sort of drop keels on the bottom. Finally some hard rubber mounts for spearguns have been placed upon the tubes in order to keep them out of the water and avoid the friction that they would create if submerged.
Between the tubes there is a pocket with double velcro closure to carry small items and close to the bow there is a large compartment in which anything useful can be placed and that will be held in place by a series of adjustable bands. Right there we also find two elastic loops for securing the flag, one on the right and one on the left hand side. Another aspect that might discourage the use of this type of buoys is the time that must be used for the inflation. Well, thanks to the included pump, in less than 3 minutes the "hull" is ready for navigation!
Here is a video demonstration of the air chambers positioning in the various compartments.
105 CARBONTECH 3 BANDS BY GRANDA SUB105 CARBONTECH 3 BANDS BY GRANDA SUB
As the summer comes by, Granda presents a new speargun ideal for fishing our beloved snappers: The Carbontech 105 x 3.
It has a greater mass able to adequately support even the thrust of three 17.5mm bands. The standard set up includes a 80mt reel, a 140cm X 7.25mm finned shaft with tricuspid tip and three 16mm bands. This setting allows you to hit a target placed 6m away without affecting the precision and the side movement fluidity.
The gun is designed for the waiting technique even if its use is also suitable for the deep ambush and falling technique with big preys in average visibility conditions. Here are the measures: maximum height 38mm, half barrel height 34mm, muzzle height 32mm.
Find below the photos of this Croatian wonder:
INTOVA HD SPORT CAMERA AND FACE MASK MOUNTINTOVA HD SPORT CAMERA AND FACE MASK MOUNT
On first glance you can notice that it comes with a small 1.5” screen, an easily accessible MicroSD card slot, a standard tripod mount, a row of five buttons that allows user to fully interact with the camera and a big flat lens on the front. As above, the camera is actually built into the waterproof housing, so there is no need to pull it out of it. The unit is made of antiglare UV-injected polycarbonate, it looks solid and the rear door closing system firmly locks it up. As a matter of fact, you need to strongly pull the rear door in order to open it up once you have released the locking system.
Also pushing buttons takes some strength, which works well against accidental operation, but it takes time to get used to. However the chance to use all the camera functions even beneath the water is definitely worth the effort. The flat housing lens prevents the camera to get underwater distorted images/movies and it is very important when you consider that other manufacturers do supply it as non-standard feature, this means you have to buy it separately. Just to understand its tiny dimension you can see it in the pictures below compared to another POV camera you are surely familiar with.
Another very important feature is the manual white balance option, but before going through it I suppose it is better explaining what the white balance is important for. The white balance allows the camera to provide the real colors to the picture/movies it captures, preventing the sensor to provide an interpretation of them. The manual white balancing can be simply performed by selecting the proper function on the camera and by subsequently pointing it towards something white (or grey). By “telling” the camera what white is like in that circumstance, the other color tones will be closer to real ones.
Although the straightforward menu offers all the options one would expect, there is not an underwater preset for the white balance. However you can easily find the common presets for stills (art, vivid, sepia, monochrome and negative) and some important power saving options.
The most important power saving option can be accessed without entering the menu. By pressing the leftmost button on the back of the camera in fact, you can rapidly switch the LCD screen off while in use. Turning it back on only takes a further touch on the same button.
Usually spearfishing at sea means being in the water for longer than 3 hours so saving as much power as possible can help avoiding the frustration deriving from filming many useless dives and once you finally catch a big fish your camera is no longer operating.
Video recording qualities range from VGA to Full HD and the out coming videos are as clear as expected, but what makes this camera different is the feature that allows you to digital zoom up to 4X while filming (not possible when 1080 resolution is set).
Also the battery pack is built in, however if you treat it properly it will last many years and since it is a very good one, I am not concerned about this at all. In the new coming upgraded model the battery pack will be replaceable and there will be wireless features that the actual model does not include.
The Sport HD has a dedicated line of accessories that make it the top choice for your needs but two among them are in my opinion the most useful ones in regards to underwater use: the red filter and the face mask mount.
The red filter is actually a red lens to place on top of the standard one in order to get underwater videos/images that include all the colors spectrum and don’t look all green or all blue once you dive deeper than 10mt.
The face mask mount instead is a pure innovation that only INTOVA has introduced on the market. It is a standard mount with an adjustable clip below designed to fit all diving masks. It is supposed to be fixed on the front part of the frame and it gets locked on it by a knob.
