Every once in awhile I'll get an email asking what sort pole-spear to get now that one I used to suggest is no longer being made. The short answer is, I've been giving it some thought...
Part of the problem is that, for one reason or another, pole-spears have got somewhat expensive of late. Seriously, if someone had told me that you could spend over $500 (yeah WTF) for a frelling pole-spear I'd have thought they were crazy.
But, it would seem, we live in crazy times (if you have any doubts just look at who's the current POTUS/ leader of the free world). So, crazy is not so much an option these days it is a feature and part of living in Bizarro world, I guess, means such things as $500+ pole-spears exist.
Which brings me around to why it's not all that easy to recommend a pole-spear these days.
I used to suggest for folks starting out that getting a cheap-as-possible fiberglass spear was the way to go if they were undecided whether they wanted to use a pole-spear. The problem is that every time I look the cheap-as-possible glass spears are worse and they are not as cheap as they used to be either. This led me to recommend the spears made by Roy Odor which were of a good quality, would last a lifetime, and if you decided you did not want to spear fish you could always sell it without great loss.
Sadly Roy is no longer building spears...
The big problem is that almost all of the decent spears around either have some fault I find irksome, are too expensive, or a combination of the two.
Well except this one by Linghunt...
Which is as close as you can get to an evolved/improved Roy Odor travel spear. It's a good design, well made, and, by today's standards, cheap. All you need to add is a pointy bit (or bits as you'll really need at least three) for the end so it should not put you out of pocket over $150 all up. Better yet, you can always add sections to make it a longer spear if you need to. That said, these days, I'd suggest you just get the longer spear at the get-go because you're going to get it anyway down the line so why not save on the shipping?
Sure maybe it is not the very best spear on the market but it will do the job and, from where I sit, easily the best bang for the buck around.
Need I say more?
Part of the problem is that, for one reason or another, pole-spears have got somewhat expensive of late. Seriously, if someone had told me that you could spend over $500 (yeah WTF) for a frelling pole-spear I'd have thought they were crazy.
But, it would seem, we live in crazy times (if you have any doubts just look at who's the current POTUS/ leader of the free world). So, crazy is not so much an option these days it is a feature and part of living in Bizarro world, I guess, means such things as $500+ pole-spears exist.
Which brings me around to why it's not all that easy to recommend a pole-spear these days.
I used to suggest for folks starting out that getting a cheap-as-possible fiberglass spear was the way to go if they were undecided whether they wanted to use a pole-spear. The problem is that every time I look the cheap-as-possible glass spears are worse and they are not as cheap as they used to be either. This led me to recommend the spears made by Roy Odor which were of a good quality, would last a lifetime, and if you decided you did not want to spear fish you could always sell it without great loss.
Sadly Roy is no longer building spears...
The big problem is that almost all of the decent spears around either have some fault I find irksome, are too expensive, or a combination of the two.
Well except this one by Linghunt...
Which is as close as you can get to an evolved/improved Roy Odor travel spear. It's a good design, well made, and, by today's standards, cheap. All you need to add is a pointy bit (or bits as you'll really need at least three) for the end so it should not put you out of pocket over $150 all up. Better yet, you can always add sections to make it a longer spear if you need to. That said, these days, I'd suggest you just get the longer spear at the get-go because you're going to get it anyway down the line so why not save on the shipping?
Sure maybe it is not the very best spear on the market but it will do the job and, from where I sit, easily the best bang for the buck around.
Need I say more?
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