Our Top Spearguns & Polespears for 2023/24 from £50-£500+

Our top recommended spearguns & polespears for 2023/24

This guide is broken down into different price categories ranging from £50 to £500+ showing our top picks for spearguns and polespears.

With so many guns on the market it’s hard to choose the right one that will suit your hunting needs, so this guide is here to help you find the right gun at the right price. Most of these guns are our best sellers and our personal favorites that we have field tested ourselves.

Whether you’re starting out or looking to upgrade, we stock the widest range of spearguns and brands in the UK so will always have something to suit your budget and hunting needs.

Over the past year we have found that single 16mm banded spearguns are the most popular, the lower price and lighter package makes these a favorite for use in the UK especially with beginners. These guns are easier to use and maneuver than twin band versions and for the most part have enough range and power for most scenarios.

For twin bands, 14mm seems to be the favorite as they are quick to reload and are a similar weight to a single 16m band gun as they often use the same thickness spear around 6.5mm. Twin band guns offer more range and versatility and are becoming more popular for beginners as it saves money in the long run and offers more value for money on the initial speargun purchase.

If your looking to purchase a speargun we highly recommend getting a railgun as not only are they more accurate but the components usually fitted are of a higher standard and better value for money, these start at £99.99. Railguns offer better upgradability and longevity as they often save you buying twice. If your budget allows you to jump straight to a gun setup with a dyneema wishbone this is the ideal choice as they are very easy to upgrade and are usually a step above in quality than guns using metal wishbones.

Once you have a railgun with a dyneema wishbone most of the features after this are incremental such as higher quality trigger mechanisms, rubbers and spears, the latter of which are easily upgradable and universal across most spearguns. We have found that this is becoming the most popular choice for beginners, as it’s better value for money to skip past the beginner guns with metal wishbones or no rails. Going for a higher standard of gun around £130+ that already has dipped latex rubber and often a better spear increases the value for money massively and is cheaper than buying a £100 gun and adding better parts down the line.

If your budget is around £150-£200 this is where you will find lots of intermediate and higher level spearguns with either one or two bands, most guns will come with dipped latex rubber and are more likely to have carbon steel or Sandvik steel spears rather than cheaper Inox 7-14PH steel. Pretty much all mid to high end aluminium guns will come in under £200 with mostly rollers and carbon guns being above the £200 mark. What this means is for the vast majority of spearos you only need to spend around £150 on average and around £200 max to get a very high quality gun which will last you a lifetime.

Below £100

Labrax Starter & Salvimar Wild Pro

£100 – £150

Rob Allen Cobia, Salvimar V-Pro Mono-rail & Labrax Eleanor Expert, Labrax Falcon Open

£150 – £200

Rob Allen Snapper, Labrax Eleanor Shoot, Siglasub Nemesis Pro, Salvimar Ares

£200 – £300

Rob Allen Snapper Roller, Rob Allen Tuna Roller, Rob Allen Kawa Carbon, Salvimar Nightmare, Epsealon Spartan Carbon

£300 – £500

Sigalsub Nemesis Pro Carbon, Pathos Laser Carbon Roller, Rob Allen GT Carbon Roller

£500+

Riffe Euro Travel, Orca Evo, Rob Allen Timberline Roller

Polespear top picks

Salvimar Polespear 14 with additional flopper tip, Epsealon Ocean Aluminium 140/190, Headhunter Predator Carbon Roller 8ft

Top spearguns below £100

Labrax Starter £35.99 – £50.99:

As the name suggests this is the perfect starter gun, but don’t let the low price and basic name fool you, this gun offers great value for money. The starter offers very similar specs to its competitors, like the Cressi Apache but comes in £45 cheaper. Rigged with a single 14mm standard band, 7mm spear and a stainless-steel mechanism which is only usually found on guns around £100. We think this gun is the perfect weapon of choice for the newbie Spearo and those who want to have a cheap intro into spearfishing without breaking the bank.

