SAPLAST ECOLOGIC WEIGHTS
ELLENY & TORTUGA: INNOVATION AND DESIGN
I have always found the Saplast products very interesting and finally I am pleased to tell you that I successfully tested them and that they matched 100% my expectations. For all those who don’t know it yet, Saplast is an Italian company headed by Mr. Negri operating in the underwater equipment market for over 20 years and that in recent years has distinguished itself for the realization of ecological weights.
They are different from those we are used to buy for two main reasons: in first place the absence of lead (highly hazardous to the marine ecosystem) and then the presence of a special patented plastic coating that makes them very resistant against external agents and aesthetically appealing. This coating, available in brown-green camouflage (but also in very bright colors), is also very good at solving another important issue related to the use of common weights: their deformation. The continuous stresses due to impact against the rocks, either during our spearfishing activity or out of the water when we lazily let the belt fall to the ground, tend to deform the original shape of the weights narrowing the slots for the passage of the belt and creating bumps causing permanent damage to the elastic belts.
The spearfishing line is enriched with several useful accessories such as elastic belts, 300gr drop weights, quick release weights and 1kg or 500g "charly" anklets made in soft plastic with Velcro closure. However, the real jewel in the crown, is the now famous "tortuga". This is a vest made entirely of soft plastic in which are inserted four metal discs 750gr each that make it look like a turtle, hence its name, for a total weight of 3 kilos. The discs are not changeable but we can make the vest heavier the same with an innovative trick. If we want to make it lighter than three kilos, there is nothing we can do but if we want to make it heavier, the tortuga is provided with a central hole specially designed for the use one of the most useful weights by Saplast: the Eleny.
The Eleny is a plastic coated weight, provided with a threaded pin which can be screwed on a plastic support aimed to hold it tight to the vest and at the same time to be easy removable. The greatness of this product lies in the possibility to insert the belt through the loops of its plastic support turning it into a quick release belt weight to unscrew rather than pull to remove. Thanks to this device the tortuga becomes a valuable support during winter when inevitably we use a lot of weights and we need to spread them over the body. The shoulder straps, made with the same rubber used to manufacture elastic belts, together with the PVC tube (locking the vest in the lower part) ensure a firm grip especially on lined wetsuits. On the web we can often find suggestions aimed at making it easier wear but I can guarantee that it is absolutely unnecessary since the product is already functional as it is.
In short, these items have all the right numbers to resist much longer to usage while adding a touch of "stylish camouflage" to our equipment, try them!