By operating on another knob instead you can easily adjust the inclination of the camera on the vertical axe in order to be sure that it captures what you are actually seeing.
After having described all the technical features I cannot avoid to tell you that this camera makes also the difference when it comes to the price as it is far cheaper that its direct competitors on the market.
I must say that I am sincerely satisfied with the quality of the product I have tested and I have the feeling that they are actually designed by people who really care and, more important, who have really used them before selling them worldwide. At the this stage I cannot wait to test the upgraded model that will soon be reviewed on this website, stay tuned!
TECHNICAL FEATURES
Video Resolution:
HD 1920x1080p, 30fps
HD 1280x720p, 30fps
WVGA1 848x480p, 60fps
WVGA 848x480, 30fps
VGA 640x480, 30fps
Still image resolution:
12 MP: 4000x3000 pixels (by interpolation)
8.0 MP: 3200x2400 (by interpolation)
5.0 MP: 2592x1944
3.0 MP: 2048x1536
Lens:
140° wide-angle
Digital Zoom:
4x (All modes except 1080p)
LCD:
1.5" (3.8 cm) TFT
Burst Mode:
No, 3, 5 or 10 photos
Settings:
Size, EV, Quality (Normal, Fine, Super Fine), White Balance, Metering, Contrast, Sharpness, Effect, Self-timer, Burst, Photo Flip, Time Lapse
White Balance Modes:
Auto, Sunny, Cloudy, Tungsten, Fluorescent
Exposure Compensation:
+/-2, +/-1.7, +/-1.3, +/-1, +/-0.7, +/- 0.3, 0
Exposure Metering:
Average, Spot, Center
Contrast:
Standard, Hard, Soft
Sharpness:
Standard, Hard, Soft
Effect:
Off, Art, Sepia, Negative, Monochrome, Vivid
Self Timer:
Off, 5 sec, 10 sec, 30 sec, 60 sec
Time Lapse:
Off, 1 sec, 2 sec, 5 sec, 10 sec, 30 sec, 60 sec, 120 sec, 180 sec
Slide Shows:
No, 1 sec, 3 sec, 5 sec
Auto Power Off:
Off, 1 min, 3 min, 5 min
LCD Off:
Off, 1 min, 3 min
Light Frequency:
50 Hz, 60 Hz
Flash Memory:
32 MB (internal)
SD Card Slot:
microSD/ SDHC - accepts cards up to 32 GB 1
Construction:
UV-injected polycarbonate Housing
Depth Rating:
200' (61 m)
Battery:
Built-in rechargeable lithium-ion 1400 mAh capacity
Battery Life:
2.5 hr recording time
Connectivity:
TV Out (NTSC or PAL), mini USB ports
Supported Languages:
English, Portuguese, Russian, Korean, Spanish, Italian, Dutch, French, Japanese, Chinese
Dimensions:
2.8 x 3.3 x 2.4" (7.1 x 8.4 x 6.1 cm)
Weight:
0.38 lb (170g)
FIREBLADE CARBONTECH 125 X 3 - BRAND NEW MODEL 2013Fireblade CarbonTech 125 X 3 2013 brand new model by GRANDA SUB
Built with 13 strips of mahogany and three layers of 200g bilinear carbon sheets on the lower portion, the Fireblade CarbonTech 125 X 3 is the new big-game hunting for the Mediterranean and the Ocean.
As all guns from Carbontech series, the handle is covered in carbon to provide additional structural rigidity in the points where it is more subject to stresses. The lowered spear-rail and the revised Bull Shark mechanism, make the shot really soft despite the great power provided by the three bands.
The profile of the stem has been reduced by 1 cm at the point of greatest width and 4 mm in the one of greater height. The three holes in the muzzle are separated by 30mm from each other exactly as the pins of the shaft, which ensures the same traction power for all of the bands: 3 x 125cm. Granda also features a new anti-glare coating that leaves unchanged the traditional aesthetics.
TECHNICAL DATA:
Traction power 3 x 125cm (with the possibility to reach up to 3 x 128) Shaft 165 X 7mm (or 7.5mm) Bands Cressi 16.5mm Granda Reel 90mt Overall length: 146cm Max height: 38mm in the middle - 32mm at the tip Max width: 80mm in the middle - 32 mm at the tip Weight (fully equipped): 3600gr
Granda is almost ready to introduce another new totally innovative project which will soon be reviewed on this website.
