The SEAC Preda 90 we had already passed it to the X-Rays, in one of our recent articles. A fishing trip in the beautiful gulf of Palmi, in the province of Reggio Calabria, was an opportunity for Claudio Marconcini, an athlete of the Apnea Passion International Team and ambush specialist, to test this sling speargun in his home sea.
Let’s hear his words for SEAC‘s entry level model.
Muzzle and loading of the SEAC Preda 90
“The muzzle of the SEAC Preda 90, overall, seemed good to me. This is because it is open, small and essential. It is equipped with a clever system, designed to lock the monofilament. This system gives the possibility to “choke” the monofilament either on the right or left side.
The muzzle features two holes designed to accommodate two circular rubber bands. Both the 14 mm and 16 mm bands are free to move through the muzzle holes. On one hand, this makes it easier to position and insert the bands into the muzzle, and also allows for the use of thicker bands, such as 18 mm ones. On the other hand, after each shot, the bands tend to lose their position and often need to be adjusted. Especially during a competition, in my opinion, this setup can result in lost time during reloading. In normal use, when you’re not racing against the clock, this issue is less significant.
Barrel of the SEAC Preda 90
The shaft of the SEAC Preda 90 is the classic 28 mm aluminum shaft. The presence of an integrated full-length shaft guide gives additional rigidity to the shaft and greater accuracy when shooting. Already out of the water, the sling speargun stands out for its light weight. In the water, it confirms that it is extremely light and balanced.
In-water buoyancy was tested at various depths from 5 to 25 meters. With 6.5 mm shaft, the balance of the SEAC Preda 90 is always very good indeed.
Swing
As mentioned, the SEAC Preda 90 was tested in the landslides of the Palmi Sea and its rocky shallows. The predominantly employed techniques were aspetto and ambush. And it is mainly on this that the SEAC Preda 90 gives its best. Here, the swing and manoeuvrability is a key feature and, for this sling speargun, we can say that it is extremely good.
The SEAC Preda is slim, no-frills. The minimalist muzzle promotes agile wielding in all directions.
Handle and trigger system
The handle is basic, very light and, while not ergonomic and fairly standard, fits a hand like mine. Personally, however, I would have preferred it to be sturdier in size.
The trigger is made of glass-filled nylon, and the release is not 100% immediate. In fact, before releasing the shaft, the trigger gave me the impression that it needed a short run. A feature, this one, to which one needs to get used.
An interesting solution, which I particularly appreciated, is the “slot” in the release mechanism box. This slot, present on both sides of the box, makes it easy to inspect the coupling between the rod and the release tooth. This feature is really very useful, when loading, to avoid accidental releases.
Power and precision of the SEAC Preda 90
I was very pleased with the power of the SEAC Preda 90. I did, in fact, encounter all the due power that a 16 single elastic and 6.5 mm rod must give. Particularly at the ambush, for which it is proposed as the right compromise to bait the increasingly wily white fish in the subcoastal.
Regarding accuracy, there is no doubt: the shot is accurate, however, provided, as anticipated, that you become familiar with the sensitivity of the trigger, which has a slight travel, before releasing the shaft.
Recoil in the SEAC Preda 90
Although the SEAC Preda 90 is a very light sling speargun, and without a large mass, we experienced no problems with recoil.
Certainly the configuration proposed by the Genovese company is the best compromise for having a very manageable recoil.
Strengths and possible improvements according to Claudio Marconcini
The SEAC Preda 90 is a lightweight, handy, essential sling speargun. Certainly an easy to handle sling speargun even for beginners. The muzzle, and the solution introduced to lock monofilament and shaft, are very good. An improvement could be to reduce the diameter of the holes where the rubbers pass through to avoid having to rotate them into place after each shot.
Manoeuvrability and lightness, are the strengths of this sling speargun.
The handle, is basic, very light but a bit “plastic.” Clearly for an entry-level solution like the SEAC Preda 90 it could not be otherwise, but a metal trigger would improve the sensitivity.
The line release is small, made of plastic. It can happen that, its short length tends to make nylon passes “slip.” A slightly longer line release lever, or with a slightly more pronounced bend, would be very effective.
