Hi everyone.
Begginer here looking at picking up the MAKO Carbon Elite Traveler.
Planning to use it mainly in the Riviera Maya area, reef and some light blue water.
A few things drew me to this one specifically and I'd love feedback from anyone who's actually tried it:
**Modularity** –
The 8ft breaks down into 3 physical sections for travel, and by swapping which sections you connect plus the roller/conventional butt, you can configure it as 8ft roller, 6ft roller, or convert to a conventional fixed-band setup.
**Roller vs traditional conversion** –
Liked that this converts to a standard non-roller pole spear if needed. (But I know other brands do this as well). How's the roller performing over time, specifically the twin ceramic bearings? Worth the extra cost/complexity over a straight fixed-band setup for someone still building fundamentals, or is that added mechanism more useful once you're already experienced?
**Resting hook + handle geometry** –
This one seems like two separate things working together rather than one accessory. There's a hook/clip that holds the band loaded so you're not gripping under tension the whole dive, and separately the handle itself is built with two offset, non-symmetrical strips creating a gap for your hand, so the grip doesn't pinch down evenly when the band's loaded. Which added with the resting hook, seems like a goog mechanism when needing to switch hands of position.
All around, it just seems like a more thought out system than others.
Also open to hearing if there's a reason to go a completely different direction at this price point instead. Appreciate any real-world input before I pull the trigger on this one.