Salvimar Wild Pro £74.99:

This gun is our go to choice for people who want a cheap intro into spearfishing but want something of higher quality than the Labrax with room to upgrade and modify. Fitted with a proper barbed spear, stainless steel mech, single 14mm band and 6.5mm spear, the Wild Pro has a higher power to weight ratio than the Labrax Starter giving it more range. The mech is the same used in other Salvimar guns such as the V-Pro, Wild Carbo, Mono Rail and Voodoo Rail so you can easily upgrade to a thicker single band or twin 14mm bands without overpowering the mechanism giving you plenty of upgradability before needing to buy a completely new gun or surpassing the £100 mark.

£100 – £150

1. Rob Allen Cobia £129.99 – £149.99
2. Labrax Eleanor Expert £144.99
3. Salvimar V-Pro Mono Rail £126.99 – £133.99
4. Labrax Falcon Open £95.99-£120.99

All the guns featured from this point onwards are all railguns with stainless steel mechanisms. Most guns in this price bracket will be simple railguns with one band usually with extruded rubber cheaper PH 7-14 steel spears but closer to the £150 mark you start to get guns with dipped rubber and better spears with tuned barbs such as our top pick the RA Cobia.

Rob Allen Cobia £129.99 – £149.99:

Our top pick in this price range, solid and reliable with plenty of power in a compact lightweight package. The Cobia comes with a single 16mm dipped Latex rubber, 6.6mm carbon steel spear and is rigged ready to go with the shooting line attached providing the best value for money for an entry level railgun and any gun below £150. As the Rob Allen guns are very modular you can upgrade the power and specs of this gun with ease without having to have a shop do it for you. The Rob Allen guns are famous for being heavy hitting, built like tanks and backed up by a lifetime warranty. They might not look as pretty as the European guns, but they will take more punishment and be more reliable. No other off the shelf guns have the same global reputation for build quality & performance.

Labrax Eleanor Expert £144.99:

Our second choice speargun under £150 is the Eleanor Expert from Labrax, equipped with a single 18mm dipped Dunlop rubber, left/right-handed grips and reel as standard this mid-range open muzzle railgun offers plenty of power and is a solid all-round choice for the price. The spear is a finned 7 – 14ph stainless steel with a tuned flopper and comes standard with the roller anchor point built into the handle giving you the ability to convert the gun to a roller buy adding the muzzle later down the line.

Salvimar V-Pro Mono Rail £126.99 – £133.99:

Another great beginner railgun giving you all you need to get started into spearfishing designed with room to be upgraded. Most sub £100 guns aren’t railguns so you end up buying twice as there’s only so much you can do to upgrade them. Starting on a railgun means you skip this step entirely, especially when you jump to a dyneema wishbone.

Labrax Falcon Open £95.99-£120.99

The Falcon Open is the cheapest railgun we stock and is a great entry level speargun, despite its low price it does have a dyneema wishbone rather than metal making it a great platform to use to upgrade the parts. Although the spear notches are beveled, they aren’t completely smooth so the wishbones will wear over time. The Falcon comes with a single 14mm band and 7mm spear so has a lower power to weight ratio than the other guns in this category but for £99.99 for a 75 and an extra £20 for a better thicker latex band its still cheaper than the next best option.

£150 – £200

1. Snapper
2. Labrax Eleanor Shoot
3. Sigalsub Nemesis Pro Black

Rob Allen Snapper Railgun £179.99

 The Rob Allen Snapper is the middle of the range for the Rob Allen Railguns, fitted with twin 14mm dipped latex Primeline rubbers, 7mm Carbon Steel/Spring Steel spear and pre rigged with 2mm shooting line and snap clip bungee. This gun offers plenty of power for UK hunting and abroad, the lightweight bands make it easy and quick to load but offer more range and power than a single banded gun allowing you to close the distance on those more skittish fish staying further away. The carbon steel 7mm spear gives greater penetration and velocity at range and is stronger than a stainless-steel spear and is fitted with a tuned flopper in the Hawaiian configuration facing downward. Like all Rob Allen guns the Snapper comes with a lifetime warranty and is built like a tank, we like to call them the AK 47 of spearguns, they will take a beating and keep on going. Simple and effective, these guns are easy to upgrade and maintain, the mechs slide out with the removal of one pin and is encased in the reinforced glass nylon cassette, this can be swapped to a mech with a loading butt, however we prefer it without as it gives a more comfortable angle when loading the gun.

