Review: Beuchat 3mm Marlin Gloves & Socks

Introduction

I usually use stretchy nylon and leather gardening gloves to spearfish (Rostaing Contact/1), they are cheap and very durable but do not insulate any from the water. I had no socks until now, I decided to get some Neoprene gloves and socks for this reason. I was looking for comfortable and durable 3mm gloves & socks; I wanted some sort of protection on the palms and soles because I am not very careful in the water; I need to be able to rely on my hands and grip anything without wasting any time to look first (in choppy water for example). For the socks I wanted protected soles since I usually cut up my soles when I take off the fins (when climbing rocks). I looked at several brands but the Beuchat Marlin gloves and socks stood out of the lot.

Gloves

The gloves have the following properties:

• Elaskin Neoprene
• Kevlar palm & fingertips
• Titanium open cell lining

They are easy to put on and take off due to the open cell lining being around the hand part and not the wrist. The insulate is good, but my favorite part is the Kevlar palms and fingertips, it really protects well from rocks and even my knife:

Kevlar doesn't grip like some sort of rubbery coating would, so be aware of that (i.e. it won't help loading the speargun). The colors are nice looking too, a black, grey and brown camo, not that this is why I chose them.

Socks

The socks have the following properties:

• Elaskin Neoprene
• Supratex soles
• Titanium open cell lining
• Anatomical right/left cut

This time the open cell covers the whole inside, unlike the gloves. This means they stick better to your body and isolate you well from the cold but it also means that you can damage them (as I have) when putting them on and taking them off. The fit is good too, I like the fact that you have distinctive right/left socks. The sole protection is quite good, I have nothing negative to say, no cuts so far:

They have the same colors/patterns as the gloves.

Conclusion

I am quite happy with the gloves, they are just what I wanted/expected. The socks I am mostly happy with (4 stars out of 5), I am a bit disappointed they are fragile when putting on/taking off due to the open cell going up to the top but I can live with that now that I know how to manage it; a bit of Neoprene glue will take care of it. I would recommend these products.

As always, if you have any questions or comments don hesitate to write in the comment box below!

Review: Beauchat Marlin Revolution 85cm Speargun

Introduction

I bought this speargun as a reef + deeper water (not blue water) gun; it was also a bit of a present to myself :-).

It is beautifully built and gorgeous to look at, you could even display it on a wall when not in use, that is how beautiful it is. The way Beuchat married wood and carbon, the old and the new noble materials is one of the things that makes this speargun unique. It feels quite heavy out of the water, but once in the water it is light as a feather; it floats well when the spear is not on and is generally well balanced. It comes without a reel and has a bungee attached to shooting line. As you may have noticed, this is a roller gun. The theory behind this is that in a normal speargun you lose power when the sling is slack (it doesn't exert energy for propulsion anymore), the amount of lost energy is equal to the length of the band when it is slack. Most spearguns either make the bands thicker (which makes them harder to load and you have to have a thicker spear and a barrel capable to handle the stress) or they use multiple smaller bands (which also takes more time to load but allows you to adjust the power, they also have the same needs for the barrel and shaft as a thicker banded gun does).

Handle

The handle is very ergonomic, feels good in your hand. This is often something that is overlooked but when you are going to hold something for several hours a day it is quite important.

Safety mechanism

The safety mechanism is not my favourite, it is located on the top of the handle:

The reason I don't like it is that you need a second hand to toggle it, which in certain situations means you will simply leave the safety off which is in turn dangerous. I am a fan of

safety mechanisms like JBL has on its spearguns: simple and effective, easy to access with your thumb. I can see however how it could be a pain if you are left-handed however, in this

regard Beuchat's safety is neutral.

Barrel

The barrel is wood and carbon, the center is a carbon tube and outside it is wood. It is very beautiful and despite looking heavy it is not, especially under water.

The rail

The rail is made of carbon, it is incorporated in the speargun, you can see it in many of the pictures in this post. It looks like it organically grew out of the wood, beautiful effect. I am not sure if having a non-changeable rail could be an issue, I don't really see how it could be, I have never heard of having to change a rail. Other than its looks, it is a normal full length rail.

Sling

The sling is a custom sling:

as you see it is unique which will cause a problem if you have to change it and the exact Beuchat part is not available. It is in reality three slings in one, a thicker (19.5 mm) and longer (?? cm) top sling and two thinner (16 mm) and shorter (?? cm) bottom slings. You could make a simpler version with only one bottom attachment if you are in an urgent need to replace the sling, although this will affect the power and the loading time. It is loaded in two (three depending on how you count) stages, first you load the thicker top

sling and then you flip it over and load each of the bottom slings. I think this was designed this way so that it is easier to load, if it was one big sling like most roller

Shaft

The shaft is a 7mm Rockwell Stainless Steel shaft with the point cut in three sides:

It has sharkfins and is very well made, I find it a tad expensive though.

Muzzle

The muzzle is unique to Beuchat, it is an open and closed muzzle hybrid. It is open in style but has a clasp that locks the shaft into place, so you don't have issues with the shaft coming off if the line is not wound tight enough.

I personally like it, I am not sure yet if it influences the spear flight or if it wears down.

Conclusion

I think this speargun is well rounded and is one of my favorites so far. The balance, the accuracy, buoyancy, shot distance, and build quality is good. Albeit a being a bit pricey and the band being special I would recommend it if you can afford it and you want a nice toy.

Beuchat came out with an all carbon variant that is cheaper. It however has only one bottom band so it may be less powerful but I am not sure. It does however make it quicker to load.