Winner of the Best Choice 2024 in the above 200€ spearguns category, the Cressi Victory has also been tested by the Vice World Spearfishing Champion, Luigi Puretti, and here are all his true evaluations.
Handle
“I will start from the shape of the handle, which is absolutely perfect thanks to the great know-how of the Italian Company. The anatomy, the distance between the thenar eminence and the index finger to the trigger, plus the latter’s design are full marks. The rubber on the handle is also something I like a lot, giving the perfect grip and helping the swing of the speargun. The softness and slight compressibility of such rubber is something I really like, as it gives me the possibility to tighten the grip and have more adherence.
Loading, muzzle and rubber bands
Loading
The loading is definitely a strong point in the traditional sling spearguns compared to the Inverter or Vela solutions. This is even more true for the Cressi Victory, as the very progressive 14 mm triple circular bands are amazingly easy to load with negligible effort.
Muzzle and bands
The magnet in the muzzle, embedded in the glass loaded Nylon, is safe from rusting, and works well to position and keep in place the shaft during the loading phase. The integrated shaft guide additionally helps loading.
The positioning from the muzzle along the barrel of the three circular rubber bands, which are of very good quality, I like very much for two reasons. The first is the fact that the bands are almost parallel to the shaft. This is something that is key for me and I hate when instead the bands have an angle compared to the shaft. Such situation, in fact, makes the shot go high, while with the Cressi Victory the result is much more efficient and precise. The Cressi muzzle makes the bands move upwards a little at the beginning and then follow in an almost parallel way the line of the shaft. At the same time the line of aim is completely free for a great sight.
The second reason why I like the Cressi muzzle, is that the positioning of the bands is such that they do not vibrate during the swing, as they are perfectly adherent to the barrel. This also helps the swing, as the total section of the barrel plus elastic bands is reduced. Of course, a 120 cm speargun with a triple circular and a 31 mm barrel cannot have its best characteristic in the swing, but still this is not a negative aspect of the Cressi Victory. Moreover, the swing is definitely helped by the design and material of the handle.
Balance in the water
Even though the Cressi Victory has a good balance in the water, it is slightly negative. The 31 mm diameter barrel helps the buoyancy, but the 7.5 mm diameter shaft still makes the final result a little heavy in the water. It is absolutely a very usable speargun, and with an aluminium barrel the result is anyway good. Still, thinking of the possibility of using a 7 mm diameter shaft, the balance in the water would be really perfect, and this is definitely an option to consider, at least in Mediterranean conditions. By the way, I usually use spearguns which are just slightly negative at the tip, so I guess for me the 7 mm shaft solution would be really ideal. Even the swing in the water, with a lighter shaft, would improve.
The shot
To be sincere the first shot I made on a beautiful grouper positioned vertically has not hit the target as I was quite far and not used to this kind of speargun, since I utilize wooden solutions with Vela systems. The latter have zero recoil, so the first time with the Cressi Victory I had to get used to another propulsion system. After that, I have made a good and precise shot on a nice seabream, and later I have had another similar occasion with a grouper, and the shot has been precise with a catch, hitting the grouper near the eye, even though not finishing it immediately.
Release mechanism
The release mechanism works perfectly well. The lateral steel release lever holds two passages of line in an extremely reliable way. Even the two lateral steel wings in front of the handle are very comfortable to position tidily the monofilament and avoid tangles.
Recoil
The recoil with a triple circular band speargun and aluminium barrel is of course present, but the geometry of the Cressi Victory is good and controls such aspect. The situation is more evident with a 7.5 mm shaft, while it will definitely be reduced with a 7 mm solution.
Reel and line guide
I have also been well impressed by the reel. I have used it after a shot at 50 meters and I have come back up quite fast since I was with no weights on the belt. The clutch has been very progressive and the reel is connected in a very robust way to the speargun. This is something not necessarily true for all spearguns. Also, the resistant and sufficiently large line guide in steel permits a fast passage of the line, another aspect I have appreciated.”
Conclusions by Luigi Puretti
The new Cressi Victory in the 120 cm version is definitely a top class speargun, considering it is a mass market product with aluminium barrel. Still, if I think of other similar spearguns I have used in the past, the Cressi Victory is…a Winner! The quality materials, design of each component, details, ease of loading and use, precision and power are excellent. The recoil, inevitable in traditional propulsion systems such as circular bands, is present, but well controlled in the design of the Cressi Victory. This is an all round and easy speargun, great for many spearfishing techniques where power, precision and ease of use are requested. Of course, the swing is not its best quality, but it is not a speargun thought specifically for techniques like the ambush.