Labrax Eleanor Shoot £159.99

 As with all the Labrax range the Eleanor Shoot offers great value for Money, this is another twin 14mm band speargun utilizing dipped latex rubber but with a lighter weight 6.5mm 7-14ph stainless steel spear with a tuned Tahitian flopper on top. The gun comes fitted with a reel, but the line isn’t very strong and we generally don’t advise the use of reels. This is a great simple open muzzle twin band speargun and the perfect gun to upgrade to from a cheaper model like the falcon or Salvimar wild. The Shoot also comes with a right-hand grip as standard and a left as spare making it very ergonomic to handle, the gun overall is not as lightweight as other European style guns like Sigalsub and Pathos, but the extra weight will help with accuracy. Like the Eleanor Expert the reel mount on the Shoot can hook roller bands giving it good upgradability if you were to ever swap the muzzle to a roller.

Sigalsub Nemesis Pro Black £174.99-£209.99

 The Nemesis range from Sigalsub is our favorite range of Euro style guns that we stock and the highest quality. By Euro guns, what we mean is any gun with a reverse mech that sits behind the trigger and uses a stainless-steel spear. All the guns are equipped with Primeline Dipped Latex Rubber, which is the gold standard for spearguns, plus Sandvik stainless steel spears. The guns come in 3 stages the One with a single 16mm band, the Pro with twin 14mm bands and the Plus with twin 16mm bands. We find the Pro to be the best middle ground of the 3 as the One only has one hole for a band it lacks upgradability, and the Plus only comes in 92cm and above. The Sigalsub mechanisms are super smooth, and the line release is very easy to use and fit a double wrap. The only thing to consider with these guns is that unlike other gun sizes are measured by barrel length. The Sigal guns measure from the trigger to the end of the barrel so the 82 is essentially 75cm so they may feel a little shorter than other guns.

Salvimar Ares £190.99-£212.99

Our top pick for best new speargun of the year with a 75cm model costing just shy of £200, this is the speargun we have been the most impressed by. The unique and innovative barrel shape gives extra buoyancy to the gun allowing it to float exceptionally well for an aluminium gun, making it feel just as good as many wooden guns and close to some very expensive carbon guns like the Orca Evo or C4 Gladius. When you are sat on the bottom you barely have to grip the barrel as its almost neutrally buoyant and a small flick of your finger on the trigger guard and it points exactly where you want it. As with all Salvimar guns it’s very well made and very ergonomic to use, the spear and mechanism have a locking shape cut into each so loading the spear is perfect every time, don’t worry though you can still use any Euro spear with this gun. Our only critique of the Ares would be the bands and wishbones, it uses extruded rubber, and the wishbones wear if they slide around when loading, a very cheap and easy thing to upgrade and the barrel and design of the gun is what really sets this gun apart.

£200 – £300

A very competitive price range with loads of options on the market, this is where you start encountering rollers and carbon guns

1. Rob Allen Snapper Roller
2. Rob Allen Tuna Roller
3. Rob Allen Kawa Carbon
4. Salvimar Nightmare
5. Epsealon Spartan Carbon

Rob Allen Snapper Roller £279.99

 We were super happy when this model came out at the beginning of the year as we always had people asking for a less powerful and lighter roller than the Tuna Roller. Especially for the UK, this gun is perfect and has been very popular this year. Essentially just the roller version of the snapper using the same spear and band thickness, 7mm and 14mm but giving you the extra 20-30% of range that comes with a roller. This makes your 80cm roller shoot like a 100-105 standard snapper perfect for when you have varying vis or want more range, making rollers very useful for the UK. As the bands roll over the muzzle it cancels out a lot of the recoil aiding in accuracy and giving a clearer sight picture than the twin band gun its derived from.

Rob Allen Tuna Roller £289.99

The famous Rob Allen Tuna Roller is always a favorite of ours, the go to gun for maximum range and firepower. A super popular gun for people hunting abroad, in the 110 length this gun is an absolute cannon and will take out any reef fish within range and is great for use in blue water scenarios too.

