Speargun Buyer's Guide: Stop Overthinking It

Every spearfishing forum has the same thread repeated weekly: "What speargun should I buy?" Followed by 47 replies, half of which contradict each other. Here's the straightforward answer nobody wants to give you.

Start With Where You Dive

Forget brand loyalty, forget what the guy at the shop said, forget what looks cool. One question matters: where are you actually going to use this thing?

• Jetties, piers, shallow structure: 55-75cm gun. Short, fast, maneuverable. You'll be poking into holes and tight spaces. A long gun is a liability.
• Wrecks and deeper structure: 75-90cm gun. Enough reach for open sections, still manageable in tighter spots.
• Open water, offshore, bluewater: 100-130cm gun. Shots are longer, fish are bigger, and you need the power to reach them.

Most people should buy a mid-length gun first. A 75-90cm roller covers the majority of realistic diving scenarios without being too specialized in either direction.

Roller vs. Traditional Euro

Traditional spearguns use bands stretched along the barrel and release from the muzzle. Simple, proven, works fine.

Roller guns use a pulley system that effectively doubles band stretch in a shorter package. More power per inch, flatter trajectory, better range. The trade-off is slightly more complexity and cost.

For the same shooting performance, a roller gun can be 20-30cm shorter than a traditional euro. In low-vis Atlantic water, that shorter length matters.

What Actually Matters in Build Quality

Barrel material: Carbon fiber is lighter and more neutral. Aluminum works but fatigues you faster. Wood is traditional but heavy and affected by depth/pressure.

Handle: Needs to be comfortable and durable. You're gripping this for hours. Cheap plastic cracks. Quality handles (like Ermes) last.

Muzzle: Takes the most stress during loading and firing. This is where cheap guns fail first. Look for reinforced muzzles designed for roller setups if you're going that direction.

Shaft: Determines penetration and durability. Cheap shafts bend. Quality shafts (like McNary) stay straight and hit hard.

The Budget Question

You can buy a speargun for $150. You can also buy one for $800. The difference is felt over time—better guns last longer, shoot straighter, handle better, and don't fall apart after a season.

That said, don't buy more gun than you need. A $700 bluewater setup is wasted on jetty diving. Match the tool to the job.

What We'd Actually Recommend

If you're diving the East Coast and want one gun that handles most situations: a 90cm single roller with a carbon barrel. Short enough for structure, powerful enough for respectable fish, light enough to dive all day.

If you're doing dedicated offshore work, add a 110-130cm double roller for bluewater days.

Skip the cheap starter guns. You'll replace them in a year anyway. Buy once, buy right.