Review: SporaSub Dry Backpack

Introduction

I was looking for a new backpack to put my gear in since my old one broke. I was unable to find one like it (thick netting material, long enough for my fins, that can fold up), the ones currently on the market are not long enough. I need it to fold up because when I shore dive I cannot leave my bag behind so I need to be able to fold it up small and put it on my Best Hunter Okipa II float. I then found that SporaSub makes a dry bag that is a backpack AND long enough for freediving fins (dimensions (h x w x ?) are 109cm x 41cm x 21cm, not sure what the 21cm are though, maybe the top when it is closed?); I figured that I can also fold it up and put on my float, worst case if I need the room for other stuff it can even be tethered to the buoy and float next to it. Salvimar also makes a dry backpack too ("Dry Backpack 60/80"), but the old model was not long enough and the new model virtually has the same name ("Dry Backpack 60" and it shares the exact same model number) so I was afraid that ordering on online websites I would see the old model instead (many had a mix of the old name & new dimensions new name & old dimensions, etc). The Salvimar bag has removable straps that allow you to use it as a duffel bag and it is a bit wider (dimensions (h x w x ?) are 110cm x 44cm x 28cm). I liked the extra width but was afraid the strap attachment area being smaller that it made it more fragile; the SporaSub bag has a much wider attachment area since it is like if you take a padded backpack back and glue it to the dry bag. The Salvimar I think can fold up more since it doesn't have the padding part. I was also not able to find any good reviews on the Salvimar bag and the ones I found were on the old model. For all those reasons I went with the SporaSub bag.

Build

The build is ok, I am not sure how much weight it can take as the bottom looks like it is only glued. I think they should have stitched the seams for strength and then glued it tight:

The fabric is thick however, it is a type of flexible rubbery plastic covered cloth. The straps are ok, the back padding is nice so you don't have anything poking in your back and it also feels better than the plastic material against your bare back as it is made in one of those breathable materials:

The strap and back welding seems good thought, better than on the bottom:

The opening is like all dry bags except it has a male and a female clip on one side and a female clip on the other:

It has chest and  abdomen attachment straps to help secure it so it doesn't sway around and it makes it nicer to carry:

Usage

It works as advertised, I am able to fit my 87cm (total length) freediving fins, my wetsuit, gloves/socks, my float and it's pump, my net, the float line and anchor, my mask and tuba, a sandwich and some water, an insulated bag with an ice pack, a short rock speargun or even a 75cm speargun with the spear (110cm) off of it (the spear sticks out a bit). The straps and back are comfortable, more than expected, I could see myself carrying it a while with no issues, even in the sun.

With all of the stuff described above, including a short cave gun

I had one issue though and I think it is a defect, the abdomen straps have each a male clip:

On the videos I clearly see them having one male and one female clip so you can clip them together. I used it to my advantage though, I added a female clip to one side but kept the male clip:

When I need to fold up the back I just role it up and use the male clips to attach to the female clips on the top to secure it all:

When it is folded up I can still put my t-shirt, swimsuit, water shoes inside (the sandwich I put in another small dry bag) and it is still small (and water tight). I still think the Salvimar bag would have been a bit better to fold up though (and roomier). I am not sure about the build since I have not seen it physically, but if it is stitched and glued then it may have been better than the SporaSub bag, but too late now.

It is ok to carry around as a backpack, not so much as a duffel bag though (my previous bag, like the Salvimar bag also, you could do both). Also I miss having a small pocket in the front and a money pocket inside, but I guess this is not really what a dry-bag is for. I will simply buy a small bag and put it inside.

My previous bag was netted with a bottom drain so the water flows out (so you don't carry it around), it dried quickly (Nylon), while you are walking your gear dries a bit (and the water drips out) but when you had wet things inside, especially a wetsuit, it dripped in the car trunk. This new bag, being a dry bag, it is the opposite, it keeps the trunk dry (but you have to carry around the water so make sure to get as much excess water off your gear), the gear does not dry at all inside and the bag itself needs to be thoroughly dried inside after use.

I no longer carry my weight-belt inside the bag since the bottom looks like it could come undone with the weight, this means that either you need to put it on (I don't like having lead against my skin when I sweat and I always wonder if it can seep inside me) or carry it in your hand (which limits the amount of longer spearguns you can take (you can in reality put them all in the bag, the tips will just poke out), the number of fish you bring back if you carry them outside the backpack, and since you may no longer have any free hands it can limit the type of path you take.

Conclusion

It is not bad a bad product, it does what it was made to do and it is very comfortable to use. I happen to have different needs so I cannot put much blame on the bag. I am disappointed on the glued construction, stitches should be used IMO for a bag especially since glue ages not so well and it usually breaks apart when you are using it... I am not sure if I would recommend this product just yet. I would really like to compare it with the Salvimar Dry Back Pack (60/80, 2015 or 2016 model).