Like its standard variant, the Tuna this gun uses a 16mm band and a 7.5mm Carbon Steel Spear giving it a lot of weight and penetration.

For UK use we recommend 70 or 80cm giving you good maneuverability and plenty of range.

Rob Allen Kawa Carbon £249.99-£364.99

The only carbon gun we have included in this price range, sometimes the simple guns are the best. This model is the carbon version of the Rob Allen Sparid and features a single 16mm Latex rubber and 6.6mm Carbon Steel Spear. In a lot of cases, especially in the UK one band is all you need and having a lighter gun overall will aid in hunting the fish as you can maneuver the gun easier and quicker and for the most part will have plenty of range for most scenarios. As the spear is carbon in 6.6mm you can still double band this gun later on and won’t have to worry about losing accuracy as the carbon steel spears have a very high tensile strength and will take a lot of force to warp them when shooting. The main advantage of the carbon barrel is the extra buoyancy it gives to the gun, it might only be a few hundred grams lighter out of the water than the sparid but in the water is where the difference is really felt. Having used both the carbon and aluminium versions of the Rob Allen range, we will always go for the carbon guns as they float so much nicer in the water.

Salvimar Nightmare £255.99-£311.99

The latest speargun from Salvimar, the Nightmare is the upgraded version of the Hero speargun. It now comes in a stealthy matte black finish and for the first time in a long time its equipped with Primeline latex rubber. The main advantage of this gun is the barrel shape, its often referred to cuttlefish or elliptical, essentially an oval shape barrel to give more air space and buoyancy. However, the Nightmare is a heavier gun on purpose to soak up the recoil and improve accuracy. That doesn’t mean its heavy in the water though, just like a wooden gun the weight is compensated for by the buoyancy and is lighter in the water. The gun is fitted with twin 16mm bands, 7-14ph stainless steel spear and comes with an angled grip.

Epsealon Spartan Carbon £235.99 – £251.99

The Epsealon Spartan Carbon is great value for money compared to competing twin band carbon guns. Coming in cheaper than most double and single band carbon guns from Pathos, Rob Allen and Sigalsub. Equipped with 2x 14mm dipped latex bands which are easy to load and powerful, combined with a 6.5mm Sandvik stainless steel spear with a double flopper and spear cone. This setup is great for the uk and abroad, the double flopper gives great holding power and is quite a rare feature to come standard on off the shelf guns.

£300 – £500

1. Sigalsub Nemesis Pro Carbon
2. Rob Allen GT Carbon Roller
3. Pathos Laser Carbon Roller

Sigalsub Nemesis Pro Carbon £283.99-£363.99

Like its aluminium little brother this gun is twin 14.5mm, but the carbon guns come with a bit of a twist. The bands used are extreme purple Sigalsub rubber which use a smaller internal diameter of 2.5mm compared to the standard 3mm meaning your 14.5mm small bore rubber acts like 16mm but with no extra drag. It has a thicker 6.75mm spear to accommodate the extra power.

Rob Allen GT Carbon Roller £349.99-£439.99

The GT Carbon Roller is the carbon version of the Tuna Roller, fitted with a 16mm roller band and 7.5mm tri cut carbon steel spear, this gun provides some serious power in a lighter package.

As with all Rob Allen guns this model is fitted with dipped Primeline latex rubber and the ceramic roller muzzle which gives it that silky smooth drag free shooting action. The ceramic muzzle also adds a bit of weight helping with accuracy.

Pathos Laser Carbon Roller £289.99-£380.99

The Pathos Laser Carbon Roller has a few handy features that allow you to vary the power. The 16mm roller band can be set in 3 locations underneath plus the option of 3 fins on the spear including a halfway point which helps with loading.

The gun also comes with a 14mm booster band on top for an extra bit of power or if shooting in holes or close range. The gun is fitted with a 7mm Sandvik stainless steel spear and a reverse D’Angelo 2 mechanism. The spear overhang is quite short because of the reverse mech and the flopper sits in a small groove keeping it flush with the muzzle.

