In a perfect Star Wars style, the Dark Side is born exactly when the latest episode of the most famous science fiction saga is launched worldwide.
Even though the latest born of the pneumatic spearguns by Salvimar is not a science fiction product, it is surely a very technologically advanced solution, spearhead of the speargun product line of the Company of Casarza Ligure.
The Dark Side is a pneumatic speargun designed in three lenghts, 55, 85 e 115, with muzzler using the “Vuoto” system, 7.0 mm Pacific Air shaft and optional reel. The measures indicated by Salvimar refer to the distance between the muzzler and the point of the docking of the shaft.
Just as the Predathor Vuoto, the Dark Side offers the “Vuoto” technology that, eliminating the water column in front of the piston, permits an incredibly high exit speed of the shaft, without having to load the speargun with excessive air pressure. This determines a much easier loading, even with a 13 mm diameter barrel. The base pressure set by Salvimar is 18-20 Bar, adapt to a 7 mm shaft. The value can be brought to 24 Bar for an 8 mm shaft (which weighs more or less 80 grams more than the 7 mm), while it does not make much sense to go higher with pressures for a 7 mm shaft. Bringing the logic to extreme, shooting a toothstick with enormous strength is not efficient, as this will stop for lack of weight and inertia, which will not be sufficient to win the resistance of air. Same applies for the 7 mm shaft against water. The Vuoto technology also offers an important weight reduction due to the absence of the water column in the barrel, a key aspect to improve balancing of the pneumatic speargun.
Between Predathor and Dark Side the glass-loaded nylon ergonomic grip is common. The real novelty is though the tank: this is manufactured in carbon fiber, an ultra-resistant and very light material (indicative specific weight of the carbon fiber is 1,75 vs 2,70 Kg/dm3 of the aluminum utilized in the Predathor). This solution improves one of the critical aspects of the pneumatic spearguns, weight and balancing, which had been already improved with the “Vuoto” system. Generally, in fact, the weight of the tank determines on the pneumatic spearguns a vertical downforce which is hardly balancable. Now, with a Prepreg TW-K03 carbon fiber solution of extremely high quality, weight has been reduced compared to the Predathor Vuoto (measure 115) of 100 grams, going from 1254 gr to 1154 gr, with a reduction equal to 8%, obtaining an optimally balanced speargun.
An additional upgrade element of the Dark Side is the standard Kit Race, with light weight low friction piston, adjustable sensitive trigger, lateral line release mechanism and safety system in Salvimar acid green color. This kit deserves a deeper look.
The piston is designed with a geometry that creates a camera between two o-rings, which is filled with lubricating oil and grease, highly reducing friction and so increasing shot speed. Weight reduction of the piston also contributes to increasing shot efficiency.
The line release system, which is in acid green color in the Race Kit, is an additional step forward to optimizing the pneumatic speargun, that often has such system below, in front of the hilt (the protection profile to the trigger). The lateral solution optimizes brandishing and avoids the line getting stuck to rocks and weeds on the sea floor. But there is more; the system is made of a wheel with four wings that work as line holders. In such a way the system is always ready and needs no re-positioning after every shot, as it happens with other pneumatic spearguns. It is a good habit to remember to position first the line and then load the shaft in this order (we will go deeper in this topic in the test of the Dark Side).
The trigger has a special adjusting system that through a screw regulates millimetrically the stroke.
Of extreme importance, and present on the two lengths, 85 and 115 cm, is the power regulator in two positions. In such a way one can use a powerful 115 speargun for fishing important prays with the waiting or blue water techniques, but also, very simply acting on the power lever, shooting in a lair without damaging or bending the shaft.
A first test to analyze the balancing of the Dark Side has demonstrated astonishing qualities of the new speargun, thanks to the carbon fiber tank. This is visible in the video below. Soon AP will publish a full test of the Dark Side.
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