• Using smaller tubing will make for easier loading. The trade off is that more bands are required to maintain the overall power.
• Using larger tubing will make for quicker loading if planned to yield the same power with less bands.
• Obviously changing the tubing size while maintaining the same number of bands will either increase or decrease the overall power.

• Significantly increasing the overall power above that of the speargun manufacturer's suggested band set, may cause damage to the speargun and the spearo. Even if the speargun can handle it, too much power can actually be counterproductive by causing the spear shaft to flex when fired. This is known as "band whip". The result is decreased range and accuracy.
• Using larger diameter rubber than a speargun is designed to accommodate, can damage the gun. In the case of wood guns the stock can actually be split by rubber significantly larger than the band eye. Some manufacturers sell muzzle reinforcement kits to allow for the use of larger diameter rubber.
• There are other factors involved in changing the band length which are not covered on this page. These additional factors must be understood and considered before using longer and more critically, shorter bands.

The table below is provided to compare the power difference between different rubber tubing diameters and types. The power of using a certain diameter tubing is compared to that of other tubing diameters assuming bands of equal length. To use the table, locate a tubing diameter in the left hand column. The numbers to the right in the same row are power comparisons to the corresponding tubing listed in the column headings (right column size / top row size). Example: An 11/16in speargun band has 195% of the power of the same length 1/2in band. In other words one 11/16in band is almost as powerful as two 1/2in bands of the same length.

Power Comparison of Different Rubber Tubing Profiles