Polespears are the most versatile, robust and inexpensive pieces of spearfishing equipment you can own. Although they may lack range and power, there is nothing that reloads faster or costs less. But it isn't those material qualities that keep polespear aficionados using those ancient weapons, its the challenge of using one.
Polespears require more skill to use than a speargun or even an Hawaiian sling. Because the range is so limited you have to be able to practically touch the fish to be able to take it. The lack of power also means that you must use discretion; if you can't be sure of taking the fish cleanly you should not take the shot. The upside to all this is the feeling you get knowing that you tested your stalking abilities to their fullest.
The hand spear, or thrusting spear, is a simple pole with a point (or points) on the business end. With your hand cocked back by your hip, you thrust underhand with all your might. Its the least efficient and most challenging way to spear fish. Hardly anybody uses these anymore, usually just when their sling breaks.
Hand spears pose an additional challenge over the polespear. When you thrust the spear forward, you arm creates a big pressure wave which slows your thrust considerably. The pressure wave also alerts the fish, many of which will dodge out of the way long before the spear lands. It is possible to use this to some advantage. When a fish is facing you head on, a thrust will often land in the mid-section of the fish - you will get him in the side as he turns to flee.
Instructions for making an all-wooden handspear appears in the Bricolage section under Wooden Hand Spears.
"Polespear" is the general term for the modern sling spear. They are are a big improvement over the hand spear, as they are faster and more powerful. A polespear is a hand spear with a loop of elastic tubing at the end. You loop the sling around your thumb and pull your hand up the spear shaft, creating tension. If your polespear has a flimsy shaft you can twist the spear as you pull the band up; this will keep the shaft from bending and will rifle-spin your spear when you release it (a dubious benefit).
The design of the polespear you should maximize the efficiency of all the parts. The ideal polespear would be streamlined, lightweight, durable, accept a variety of tips, and dirt cheap.
Wood is the cheapest and easiest to work with. If you want to make one, broom handles, dowels, pool cues, lacrosse shafts, and a myriad of other wooden implements are all polespears waiting to be converted. If you have a choice of wood, mahogany is strong, light, and cheap, and is used in a variety of marine applications. Teak is more seaworthy, but heavier and more expensive.
Aluminum is a fine choice, both solid and hollow. Titanium, which is naturally corrosion resistant, might be the best material yet. Most commercial polespears are made out of fiberglass as its inexpensive and makes a decent spear. However, fiberglass spears are often flimsy or too heavy, depending on their thickness.
I'm sure there are people who disagree with me, but I like light polespears. They can be made to float, which is a nice when you drop it or need both hands to string a fish. Lightweight spears are faster and have better penetration than a heavy spear, too.
When you stretch a sling it exerts a certain amount of force. If you apply that force to a heavy spear it will move slowly. Apply that same force to a spear that weighs half as much and you'll move the spear twice as fast (Force = Mass x Velocity). Regardless of the weight of the spear then, the fish will feel the same amount of force exerted on its body when you hit it. But, you get there faster, so the fish has less time to react. Additionally, a light spear produces more energy.
Energy is calculated as E = .5 x Mass x (Velocity)^2. So if you have a spear that weighs half as much, you produce the same Force and double the Energy. Now I have no idea what is more important for penetration, Force or Energy, but a lighter spear has the same amount of one and more of the other so its got to be better.
One area where heavy polespears may have an advantage is with really large fish. The heavy shaft may help you control the fish better and it may be more durable as well.
Polespears generally come in lengths from 4 to 8 feet. The shorter ones (4-5 feet) are great for hunting holes, are easily maneuvered, travel well, and make the hunt quite challenging. For open water a longer polespear is better, some people using spears up to 7 meters long!
Ideally you'd like to have the smallest possible diameter to reduce the frontal area of the spear. But small diameter spears are really difficult to grip, especially with thick neoprene gloves on. Around 3/4" diameter is a good size, although that's about as small as you can go with a wooden spear.
A tapered shaft makes it easier to hold the shaft as your hand acts on the shaft like a wedge. You don't end up griping the shaft so much as hold your hand in place. Tapering the tip also makes the polespear more streamlined.
Streamlining is something no manufacturer has really addressed. Ever notice how a dolphin can glide though the water effortlessly, but when someone tries to ride one, the dolphin looks like its working overtime? Its a real drag for the dolphin. Tapering the spear towards the tip will make the spear faster as well as making it easier to hold when cocked. But having the butt end taper as well as the front would provide an even better hydrodynamic profile. I've never seen one manufactured that way, though. On golf courses where there is high wind they often use dual tapered flagpoles - quite nice and made from solid fiberglass....
The power of a sling is similar to that of a spring stretched in extension. the more you stretch it the more power it develops. The nature of surgical tubing is that the power will start to fall off after a point. The best power is achieved by stretching the band 250-300% of its length. Most sling bands produce around 25 to 40 pounds of force when stretched to this limit (about a third the power of a typical speargun band).
Slings come in a variety of lengths and strengths. Trident makes color-coded slings for their spears so you can be sure you are getting the right one. The best way to get an idea of the strength of the band is to look at the inside diameter of the tubing - smaller is stronger. Although cheap to buy, you can make your own custom slings quite easily. Instructions for making your own slings appears in the Bricolage section under How To Make Sling Bands.
You have the choice of either a fixed tip (usually a paralyzer) or a threaded tip. The myriad tips available are covered in the Equipment section under Speartips.