£500+

1. Riffe Euro Travel
2. Orca Evo
3. Rob Allen Timberline Roller

Riffe Euro Travel £898.99-£923.99

The legendary Euro Travel from Riffe is our top pick for guns over £500. The euro travel speargun splits in half in the center of the barrel and the spear making it super easy to travel with, hence the name. Made from 3 pieces of teak laminated together for extra strength, fitted with a magnetic muzzle for easy reloading, twin 16mm Primeline bands and 7.5mm 7-14PH stainless steel shaft.

As with all Riffe guns they are beautifully made and renowned for being the best off the shelf wooden guns on the market. Riffe have been in the business over 40 years and some of their earliest guns are still being used today and are designed to last a lifetime.

Orca Evo £1650

The Orca Evo really is the benchmark when it comes to carbon spearguns, beautifully made and unbelievably agile for their size. The Orca Evo guns weigh a fair bit out of the water with the 100cm weighing just shy of 2.7kg, however because of the design of the carbon mold once in the water they are completely neutrally buoyant. This design is a game changer, we have used the 100 here in Cornwall in as little as 2m vis hunting in string weed and the gun still performs excellently despite its length because of how lightweight it feels in the water.

The gun is equipped with Ermes Sub reverse trigger mech, twin 14.5mm small bore brown reactive EVO Sigalsub rubber and a 7.5mm shaft. This setup combined with the mass of the gun means it barely moves when you shoot it making it deadly accurate at range and you barely have chance to blink and the spear has already hit the end of a double wrap and still tries to pull the gun out of your hand.

Rob Allen Timberline Roller £584.99-£884.99

The Rob Allen Timberline guns are a unique design that is a mixture of a carbon and wooden gun.

The guns are essentially standard Rob Allen GT Carbons Or GT Carbon Rollers but with the addition of timber ballasts along the barrel to add mass and increase buoyancy. The guns are each individually weighted with the addition of small lead weights to balance them. One of the complaints usually associated with the RA guns is that they are heavy, often this is because they use the heavier carbon steel spears and the ceramic rollers, going for a carbon gun makes this less of an issue but the timberline takes it a step further.

Polespear top picks

1. Salvimar Pole Spear 14, with additional flopper tip
2. Epsealon Ocean Aluminium 190
3. Headhunter Predator Carbon Roller 8ft

Salvimar Pole Spear 14, with additional flopper tip £75.98

The Salvimar Pole Spear 14 comes in two lengths, the 90cm and 160cm, for this review we are basing it off the longer model at 160cm as this is the most useful.

The spear comes standard with a 3 prong barbed paralyzer head on an m6 thread which can be removed and swapped out for the flopper tip for more holding power. This combination gives you a lot of versatility in the fish you can hunt. The only thing missing is a heat shrunk grip for better ergonomics as the grooves in the Aluminium finish don’t offer much grip unless using with bare hands.

Epsealon Ocean Aluminium 140/190 £89.99

This pole spear comes with two forward sections so you can change the length from 140-190cm and is fitted as standard with a flopper tip head, we have not found any accessories that are compatible to change this to a 3 or 5 prong. This pole spear is very light for its length and comes with a heat shrunk grip so is very easy to use even with gloves. Can be broken down into 3 parts the smallest being 96cm

Headhunter Predator Carbon Roller 8ft £424.99

This is a serious polespear for those wanting a big boost in performance from a standard polespear. It is fitted with a solid 12mm solid rubber band and slip tip as standard.

Not only is the Headhunter Predator range made from carbon fibre but this model is a roller design which gives it 3 main advantages over the standard circular band style of pole spears. The first is that you are stretching the band around the bottom of the pole making it much more comfortable, especially with the loading grip so you can hold the tension for way longer than a normal pole. This means you aren’t holding the grip at the front of the pole and instead holding in the middle meaning you have a good 3 ft of pole in front of you to close the distance on the fish like a normal gun making it easier to point and more accurate. The second advantage is that because of the roller design the pole fires very quickly and is great for stepping up from small reef fish and being able to take down bigger fish. The third advantage is because the roller band is anchored on one side and comes around the bottom, you do not have to twist the band as you pull it which again makes it much easier to pull and hold in place.