Speardiver Quick Slip-on Powerhead
Single use powerhead, shark protection device. WE DO NOT SHIP THIS ITEM, AVAILABLE ONLY AT OUR RETAIL LOCATION
We do not ship powerheads DO NOT CONTACT.
* Due to liability concerns we do not offer this powerhead for sale online. It's only available at our Fort Lauderale location. This way we can make sure divers understand how to use it safely and responsibly. It's the only way we can offer at least our local divers this essential piece of gear
** The powerhead has a cartridge permanently sealed inside, it comes preloaded and ready for use. Never put it on a spear out of the water. Exercise great care when fitting it on a spear in the water. Using too much force when inserting the shaft can detonate the round. Always keep hands, face or any other body part you don't want shot off away from the front of the powerhead when fitting it over the shaft, and make sure it's not pointing at anyone. Fit on the shaft using a gentle rotating motion until resistance is felt.
This power head is designed to be used as shark defense with a speargun. It's a quick slip on single use powerhead made of aluminum, containing a permanently sealed in 7.62 X 39 Remington 145 grain round (AK-47 round). This powerhead is spear actuated, there is no moving firing pin and as such it is legal to carry on one's person or in a vehicle in the state of Florida (check your state laws). The powerhead is deployed when the tip of the spear strikes the primer through a water tight seal on impact with the shark. The spear hole is machined with very little tolerance and as such does not allow play when the shaft is fired from the speargun. This eliminates misfiring caused by the spear point striking off the primer, which is common with other powerheads. The powerheads come with different hole diameters to fit 6.5mm, 9/32(7mm), 7.5mm or 5/16(8mm) shafts. The OD of the aluminum sleeve is 0.75", length is 3.4". Our Neoprene Powerhead Belt Pouch holds two powerheads.
Features:
- Powerful round is enough to kill a shark depending on shot placement, or at minimum severely wound it to the point of discouraging it from returning.
- Very quick to mount on a spear, especially if used with a belt pouch.
- Sharp edge around the front end helps it catch on the shark on angled shots.
- Built in O ring for snug fit. The powerhead seats tightly around the spear, if the target is missed the powerhead will not come off due to inertia when the spear is stopped short by the shooting line.
- Machined grooves provide grip when using gloves.
- Water escape hole for easy insertion of the spear.
- Completely waterproof, the round is sealed inside on both ends and doesn't require maintenance.
- The powerheads are coated with a clear coating. This keep them looking new longer, aluminum will normally look dull grey in color after exposure to salt water.
About reloadable powerheads
We know from personal experience and have received feedback from other divers, that the common reloadable powerheads which use a piece of rubber hose to retain the round and fit the powerhead over the spear, consistently fail to deploy. This happens because the spear point strikes away from the primer. Water resistance/drag act on the powerhead as the shaft is fired, moving it enough to displace the spear point. The rubber hose piece can't keep the spear point in position. This is easy to see upon inspection of the round that misfired. There will be a dent outside the firing area.
A machined aluminum PH with very close tolerance to the diameter of the shaft does not allow this to happen. The spear point strikes in the same spot every time. For this design to work the round must be inserted from the front. In this case there is no other way to keep it in place except with epoxy, which in turn doesn't allow reloading. We suggest to those of you who own a reloadable powerhead to test it before you need it. While there is a comfort element in presuming you are protected, we believe it's better to know for sure than be under a false assumption.
There are manufacturers making a reliable reloadable stainless steel powerhead. also know as a bang stick which is essentially a repurposed alligator hunting tool. Why is such a powerhead not suitable for freedive spearfishing as shark protection? These are the reasons:
- It takes too long to put on the spear, secure in place and remove one or more safeties in a tense situation.
- For consistent effect on a shark a powerful round is required. To accommodate this size round the stainless steel powerhead would have to be too big and heavy to allow reasonable range when mounted on a speargun shaft. So the powerhead is made to use smaller caliber rounds which are less effective.
- It can be deployed by accident, such as by being dropped on the floor or deck of a boat.
- The legality of carrying one may be questioned.
A compact single use aluminum powerhead solves the problem of weight and range while allowing for a powerful cartridge. At the same time eliminating all risk of accidental discharge and any legality issues. This combination of factors makes the Speardiver single use powerhead the best solution for freediving spearfishermen.
* There are no returns for this item.