Review: Best Hunter Okipa II Float

Introduction 

I do mostly reef/shore/rock spearfishing, max 100m from the shore and usually no more than 30m deep; I advance along the shoreline. I therefore don't have a boat hanging around and I needed some way of carrying my extra spearguns, water, some energy bars, my phone, ID, keys, etc. I also need a buoy and dive flag (which I already had). For these reasons I decided to start looking for floats that could meet my needs. I found essentially three types that could do this:

• The boogie board type
• The mini-boat type (my name for them)
• The flat type (like an inflatable boogie board or a flattened torpedo)

Since I travel often by air to go spearfishing that leaves me with the later two, see my post for more info on buoys. I decide on the mini boat type because I could carry more things, I could rest on them if needed and they don't flip over easily like the flat buoys. After reviewing several I decided upon Best Hunter's Okipa II float:

Specifications

• Thick Outer PVC & Nylon fiber shell, UV, salt and tear resistant
• Three inner removable inflatable bladders
• Elastic net in the front
• Two speargun attachments on the top sides
• Many attache points on the top and bottom
• Two handles in the front
• Central mesh pocket
• Diver down flag and pole
• Includes a small foot pump
• Dimensions (L x W x H): 90cm x 62cm x 16cm
• Weight: 1.85kg
• Colors: orange & black

Build 

The build quality is impressive, I didn't realize how well it was made until I had it in my hands. The thick outer layer is very tear resistant, I have lugged it around on sharp rocks and it still has no damage other than some superficial scratch marks. Having the removable inner bladders means that in the event that you do puncture one the float will not sink (I could see how it could flip over if it is heavily loaded and the punctured bladder is on the side) and it means you can replace a damaged or worn bladder without replacing the whole float:

The bladder material is a type of thick plastic a bit like inflatable toys but much ticker. The values are the non-return type and once in the outer shell they are accessible via a heavy duty Velcro flap:

Pockets, attach points, etc 

The central mesh pocket is about (I need to measure it) 26cm x 20cm x 5-7cm (L x W x H), I can fit two pairs of flip flops/water shoes and some other small things; it has an opening on each side that closes using thick Velcro:

It also has a front "hole" that is covered with an elastic net, this is where I put water a water tight bag with other things (you can see it in the picture above also):

The four speargun attachments use a silicon ring to secure the spearguns:

they are made to hold four small spearguns or two long ones, I have put two long and two short on them if you don't mind the spearguns touching; it makes taking one speargun a bit more difficult though. Here is a picture with two long spearguns:

It has other attach points in the back (one), in the front (one, excluding the handles), on each side (two at the outer bottom and two in the inner top), around the elastic net and one on the bottom (towards the front). I use the front attach point to tie my towing line and small anchor, the bottom side attach points to attach spearguns I am using when in a stationary good fishing spot (they just hang down). The center or back attache point to put the fish bag (although if the water is too hot I attach it above the anchor). On the other anchorage points I have attached dive bags before if we are several and we have a lot of stuff. The dive flag is a bit flimsy, it kept on sliding down the pole so I suggest to get a new one. I got a good one from Dan's FreeDiveStore:

and used a makeshift folding pole (lsmall tent pole segments); I no longer have any issues with it. The Okipa includes a small foot pump that is not so good, I quickly got a new more powerful one.

Usage 

It does exactly what I want, it has not flipped over yet even in choppy water (although the waves did pull everything out of the front pit, bu I had tied everything down on the anchorage points). It is a bit heavy to swim around with since it has much more drag than a simple buoy, especially when it is full, but I had expected that and the benefits outweigh this. I usually inflate it before leaving the house and carry it on my back using the handles, I can even put my long spearguns on it when I do that. I decided to get a small (500g) grapnel anchor:

which I tie on the end of my drag line, if I find a nice spot I can "setup camp", quite convenient. One thing you do have to be careful of when around the float, especially with rougher waves, is that if you have spearguns attached on the top they can spear you, it happened to a friend (nothing major this time), so always make sure you have the tips covered (I use old speargun rubbers that I cut or wine corks) and be careful. With it's orange color and dive flag, I feel quite safe that I can be seen, this helps especially in areas where you have lots of boats. If you are tired you can use it to swim like a boogie board by using the handles:

He didn't inflate it very well

and you can even sit on it (not that I have tried):

This is not the Okipa but you get the idea

And if you have too many fish, it can carry them for you ;-)

This is previous version in black, no longer made

Conclusion 

Albeit being a bit more expensive than other floats and heavier (1.85kg, for those who need to fly), I think this float is excellent and does everything I need. I have had the opportunity to try a flat inflatable buoy and I am happy I did not get one; yes it is smaller & lighter but it flipped over on calm water as soon as we put something on it that had a bit more weight on one side, also it wasn't able to hold much stuff. It does have some minor issues that I mentioned but this is far from a show stopper, I recommend this product for any spearfisherman that has similar needs as I have.

Update:

I recently took it out a couple of times and it tore at the seam in one spot:

To be fair, I think I inflated it too much and with the heat it expanded more than it should have, thus the tear. I am still very happy with it and I will try to repair it somehow. If anyone has any ideas please don't hesitate to share :-).