PENETRATOR FINS: 100% CARBON MADEPENETRATOR FINS:
100% CARBON MADE FROM AUSTRALIA
Penetrator Fins is an Australian company dedicated to producing high quality freediving and spearfishing fins. With over 20 years composite manufacturing experience in fields such as performance sailboats and motorsport. The owner Larry Gray has coupled his enthusiasm for spearfishing with a capacity to manufacture high quality advanced composites to produce the Penetrator range of fins and soon to be released composite spearguns.
The carbon fiber fin blades are manufactured using the resin infusion method from T300 carbon fibers and high temperature epoxy resin. They are 21cm wide and 86cm long (the power surface is 72cm long). The toe inclination is 25° degrees and this makes surface swimming very easy. Blades are 100%carbon fiber with the exception of a kevlar protection layer in the tip. All Penetrator fins are oven cured for 14 hours to provide full resin properties and a high in service heat distortion temperature. This process creates a fin that is strong, flexible and can withstand UV and sun exposure. From here the blades final shape is cut on our in house CNC cutter to computer generated patterns.
The blades are fitted with a dual purpose side rail that locks into most aftermarket foot pockets without the need for glue. The water channeling rail directs flow along the blade creating more power and maintains form. They are manufactured in Australia also from UV resistant EPDM rubber. The flexible rubber rail does not inhibit the action of the carbon fin blade.
CARBON BLADES: COMPARISONCARBON BLADES: COMPARISON
JFE - AIR, IMERSION - FREEDIVING SPIRIT, BLACKTECH SHARK SKIN
In the last few months, we have published several reviews on different products belonging to a category that is particularly important to all spearo mates: carbon fins.
We have tested and reviewed the fins from several European manufacturers and presented their innovations but it is clear that in this information jungle we need some strong points to hold on in order to provide a better evaluation.
For this reason we present below a brief summary of the reviewed product’s best features.
JFE EXCELLENCE AIR 100% T700 CARBON BLADESJFE EXCELLENCE AIR 100% T700 CARBON BLADES
Thanks to the collaboration of my dear friend Jean-Yves Giglais I got in touch with Julien Elias the co-founder of JFE, a young French artisan company specialized in the production of carbon fiber fins. JFE is still virtually unknown in Italy, but in France their products have been already appreciated as much as the ones made by longer established companies. It has broken into the market with two sets of fins, the PERFORMANCE and for demanding users the EXCELLENCE. The latter are produced in two versions, the STANDARD with traditional water rails and the AIR with minimal water rails and it is right this one that we are going to take a closer look at.
The JFE EXCELLENCE - AIR are variable thickness blades made entirely of T700 carbon fiber, which for instance is the same material that another well-known Italian company uses for its products. Thanks to an accurate production system (CLS) the steps between the different thickness layers are rounded in order to lower their incidence that is because as we know those steps represent points of potential structural weakness and that can give birth to cracks and breakage. Furthermore, the special coating applied enables the acceleration of the fluids on the surface and consequently it turns swimming into an easier thing. Among the remarkable qualities it should be mentioned the 15° angle of the blade that you can 100% exploit if you use foot pockets from Pathos (see photo). As well as the blades from their competitors, also the JFE ones can be mounted on any foot pocket but we suggest the ones from Pathos as they guarantee a better performance and are already available in stock. Another very important aspect of the AIR is their extraordinary lightness that makes its use really comfortable. According to the hardness in fact their weight ranges from just 190gr to 210gr.
The JFE blades are slightly shorter than the others available on the market in fact they are 76cm long and 21cm wide and end up with "flap" a tip. The water rails have a low profile and are only 10cm long, placed at the end of the blade. Between them and the side members of the foot pocket, there is a 21.5cm gap covered by a side guide that serves only to protect the edge of the blade.
The TEST First, we must point out that the foot fits perfectly in the foot pocket. The combination of JFE blades and Pathos foot pockets allows the foot to express the thrusting power with the front part (metatarsal) avoiding then to force on the ankles during the execution of the kick. The blade is very reactive in water and the shorter length does not constitute a handicap even coming up from greater depths. In fact, the fin stroke is powerful and fluid (thanks to the "flap" tip that makes you feel its grip on the water) and provides the same feeling a longer blade would give.
These considerations, however, only valid as long as the execution of the athletic gesture is good because of the absence of significant water rails. To speak out is like giving a Ferrari to a young guy who has just received his first driving license, so this is not a blade for everyone. Its reduced size make it ideal for any spearfishing technique as well as for long surface swimming but it requires more attention because the tip can break up by hitting the rocks on the seabed.
Price € 330
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