I bought this speargun as a dirty water gun, I was looking for a simple, low cost, short, euro-style one band speargun without a reel.
It has other features such as adjustable trigger sensitivity, stainless steel trigger mechanism, ergonomic handle, line release (yep, a nice surprise given the price), a removable stock, an ok safety mechanism. It does not have a rail and has a standard non-hardened stainless steel threaded shaft and uses a single 14mm band. It come with the braided line by default which I replaced with a mono shooting line. I will describe the speargun's general performances and then go though each part.
The speargun is well built, well finished, another nice surprise given the price; it is Salvimar's cheapest speargun. It has as much recoil as I expected for a non-roller gun. I don't remember if it floats without the shaft but I think so. It is comfortable to hold and aims as expected for its length. The tube is aluminium painted in non-reflective black, the handle is white (for better visibility they say, I can see how that could be useful in murky water). It shares some aspects of its cousins, like the handle and trigger mechanism. I copied some parts of this review from my V-Pro review.
Adjustable trigger sensitivity
This is an interesting feature, I am not sure how useful it is though, I have not used it yet. It allows you to make the trigger more sensitive or less sensitive, I can see how some people may like this. I always have my finger on the trigger so people like me may want to make it less sensitive as to not pull by mistake, others that do not like safety mechanisms can make it harder to pull as to make this a sort of safety feature, others may want a quick trigger since they take their finger off the trigger unless they shoot, etc. It is adjusted via a small screw on the safety button.
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| Circled in red (not the Intruder Drop in the pic) |
Removable stock
This is another interesting feature, the stock/butt of the speargun is removable. Some people like to have one and some don't, this way everyone is happy. If you don't like stocks on spearguns and yours has one you can usually saw it off, but if you want to sell it someday or lend it to someone that likes stocks it is no longer possible to undo; this feature is small but useful. You could even 3D print your own stock that has an integrated camera attachment point (Salvimar sells a camera kit btw) or a shorter, longer, wider one, etc. I like stocks so I left mine on. I can see however how taking it on and off too much will wear down the attachment point but this is not something you will do everyday.
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| A Salvimar removable stock |
Handle
The handle has a great shape, it allows to have a solid and comfortable grip. It is composed of two different types of material, that back part is fluorescent green is has a rubbery feel to it. It is identical to the one above but in neon green instead of white.
Safety mechanism
The safety mechanism is stainless steel and looks robust, it should fair well against the salt water but as with all your gear you should rinse it well with fresh water after every dive. The safety button is above the thumb and goes through the handle, a bit like Cressi has. What got me though is that it is the opposite of what I would like/expect, when it is sticking out on the left side it is OFF, when it is sticking out on the right side it is ON (I am right handed by the way). I like it the other way around so I can use my thumb to turn OFF the safety since this is easier for me, but this is personal, a friend with the same speargun likes it this sway since he keeps his trigger finger off the trigger and an the side so he uses his trigger finger to turn OFF the safety before putting his finger on the trigger, I always have my finger on the safety. You can see pictures of it above (removable stock & adjustable trigger sensitivity).
Shaft and Tip
The shaft is non-hardened stainless steel, so it will bend more but is very cheap to replace. Its short length may make it difficult to find one that is the correct length though, I have not checked in stores yet. The supplied tip is a trident, the kind with the plastic (you can see it in some pictures). I find it fragile (the tips bend very easily and the plastic tridents can break when hitting a rock) but that was expected, I replaced it with a sturdy JBL stainless-steel trident:
Muzzle
The muzzle is a normal closed muzzle:
Nothing special, does its job. It is more a question of taste (open vs closed muzzles).
Colors
The colors, black and white, simple look. I am not sure if the white handle affect the hunt though, I assume fish see them better than dark colors so it probably does to some point. Since this is a murky water gun, they say the white handle is to allow you to see it better if you lose/drop it, I can see how that can help.
Conclusion
I am overall happy with the speargun, it does what is expected of it and fulfills all my expectations for the price I paid, it even exceeds it for things such as the handle, line release and overall build quality. I would recommend this product. I got this after having tried a friend's.
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