A. B. Biller makes some fine fiberglass polespears in a variety of lengths, including a take-down travel spear. They are made from 9/16" diameter fiberglass, which puts them right in between the standard 1/2" and heavy-duty 5/8" spears that Trident makes. Being made of fiberglass they are a bit heavy, but should last a long time. Biller speartips are also high quality and come in every configuration you could ask for: single floppers, slip-tips, paralyzers, etc.
The Biller travel-spear is also made from 9/16" fiberglass with flush metal fittings at the joints. Its a very nice package that shows off the high quality of their polespears. Throw a Biller polespear trigger in the bag with several different tips and you'd have one of the finest travel packages around.
JBL polespears are made out of hollow tapered aluminum. The taper is especially nice as it makes it easier to hold the shaft when the band is fully stretched. JBLs come in 4'-7' fixed lengths and two different take-down lengths. The tip is a 6mm threaded end so you can pick from a variety of points. JBL makes a variety of speartips and a polespear slip-tip as well. If you buy their travel spear it comes with a nice barbed paralyzer and a mediocre single flopper tip.
One thing I don't like about the JBL spears is the sling that comes with it. I prefer a sling with more resistance and theirs is just plain wimpy.
Trident makes fiberglass spears in three lengths and one three-piece travel spear. The solid spears are sold in three color-coordinated lengths: blue is 4 feet, orange is 5 feet, yellow is 6 feet. They come with either a barbless paralyzer or a 6mm threaded end. Either way they are the least expensive polespear you can buy.
The standard Trident polespears are 1/2" in diameter, which is a little bit hard to hold onto when you are wearing thick gloves. So, Trident makes a plastic polespear grip that slips over the shaft. Its kind of bulky and looks like it would create a lot of drag, which is why I've never been tempted to buy the spear and/or the grip.
Trident's travel spear requires the use of gloves. The metal joints that connect the fiberglass sections together are raised and have a sharp edge. They will flay your hands unless you wear gloves.
Trident also makes a heavy duty polespear that is 5/8" diameter and 6 feet long. It would probably last a lifetime. This would be a good choice for halibut, or other heavy fish.
Trident makes a heavy duty sling band that is just awesome. You can recognize it by the inner diameter of the sling hole - very small. Its not at all easy to stretch, and consequently very powerful. You may want to cock it after you see the fish as its too much work to swim around with it fully loaded.
US Divers make a nifty, all black, take-down, hollow aluminum travel spear. It does not taper like the JBL spears, so its harder to hold. It comes with a barbless paralyzer that threads onto the tip. I'm not sure if any other tips work with this spear, though I'm sure adapters are available. Its lighter and breaks down smaller than any of the other spears. If I lived on a remote island and had only some goggles and a bicycle, I'd like to have this spear broken down and strapped to the top tube.
National Divers, in Freemont California, sell two travel polespears that I've seen nowhere else, the Predator and the Stalker. I have no idea if they manufacture them or its someone else. These polespears are different from other polespears because they are telescoping. National also sells a 3-piece graphite polespear as well as a variety fixed length polespears and accessories.
I saw a nice solid aluminum polespear in a shop in L.A. that was made in Russia. It had a knurled grip and oozed quality. I should have bought it when I had the chance. Word has it that the company ceased production to make something more lucrative.
Mr. Riedell makes a two-piece, 8 foot long, solid aluminum polespear. It will last a lifetime, so you can use that to justify the high price. The tip is kind of like a paralyzer excepts that it has a lot more points. Its evil looking, and I bet it works great. I have no contact information for him, if anyone does, please let us know.
Renaud has a polespear he bought in Hawaii. Its an aluminum two-piece affair, beautifully made and simple. Renaud, who makes that polespear and what did you pay for it?
There are probably many more polespear manufacturers that I don't know about. I'm sure there are as many in Europe as there are here, the subtle differences of which would be a joy to behold.
Finally, probably the best polespears are the one you make yourself. Instructions for making an aluminum polespear from a ski pole, ultra-primitive all-wooden hand spears, and other odds and ends are in the Bricolage section.
Trigger activated polespears aren't exactly polespears, and they aren't really spearguns, either. They have the same meager range and power as a polespear, but use a trigger to release the spear. A close relative of the trigger activated polespear is the hinge gun. The hinge gun is examined in the topic, All About Hawaiian Slings. Some places, like the Bahamas, don't allow the use of spearguns or any kind of weapon that uses a trigger to release the spear. The following are not legal hunting weapons there.
There are two commercially available trigger activated polespears.
A. B. Biller makes a polespear handle that houses a trigger mechanism. You can put a standard Biller polespear in the handle (or any 9/16" spear if you can find one) and stretch the sling, where it will remain in tension until the trigger is released. Depending on how you have the butt end of the polespear set up, the spear can be shot free like a Hawaiian Sling, or stay fixed to the handle.
Don't bother trying to get a 1/2" or 5/8" polespear to work in this handle. It works only with the Biller polespears.
I've seen something called a "Siberian Thunker" (or was it "Thumper"?) at the dive shop in Petaluma, which is similar in concept to the Biller polespear trigger. This Thunker uses a break-down metal shaft with a raised notch on it that locks into the handle's trigger mechanism. You have to twist the band while cocking it to prevent the shaft from bending too much. It was rather heavy and a little weird, but also very powerful and cool in a Flash Gordon kind of way.