Polespear
Encyclopedia
A polespear is an underwater tool used in spearfishing
, consisting of a pole, a spear
tip, and a rubber
loop. Polespears are often mistakenly called Hawaiian sling
s, but the tools differ. A Hawaiian sling is akin to a slingshot or an underwater bow and arrow, since the spear and the propelling device are separate, while a polespear has the sling (rubber loop) attached to the spear.
, carbon fibre, aluminum, or wood
. Longer versions often break down into two or more pieces that screw together. The tip is either threaded to accept different kinds of spear tips or already has a fixed tip attached. The most popular spear tip on polespears are the paralyzer (often called a three-prong), and the Tahitian shaft (a single pivoting barb). Some more serious hunters will equip the polespear with a slip-tip (tip removes from the end and tethers to a fixed point). At the butt end of the spear is an elastic loop, usually made of surgical tubing or a band of rubber (a bicycle
inner tube, for example).
The spear is operated by placing the rubber loop in the crook of the thumb, then reaching up the spear shaft to stretch the elastic band and grabbing the polespear to hold the band in tension. On flimsy spears, it's useful to twist the spear as the band stretches to keep the spear from bending. Shooting the spear involves releasing the grasp of the hand but stil using the hand to guide the spear like a barrel to a gun.
The firing distance of a polespear can be divided into two ranges. First, there is the overall distance of the stretch or the 'travel range'. This second range is the distance that most are interested in as it is more relevant to penetrating fish. For this reason, it is called the 'penetrating range.' Not all the travel of the spear being fired has the 'punch' to penetrate through fish. Depending on the polespear's attributes such as mass, drag, band strength, band stretch, etc., the penetrating range can spectrum from inches to several feet. Other factors may include fish orientation, fish width, density, skin composition, etc. One would need to take all the attributes into to account before firing a polespear towards a target. For example, the band pull on a 10-foot polesear may stretch up to 6-feet of the polespear. It actually requires about 8-feet of polespear, measured from the rear, to do this because the stretch doesn't start till the band begins to provide tension (typically, about 2-feet loop length on a 10-footer). However, the penetrating range may only be half of the pull. This equals about 3' for a 10 footer. For some fish, however, are thicker/denser and may require much closer shots.
The more mass a polespear contains, the more band power it will require to move the same speed as a polespear with less mass. However, some fiberglass or extremely lightweight polespears will have so little mass that there is little velocity or 'punch' behind them when it hits a fish.
A hybrid polespear combines aluminum with a more flexible material such as a fiberglass rod. These polespears offer rigidity for loading, but still some flexibility in the front end to absorb the lateral movements of a fish once it is attached to the end.
Spearfishing
Spearfishing is an ancient method of fishing that has been used throughout the world for millennia. Early civilizations were familiar with the custom of spearing fish from rivers and streams using sharpened sticks....
, consisting of a pole, a spear
Spear
A spear is a pole weapon consisting of a shaft, usually of wood, with a pointed head.The head may be simply the sharpened end of the shaft itself, as is the case with bamboo spears, or it may be made of a more durable material fastened to the shaft, such as flint, obsidian, iron, steel or...
tip, and a rubber
Rubber
Natural rubber, also called India rubber or caoutchouc, is an elastomer that was originally derived from latex, a milky colloid produced by some plants. The plants would be ‘tapped’, that is, an incision made into the bark of the tree and the sticky, milk colored latex sap collected and refined...
loop. Polespears are often mistakenly called Hawaiian sling
Hawaiian sling
The Hawaiian sling is a device used in spearfishing. The sling operates much like a bow and arrow on land, but energy is stored in rubber tubing rather than a wooden or fiberglass shaft.-Description:...
s, but the tools differ. A Hawaiian sling is akin to a slingshot or an underwater bow and arrow, since the spear and the propelling device are separate, while a polespear has the sling (rubber loop) attached to the spear.
Description
The pole is usually between four feet and ten feet long and made of fiberglassFiberglass
Glass fiber is a material consisting of numerous extremely fine fibers of glass.Glassmakers throughout history have experimented with glass fibers, but mass manufacture of glass fiber was only made possible with the invention of finer machine tooling...
, carbon fibre, aluminum, or wood
Wood
Wood is a hard, fibrous tissue found in many trees. It has been used for hundreds of thousands of years for both fuel and as a construction material. It is an organic material, a natural composite of cellulose fibers embedded in a matrix of lignin which resists compression...
. Longer versions often break down into two or more pieces that screw together. The tip is either threaded to accept different kinds of spear tips or already has a fixed tip attached. The most popular spear tip on polespears are the paralyzer (often called a three-prong), and the Tahitian shaft (a single pivoting barb). Some more serious hunters will equip the polespear with a slip-tip (tip removes from the end and tethers to a fixed point). At the butt end of the spear is an elastic loop, usually made of surgical tubing or a band of rubber (a bicycle
Bicycle
A bicycle, also known as a bike, pushbike or cycle, is a human-powered, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, having two wheels attached to a frame, one behind the other. A person who rides a bicycle is called a cyclist, or bicyclist....
inner tube, for example).
The spear is operated by placing the rubber loop in the crook of the thumb, then reaching up the spear shaft to stretch the elastic band and grabbing the polespear to hold the band in tension. On flimsy spears, it's useful to twist the spear as the band stretches to keep the spear from bending. Shooting the spear involves releasing the grasp of the hand but stil using the hand to guide the spear like a barrel to a gun.
The firing distance of a polespear can be divided into two ranges. First, there is the overall distance of the stretch or the 'travel range'. This second range is the distance that most are interested in as it is more relevant to penetrating fish. For this reason, it is called the 'penetrating range.' Not all the travel of the spear being fired has the 'punch' to penetrate through fish. Depending on the polespear's attributes such as mass, drag, band strength, band stretch, etc., the penetrating range can spectrum from inches to several feet. Other factors may include fish orientation, fish width, density, skin composition, etc. One would need to take all the attributes into to account before firing a polespear towards a target. For example, the band pull on a 10-foot polesear may stretch up to 6-feet of the polespear. It actually requires about 8-feet of polespear, measured from the rear, to do this because the stretch doesn't start till the band begins to provide tension (typically, about 2-feet loop length on a 10-footer). However, the penetrating range may only be half of the pull. This equals about 3' for a 10 footer. For some fish, however, are thicker/denser and may require much closer shots.
The more mass a polespear contains, the more band power it will require to move the same speed as a polespear with less mass. However, some fiberglass or extremely lightweight polespears will have so little mass that there is little velocity or 'punch' behind them when it hits a fish.
A hybrid polespear combines aluminum with a more flexible material such as a fiberglass rod. These polespears offer rigidity for loading, but still some flexibility in the front end to absorb the lateral movements of a fish once it is attached to the end.