SALVIMAR PREDATHOR 100: THE TEST
MEDITERRANEAN TESTING DAY
The editors of Nadirspearfishing.com had the privilege to test the new Predathor speargun by SALVIMAR within the European project called "mediterranean testing day" of which they were co-ordinators for all Spanish, French and Italian testers.
This new speargun is designed to conceptually revolutionize the pneumatic gun both in design and functionality. Salvimar’s drive for innovation was not aimed to extra ordinary performances research which as you know does not guarantee a reliable product in time but to the realization of an easy to use speargun for the average user including solutions to common problems.
It is entirely made in Italy with 13mm barrel and vacuum muzzle, standard equipped with 7mm shaft and reel with over 50mt capacity.
At first glance you can notice the muzzle has some coiling tips on both sides preventing the line to pass below the barrel and then avoids the possibility that it gets pinched on the rocks of the bottom. There is no loop at the tip to pass the line through coming out of the reel but is totally unnecessary given the perfect solution offered by coiling tips that allow three rounds of 1.5 mm monofilament to be coiled around.
A plastic tip to help aiming is also missing but it is something with relative importance since many spearos do not use it to point the prey. The line of sight it is therefore very clean. In relation to this all fans of video footages should know that SALVIMAR sells a bracket in carbon fiber for video cameras that can be mounted on all sling spearguns and that thanks to a little support available separately can also be fitted on the predathor.
The top feature is represented by the handle made in nylon loaded with fiberglass that was designed to get as close as possible to the handle of a sling speargun with the right angle and ergonomics. The hilt was enlarged to accommodate even larger hands wearing thick gloves. Furthermore the metal bracket that holds the vertical reel is mounted right on the hilt. On the left side, in a raised position, finally, you can find a useful power reducer snap, adjustable in two positions.
Another important feature is the line releaser, directly connected to the trigger that performs well its function safely hosting three loops of 1.5 mm monofilament.
It’s good to know that once the line gets coiled around the line releaser it does not have to be very tight in order to avoid tension on the trigger.
The speargun is sold with an internal pressure ranging between 18 and 20 bar. By removing a green plug on the back of the handle you can reach the valve load whose thread is compatible with a mares manometer.
Several people have tested the speargun with the pressure provided by the manufacturer and found it already powerful but others preferred to take it to 22 bar and found it still good.
Users should know that increasing the internal pressure will clearly cause a greater resistance during loading. With a pressure of 18/20 bar the shaft runs away with an incredible speed. For a performing use with an higher pressure you will need to increase the diameter of the shaft.
The trigger is fluid nevertheless some users may find it harder than normal. We have to remember that SALVIMAR made this product for the masses and that a trigger too sensitive could be dangerous. For this reason it has designed a separate kit to apply a sensitivity adjuster screw which may be mounted safely by you or by an authorized dealer. This modification does not void your warranty!
In water it is remarkable that the gun is pretty silent and the recoil is reduced compared to the average available on the market.
In short it is a weapon that can meet the high expectations of medium-high level spearos and that will provide an excellent basis "geeks" spearos who want to customize it and to whom the SALVIMAR, as mentioned earlier, already provides some solutions.
The final definition for this product is definitely "pneumatic speargun with slings" because it was designed (and successfully I would like to add) to ensure that the sling speargun user could switch to predathor without noticing the difference!
HERE ARE THE LINKS FROM THE OTHER EUROPEAN TESTERS:
pescasub blog (ITALY): http://www.pescasublog.it/pneumatici/salvimar-predathor-100/
pescasub.net (SPAIN): http://www.pescasub.net/index.php?pag=banco_de_pruebas%2Fsalvimar%2Fpredathor_vuoto_100
pasionpescasub (SPAIN): http://www.pasionpescasub.com/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=4737
todopescagalicia (SPAIN): http://todopescagalicia.es/pesca-submarina-2/materiales/fusiles/salvimar-predathor-vuoto/
passionchasse (FRANCE): https://www.facebook.com/notes/stephane-dudon/predathor-salvimar/1013176818693703?pnref=story
