Prices below are typical street prices in mid-2026; they move with discounts and shaft length, so treat them as a guide rather than a quote. If you're not yet sure a speargun is even the right tool for you, read our comparison of pole spear versus speargun for beginners first — for some trips, a pole spear is the smarter buy.
What €100 Actually Buys a Beginner
Under €100 you get an aluminium-barrel sling gun with a single power band, a 6–7 mm shaft, a stainless trigger mechanism, and usually a basic muzzle and shaft tip. That's everything you need. What you don't get — and don't need yet — is a reel, roller bands, a carbon barrel, or an enclosed-track muzzle. Those are upgrades for when you know what kind of hunting you actually like.
The honest truth: at this level, the gun is rarely the limiting factor. Your breath-hold, your stalking and your aim matter far more than whether you spent €60 or €90. Spend the saved money on a decent mask and a wetsuit that fits.
Cressi Apache: The Default First Gun
The Apache is the gun the internet keeps recommending, and for once the internet is right. It's a closed-muzzle aluminium sling gun, easy to load, accurate in the short-to-mid lengths, and corrosion-sealed. Street prices run roughly €50 for the shortest models up to about €90 for the longer barrels. It's the safe default: nothing flashy, nothing wrong with it.
Salvimar Wild, Wild Pro and Wild Carbo
Salvimar's Wild line is the Apache's main rival and arguably better value. The standard Wild runs around €55–73, the Wild Pro (with upgraded Z-boost screw-in bands) around €69–97, and the Wild Carbo squeezes a genuine carbon-fibre barrel in just under €100 (~€94–99) — remarkable at this price. All come rigged with a 14 mm band and a 6.5 mm shaft, with a stainless mechanism usually found on pricier guns. The 75 cm Wild Pro, a popular first-gun choice, lands around €70.
Mares, Beuchat and Seac Alternatives
If your local shop doesn't stock Cressi or Salvimar, you've still got solid options. Mares (the Bandit and Sniper entry lines), Beuchat (Marlin and Espadon) and Seac all make competent sub-€100 sling guns. None is dramatically better or worse than the Apache or Wild — buy whichever is in stock, in the length you want, at a price you like.
Open vs Closed Muzzle for Beginners
A closed muzzle holds the shaft in a ring, so it's faster and more forgiving to load and aim — ideal for a first gun. An open muzzle gives marginally better accuracy and quicker reloads once you're experienced, but it's fussier to load. For a beginner on a Mediterranean trip, closed muzzle wins almost every time.
Sizing Your First Speargun for the Med
For Mediterranean shore diving, a 75–90 cm gun is the all-round sweet spot: short enough to swing in caves and rock, long enough to reach bream and mullet in open water. Go 55–60 cm only if you'll hunt almost entirely in holes and tight rock; go 100 cm+ only for open blue water and bigger fish. Remember that the advertised size is the barrel, not the shaft — a detail covered in speargun size vs shaft length, explained, and one that matters a lot when you fly.
| Model | Type | Price | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cressi Apache | Closed muzzle, alu | €50–90 | |
| Salvimar Wild | Open muzzle, alu | €55–73 | |
| Salvimar Wild Pro | Open muzzle, alu | €69–97 | |
| Salvimar Wild Carbo | Carbon barrel | €94–99 | |
| Mares / Beuchat / Seac entry | Closed/open, alu | €60–95 |
What to Skip at This Price
Skip the trident (paralyser) tip the shops try to upsell — a single flopper tip is more accurate and holds fish better for everything you'll target. Skip the reel, skip carbon unless it's free (the Wild Carbo aside), and don't agonise over brand. Put the difference toward the rest of your kit: our no-hype beginner gear kit list covers what actually deserves your money, and the whole trip ties together in our guide to travel spearfishing in the Mediterranean.
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