The new Salvimar Ares has astonished the Official Apneapassion Team for the excellent quality of the design and the perfection of the finishes, as we have indicated in the x-rays article, talking about a real Masterpiece! It is a candidate to the Award & Best Choice by Apneapassion prizes 2023. But to win such prizes the look and the care in every detail of the Salvimar Ares must also lead to excellent performance! Let’s check what the test in the water has shown us at Apneapassion.
David Stephens, the 2021 and 2022 British Spearfishing Champion, surely expert of these kind of double circular bands spearguns, Giovanni Metafuni, an amazingly strong Italian spearo, Carlo Forni, the Founder and Director of Apneapassion, who has tested more products in the last 10 years than, probably, anybody else in the entire globe, Fabio Mura, FIPIA Spearfishing Istructor, and also PADI plus Apnea Professional Scuba School instructor, and Andrea Micarelli, an amazing Apnea Indoor athlete, who is also a very talented spearo, have all tried the Salvimar Ares also in different lengths and handle type. Let’s see what they have told us after the test.
David Stephens – Very impressed!
The Salvimar Ares 105 has really a striking design, which certainly looks the part. It actually performs as well as it looks! Nice comfortable handle, which sits nicely in your hand, relatively easy to load with the twin rubbers, which have more than enough power (without being too powerful for the 6.5mm shaft). Easy to use line release (accessible with gloves on). Newly designed thin barrel brings several advantages – easy to move through the water – quick aiming – comfortable water position – accurate shots in different scenarios (long/short range as well as quick snap shots).
I have not really found any downsides or negative behaviour of the Salvimar Ares to be sincere, and in fact I am really very impressed with it. Maybe I could say it has quite a short spear, short as in spear hang at the end of the muzzle. This is probably due to the very practical solution of the barb laying on the muzzle and so no need of a retention O-Ring. This might initially not suit some people used to aiming with shafts hanging more out of the muzzle.
Giovanni Metafuni – An excellent precise speargun
I have tested the Salvimar Ares 95 cm. I have been able to appreciate the ease of movement through the water, and the quick loading possibility, also thanks to the longer chest support. The handle is very “enveloping” on the hand and also the distance of the trigger is perfect for me. Maybe the only negative aspect for me, but this depends also on the likes and dislikes of each one of us, the the fact that the side of the handle is negative in the water. But again, the movement through the water is excellent and in the test shooting at the target I have hit the perfect center, so an extremely precise speargun.
Carlo Forni – Masterpiece also in the water
When writing the X-Rays article I was astonished by the “striking design” as also David has said, and was thinking all the time if such beauty, such “Masterpiece“, could also perform as well as it looked. Well indeed, this is definitely the case. But I would go beyond simple performance of the shot. The Salvimar Ares in fact has various points of excellence. What has impressed me, which can be definitely a very strong point also for spearos who want ease and comfort, is the amazingly fast and easy loading of this speargun. The excellently designed muzzle, compact but with well and generously shaped passages for the monofilament, helps position the latter quickly without the risk of it losing its position.
The good dimensions and great design of the lateral release lever, and the possibility to avoid an O-Ring for the barb, as it can simply lay down on the muzzle, make loading the speargun so much faster and easier than other equivalent double circular bands spearguns. Even the self centering shaft contributes to a very fast positioning and “hooking” of the shaft to the high quality release mechanism. The rubber bands are powerful, but loading them is easy, also thanks to the well designed and dimensioned shark fins which hook perfectly the dyneema wishbones.
I have tested the Salvimar Ares 85 with symmetrical handle and the 95 cm with anatomical right hander solution. The first permits more movement and is better for fishing in the fish holes, while the second fits perfectly my hand keeping it well blocked in position, all to the advantage of the accuracy of the shot. I personally have felt a little pressure from the chest support extension on the metacarpal, and this feel was even more perceivable during the powerful shot of the 95 cm version. Still, at the end of the day I had absolutely no pain or negative feel on the hand, and actually during the spearfishing session this feeling decreased until I really forgot about it.
The movement through the water of the Salvimar Ares is amazing, to the point that I forgot I was actually holding a 95 cm, and though I had an 85 cm or even less! The power of the shot is practically perfect. More power would be too much and generate excessive recoil, anyway quite perceivable on the 95 cm version, and loss of precision. Less power could be insufficient and not utilize the entire potential of the Salvimar Ares.
The precision of the shot, tested also with target shooting, is great and, also talking with the mind behind the project, Massimo Quattrone, is the main focus of the Salvimar Ares. The self centering release mechanism (R.F.S.C – Rolling, Friction, Self-Centring) united to the shaft centering system and the new Bolt Shaft, also contributes to this result. The Salvimar Ares is a product launched in 2023 as an amazing novelty and definitely a very strong candidate to the Award & Best Choice prizes by Apneapassion.
Fabio Mura
The design of the Salvimar Ares, I tested the 95 cm, has really hit me, starting from the handle, with the preformed shape which greatly helps to move the speargun through the water. The chest support is low enough to keep the line of aim clear, and wide enough to reduce the pressure on the sternum.
The trigger is really sensitive, probably the best on the market. This is matched with the new shaft, which has the barb in the lower part, a good solution for me, and also it lays on the muzzle avoiding the need of the O-Ring, and also the risk of losing it in the water and immediately having it eaten by fish. The nice green monofilament of the Salvimar Ares can be easily positioned on the lateral wings of the handle. This is something present on many spearguns, but definitely particularly well designed on this one.
The lateral line release has generous dimensions, which help not to lose the monofilament even if positioned quite loose. The setup in the water is quite well balanced. The steel ring under the handle is definitely strong, good there is no plastic there, and in case of a big catch it is surely a safe connection to put the speargun into traction for example with a big grouper.
Andrea Micarelli
I have really felt comfortable with the Salvimar Ares. The handle is excellent, perfectly matching my hand, and the trigger is well positioned, at least for my size M fingers. The line of aim is perfect and moving the Salvimar Ares through the water feels really light and easy. Precision of the shot is fantastic, and I have managed to catch quite a big seabream with an agguato technique and a very precise shot. Another detail that I have liked is the release mechanism, nice and smooth and the lateral line release lever, well designed and with smooth edges, thanks to the MIM (Metal Injection Moulding) now applied also on such element in addition to the other components of the Heavy metal release mechanism. This helps to preserve the monofilament which is never cut by the edges of the lever, something that instead may happen with laser cut elements.