Update

I have used it a couple of times now and it is quite good. The glue has not undone yet, the padded back is nice when you have lots of stuff inside and the shoulder straps are comfortable. I still do not know how well it will age, but only time will tell. I would still like a carry handle on the side to carry it like a duffel bag sometimes.

Review: Salvimar Intruder Drop 40cm Speargun

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.

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.

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.

Review: Salvimar V-Pro 75cm Speargun

Introduction

I bought this speargun as a reef gun, I was looking for a euro-style multiband speargun with a reel & hardened shaft.

It has other features such as adjustable trigger sensitivity, stainless steel trigger mechanism, ergonomic handle, line release, a removable stock, an ok safety mechanism, a rail, a patented shaft and an open muzzle. It come with the shooting line and sleeves by default, I got a special deal where I bought it where they added the reel line and set it up for me (I had to re-crimp the shooting line as they had not crimped it well). I will describe the speargun's general performances and then go though each part.

Build

The speargun is well built, well finished. It has as much recoil as I expected for a non-roller gun. It floats without the shaft. It is comfortable to hold and aims rather well. The tube is aluminium painted in non-reflective black, the handle is neon-green, it overall looks nice. It is a bit like a top line open headed Voodoo speargun loaded up with all their options, the only things that are different if you were to do this is the color scheme (V-Pro is back and neon green and the Voodo is black and neon orange) and the rail (more on this later).

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.

Circled in red (not the V-Pro 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.

A Salvimar removable stock (not the V-Pro in the pic)

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.

Reel

The reel is a simple horizontal reel, I don't have enough experience to really review it well though. I was expecting it to release the line once the shaft pulled on it but it didn't, it even felt like it tightened. This may be due to the seller's line winding job though, I inspected it and played with this some, it was not wound the wrong way so it shouldn't tighten, but the line was originally not wound tight enough so as soon as something pulled hard the line would sink deeper into the reel, this may have affected how it unwinds thus giving me the impression it tightened. I unwound and rewound t but I have not been able to test it since then, I will update this when I do. This issue did however cause me problems, since the speargun has an open head I had to tighten it enough so that the shaft doesn't fall off but once I shot the line didn't unwind enough.

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).

The rail

The rail is a bit a a weird one, it is cut up a bit near the end:

This is supposed to remove some resistance when moving the gun sideways. I admit this is more of a marketing gimmick, I didn't feel much difference, usually the drag comes from the bands IMO. It is even a bit annoying at times, when want to put the shaft back after a shot as the shooting line sometimes goes under the shaft and in those cut spaces, which makes it a bit harder to do. I would prefer a full rail now that I have tested their special rail, it looks cool though but cool doesn't get you any fish :-).

Patented shaft/flopper

The 7mm shaft & flopper (Torsion Evo 2) looks like a good idea at first, the flopper isn't a classical flopper, it looks lake it was machined as part of the shaft:

The idea is that it can freely spin if the fish spins and thus the fish doesn't break away and also it doesn't break off like a regular flopper. The issue I found is that you need to have the little flopper holding ring on always to hold the flopper in, if it comes off then the flopper comes out and it doesn't fold with the water pressure when shot like a normal flopper does. This modifies the spear's trajectory quite a lot. I would have preferred either a normal flopper or one that works a bit like JBL's spinning points. The shark fins are also different;

They are made of wire, I don't really see an advantage from this though other than that you can put a line through them (like you can on sharkfins with holes drilled in them). Maybe it can be useful to attach a delayed surface marker buoy (DSMB) to it quickly to help bring a big fish up and out of a tight spot; I am not sure the fins would hold though. I have read that they broke for some people after heavy usage. I ended up buying an extra Salvimar shaft (I always buy an extra one to have just in case) with a regular flopper and pins instead of this type of fin:

I will probably swap them out and keep the original as the extra shaft.

Muzzle

The muzzle is a normal open muzzle:

I don't have much experience with them, I usually have closed muzzles or hybrid (like on my Beuchat Marlin Revolution). My next comments are not specifically linked to the Salvimar muzzle but more general. I find it slow to put the shaft back, especially in non-still water. The line goes every which way, as does the shaft, once you have wrapped it unwraps or the shaft moves off the rail when you are trying to get the shooting line over the line release or wind the reel line, etc. As I mentioned while describing the reel, I have to tighten the reel if not everything comes apart. I may be doing something wrong though :-).

Colors

The colors, black and neon green, look nice. I am not sure if the neon colors affect the hunt though, I assume fish see them better than dark colors so it probably does to some point.

Conclusion

I am overall happy with the speargun, the parts that I like the least (spear) I can replace myself. I would recommend this product and other Salvimar products if their quality is the same. A friend of mine purchased their "Intruder Drop" speargun (40cm) as a low cost cave gun and he is very happy with it.