We have had the chance to receive, analyze and study one of those products that represent definitely an excellence in terms of materials and technology, the Cetma Arrow 95 H muzzle version speargun.
In brief
The Cetma Arrow line represents the spearguns offer with traditional propulsion system by the Italian Company, Cetma Composites. It is in monocoque carbon fiber, with two possible muzzles, double circular, the S, and with two couples of straight elastic bands, the H. Compared to the well known Vela line by Cetma Composites, the Canova, 95 cm, the Uragano, 115 cm and the latest Sea Bull, 85 cm, the Arrow is a more traditional solution. The advantage is the simplicity in the use and loading, but evidently the more complex Vela system by Cetma Composites offers greater performance. Still, the design and rigidity of the monocoque carbon fiber of the Arrow permit heavy loads for great power united with high precision.
Grip and release mechanism
Grip
That’s where it all starts from, the handle. We take hold of our beautiful Cetma Arrow 95 H muzzle from the grip, which is anatomical, but not to the extreme of having the fingers’ shape designed on it. This is a solution that many spearguns have, especially the artisanal wooden ones. Still Cetma prefers to have a more all round solution. In fact, at sea we do not hold the gun in a fixed position all the time, but move many times. Also, each hand is different, but mostly, even the same hand changes wearing thinner or thicker gloves. So, finally, the grip of the Cetma Arrow well adapts to many different hands and accommodates all the different spearfishing techniques. The grip has a special rubber cover that works perfectly as anti skid system.
Release mechanism
Cetma Composites has chosen for its release mechanisms one of the strongest manufacturers in such sector, Ermes. The model chosen is the Avatar double roll. This mechanism has a patented system. It operates with two rollers, one works in contact with the trigger and is constrained to the coupling lever, the second roller in contact with the shaft is constrained to the box with a pin and is free to move in an oval hole. Such system stabilizes the shaft at the moment of firing, and the load is evenly distributed almost eliminating friction. More details on such system can be found on the Ermes website.
Analysing the release mechanism, we must say that every single detail is of amazingly high quality. Beyond the extremely important patented system described above, and many other aspects explained on Ermes website, all the components are really well designed. Even the lateral release lever, extremely compact, small and light, has a clever V shaped design to perfectly hold the monofilament in place. The trigger is a piece of art, in stainless steel, extremely thin but beautifully designed. Its length permits a good hold with the finger, while the frontal area in contact with the index has a segmented surface for a more accurate management of the shot. The various elements are made with inox steel AISI 316L and manufactured by electroerosion.
The only aspect which does not follow the general level of the release mechanism is the box in its borders, where the edges are not rounded and can in time wear the monofilament.
Barrel
A real monocoque
Even though each single component of the Cetma Arrow is of an extremely high level of technology and materials, it is evidently the barrel to represent the key part of the entire speargun. The carbon fiber barrel of th Arrow is a “real monocoque”, as they underline in Cetma Composites, as it is designed and manufactured with seamless layers of carbon fiber. Additionally, the perceived quality, which in the case of carbon fiber often matches the real one, is outstanding. Cetma points out that they do not apply any layer of transparent paint on the carbon fiber, a solution often used to hide defects of such material. So the surface of the barrel is simply impregnated carbon fiber with an amazingly uniform and smooth result.
The only separate element from the barrel is the handle. This, though, is connected with a special system made in Cetma and with the addition of a special structural glue. This practically creates a single structure between the handle and the barrel. Finally, the entire body of the Arrow has an unmatchable rigidity, capable of withstanding very high loads with minimal deformation.
Internal structure
Internally the barrel has special unique design filled with a special foam inside. Such solution determines a very light structure, still not empty. This means that in case of any puncture of the barrel, be it due to a strong collision, or made by the spearo acting incorrectly on the speargun, no water will flood the structure.
External tapered shape
Moving on to the practical part, Cetma Composites has worked on the Arrow to obtain, and this is possible only with monocoque carbon fiber barrels, a very tapered shape. The stiffness of the carbon fiber permits to have a good reduction of the section of the barrel, especially in the vertical direction. The aim is to obtain a very good swing, both horizontally and vertically.
But the swing of the Arrow is also optimized thanks to two other key design features. The first is the fact that the barrel has specific lateral “channels” that can host perfectly the two pairs of elastic bands. It is important, for the best result, to position each elastic band on one of the two steel axles of the muzzle, which we will analyze later in this article. The line of aim also is extremely clean despite the entire compactness of the system.
The second aspect is that the carbon fiber reel is perfectly integrated in the barrel, reducing to the minimum the space between the two elements. This determines a very compact vertical section also in the area of the reel, and again a much better manoeuvrability of the Arrow.
Muzzle
The muzzle of our Cetma Arrow 95 is the H version, which means the barrel has no hole for the passage of circular bands, but two lateral steel elements. These have each one two steel axles for the connection of each rubber band, for a total of 4. On each side, one rubber band is connected to the axle which is further away from the release mechanism, and the other band is connected the closest axle.
As said before, it is important to position each elastic band on each axle to have the best and more compact position of the rubbers. The H muzzle system will generate more power than the S muzzle. Michele Giurgola has indicated the difference between the S, double circular, and the H muzzle in around half a meter of useful distance to the advantage of the H. On the other hand, the H muzzle needs a little more time to be loaded.
In fact, the H muzzle is designed to have the 4 elastic bands which tip over after the shot. This helps to use all their power, and at the same time reduce the recoil. Still, they will need a little more time to be repositioned correctly after the shot.
Reel
Available in two versions, V50 and V90, where the number refers to the meters of line, the reels of the Arrow are in carbon fiber. They are designed with and extremely thin section to help lateral swing. A very performing clutch is present, and it can be very easily and comfortably adjusted to the specific spearfishing need. The inferior knob which regulates the clutch has an excellent design which permits to turn it even in the water with thick gloves. Frontally a Nylon washer with a hole controls the correct passage of the line thanks to two cylindrical elements.
Setups
The Cetma Arrow 95 H muzzle speargun has specific setting for rubber bands and shaft. We have the H 14 version, but the H 16 also is available. In the below table is what Cetma suggests.
| Arrow 95 | Shaft | Rubber Bands Thickness | Rubber Bands Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| H 14 muzzle | 7.0 mm | 4 rubbers of 14.5 mm | 2 x 29 cm + 2 x 27 cm |
| H 16 muzzle | 7.0 mm | 4 rubbers of 16.5 mm | 2 x 30 cm + 2 x 28 cm |
