After having presented the Meandros b28, the “small” speargun by Meandros, we move up to one of the most interesting products of the Greek company, the Meandros b32. The name indicates already the difference, the barrel going up from 28 mm of the b28 to 32 mm diameter. More rigidity, more floatability, greater recoil control, of course with a little reduction in the ease of swing of the b32 compared to the b28. Let’s check all details of this excellent speargun.
Barrel
The barrel is key and characterizes the Meandros b32. The great diameter of 32 mm, with the thickness of the walls of the tube going from 1.5 to 2.1 mm generate an amazingly stiff structure, able to support without flexion even the greater loads.
The barrel, as for the Meandros b28, is also reinforced with lateral vertical walls all along its length, which generate an unbeatable stiffness in the vertical axis, the most stressed one.
The trapezoidal section integrated shaft guide is another element of reinforcement of the barrel. Additionally, such solution generates a great improvement in the precision of the shot and ease in positioning of the shaft while reloading.
The barrel, as for the Meandros b28, is fully anodized as one piece, in a seamless coating of the tube for best protection in time. The colour is a nice hand painted Silver camo design.
100% steel release mechanism
The release mechanism of the Meandros b32 is not only 100% steel. The system is an advanced technological solution where the load is distributed in 3 points of contact for a greater smoothness of the shot. Additionally, and this is also key, such solution reduces wear of the contact point in time for a very long lasting release mechanism and unvaried performance.
The system of the Meandros b32 is the best performing inverted solution which generates up to 9.5 cm of increased useful length compared to standard systems.
The lateral line release lever is easily shiftable from left to right and vice-versa releasing an Allen screw.
Record reduced index to shaft offset
The patented handle of the b32 is another piece of art. The first thing we measured is the offset of the shaft from the index finger (the one reference for the line of aim). For the Greek speargun such offset is reduced to less than 4 mm, a record on the market.
This aspect not only leads to the well known greater precision and intuitiveness of the shot thanks to the fact that our index finger is practically aligned with the shaft. Another advantage is the great recoil control, which additionally improves precision, thanks to the fact that the speargun might move slightly backward during the shot, but it will do so along the barrel axis, without the muzzle moving up or down.
But there is more. The control of the recoil with hand and arm will also increase significantly the range of the shot! Try positioning a speargun with the butt on a rigid wall and shoot. Then make a comparison with the same shot and no wall to counterbalance the recoil, and you will see the range in this second case be reduced considerably. The fact that our hand and arm can better control recoil partially generates the effect of the wall, reducing the backward movement of the speargun during the shot.
Handle
The quality of the handle by Meandros does not end with the hand to shaft alignment. A key element is also the fact that the component is one single piece, generating an unbeatable rigidity. Un such a way, once more the precision of the shot is optimized. Also, the 100% stainless steel release mechanism will be perfectly blocked in the handle, improving shaft release. Even the rear speargun butt is one piece with the handle, and is greatly designed: wide for a great support surface covered with softer rubber for anti skid effect, and with a well open concave upper profile which frees perfectly all the line of aim.
Frontally, the handle has two well designed “wings” to position the monofilament out of the line of aim and well held in position at any time. The on/off system is a sliding button inside the trigger guard, which acts directly on the trigger to block it. You cannot feel if it is on or off with the hand, but can easily check that visually. If the button is coming out of the trigger guard, the system is blocked.
Rubber cover
The grip has a special rubber cover to to prevent the handle from slipping. The design on the Meandros b32 is strongly anatomical. There are excellent options of right, left or ambidextrous anatomical rubber cover grips. The 5 different colour options are nice.
Muzzles, Open and Dragon
The Meandros b32, as the b28, is offered with the Dragon head, a closed solution, and the Open head, with double circular possibility.
Dragon
The Dragon closed muzzle is quite traditional. It has a nice central sight coming up to be well visible. There is the traditional option of adding a circular band under the main two bands. The Dragon muzzle has, and this is not present in all closed muzzles, a nice guide to position correctly also the additional circular band. In the inferior part a strong steel axle is present for the passage of the line.
Open
The Open muzzle of the Meandros b32 is another key element of this speargun. Extremely compact and perfectly smooth for a great perceived quality, the Open muzzle hosts up to two circular bands of 17.5 mm diameter. The design of the muzzle permits to position the bands perfectly parallel to the shaft, optimizing the power and precision of the shot. In the same way as the Dragon, in the inferior part a strong steel axle is present for the passage of the line.
Handle to baller to muzzle connection
The connection handle to barrel to muzzle is key. On one side it must prevent flooding of the barrel, on the other it should keep as high as possible the quantity of air in the barrel to increase the floating capacity of the speargun and permit a setup also with greater diameter shafts. To obtain the best result Meandros utilizes a double O-rings and tests the sealing up to 10 bar.
Setup and lengths
The Meandros b32 we have received is setup with two circular bands of 14 mm, tied to a dyneema wishbone. The shaft is a Meandros 6.75 mm diameter with 4 shark fins (with no holes) and single 7 cm long upper barb.
The offer of available lengths is huge, with 85, 95, 105, 115, and 130 cm. Logically the shorter version of 75 cm is left to the b28.
The Meandros b32 complete camo is offered with a Meandros Standard Plus reel and 1.8 mm diameter polyester line.
