r/freediving

Hey everyone! I’m a diver based in BC, Canada and I am completely losing the battle with my long hair. I dive for work, and after long dives, my hair is a knotted disaster. I have noticed this is a common issue across the board, from the freezing BC coast to the tropics.

Due to these frustrations, I have started looking into the feasibility of creating an all-climate, heavy-duty marine hair utility stick. The goal is a formula that locks your hair in place but also keeping it hydrated and healthy —all while being 100% reef-safe for long hours in the ocean.

Because of my day job, this is just a slow-cook, long-term project to see if a real dual-climate solution is even possible. If you deal with this problem your feedback is critical! 

• What products, braids, or hacks do you currently use to protect/keep your hair out of your face?
• What completely fails about those methods? For cold and tropical diving 
• Have you ever actually spent money on a specialized hair product specifically for the ocean to help with this problem?

I would love to hear your feedback. This will help me understand if this is an ongoing issue and one worth solving.

Thank you!

I want to check out lakes. What can a scuba diver do to help check for clear spots? There are flooded forests in the lakes. I want to know where to freedive and not run into trees.

Hi everyone! I am looking for some new fins and need some recommendations. I have been freediving for around 2 years (I mainly just like to dive down and look at things lol so not spearfishing or anything like that) and am looking for some new fins. I started out with the Cressi gara 3000 and like them fine. However, I had an ankle injury about a year and a half ago where I tore 3 ligaments and since then the Cressi have been really bothering my ankle, I think the blade is a little stiff for where my ankle strength is at now? I know the ones I have a pretty soft already but any suggestions would be appreciated 😊.

I’ve only been freediving a few times and my last dive was about 3 months ago. Ever since then, both of my ears have been randomly popping whenever I swallow, yawn, or make certain jaw movements. At first it wasn’t that frequent, but since last month, it’s been happening a lot. Whenever it happens, I just pinch my nose and inhale deeply so my ears pop back to normal. It’s such a hassle and getting really annoying though.

Has anyone else experienced this or is it really a common thing for freedivers? I’m not sure what’s causing it or how to fix it, so I’d really appreciate any tips or advice.

Hello,

I have been wanting to get into free diving for a while now and will soon be having a few weeks of spare time.

So I have a few questions related to it, thanks for any help in advance.

I am located in Germany (close to Nuremberg) and have been swimming as a hobby for a while now. I also don't want to waste money on unnecessary stuff and would prefer courses and diving to be as close as possible to me.

1. What equipment do I need to get started (nothing crazy, but should last for a while)?

2. Where can I do a first course / certification and which should I choose (I already read up on it a bit, but don't really know what the advantages of one over another are)?

3. Where can I do actual diving without breaking the bank (I would like to do it somewhat regularly)?

Thank you all so much.

I was diving with a buddy at Coronado Beach in San Diego. After getting past the breaking waves, I floated on my back to relax and do my breath up before diving.

Right as i was about to duck dive, i started feeling seaweed brushing against me. Even though i know it was probably just seaweed, my mind immediately racing.. what if it's a shark, a stingray ? what if i get tangled ? i completely lost my calm and ended up aborting the dive :/ Weirdly i don't have these fears in scuba ...

Has anyone also experienced this ? How did you get over that fear of the unknown ? buddy tells me it's just with time, but i hate that, i am missing on so much !

tldr .. how do you stay calm and overcome the feat of sharks, stingrays, getting tangled in seaweed or other unknowns when shore diving ?

Basically: With practice, how long might one expect to be able to increase your static breath hold? 

Some maybe relevant information below...

About 15 years ago I went on a one day 'Intro to Freediving' thing. First half in a classroom learning breathing/meditative techniques, then the afternoon in a pool.

Fast forward to the beginning of this year, and I decided to see how long I could still do a static, dry, breath hold for; i.e. lying on my sofa in the dark. And was slightly surprised that even though I'm considerably less fit now, and had been a fairly heavy smoker for almost all of that time, it was still around about 4.5 mins.

In short… I do already know about breathing techniques, and I'm coming off what I imagine is a relatively high base level*. So given that, what do people think might be a reasonable goal to aim for, after some proper practice? I was thinking of maybe doing a couple of holds per day, and trying to increase the length by maybe 20s per week, if that sounds reasonable?

(FWIW I've been free and scuba diving since a fairly young age. So want to do this both cos it's useful for that, but mostly actually just because I enjoy it. I find static apnea both relaxing, and then also quite exhilarating afterwards, in an endorphin-rush kinda way.)

* I suspect just because I'm quite broad-shouldered, and consequently probably have quite large lungs (?).

Hi everyone! I recently started a freediving course and would like to do some static diving at home this summer.

I know it's strictly forbidden to be alone in the water, but can I safely train alone on land (lying on a bed or sofa) or do I still need assistance?

Thanks!

so theres a vid about guys in africa who freedive 10m all day to gather sand. 5 days a week 2 days off. The guys say after 5 years their health goes to shit. they then inteview a dr and he goes on how this is very bad because the bulbbles might happen, and that you will have flu like symptoms, and just overall body goes to shit doing this much diving. Im sitting there listening like - wait i thought thats for scuba not freediving, but then it hit me:

ive been sick sooo much over the last 5 years with flu like symptoms, and during this time i was diving 2-3 times a week 30 mins to 1hr. Just dives to like 5-20m depending, usually around 10m. but i couldnt believe how often id feel like i had the flu - i started thinking i had long covid.

if diving does affect ur body like this then this starts to make total sense. anyone got pros/docs that could clarify this?

wild i thought this hobby was only making me stronger

Hi everyone! I'm gonna spend 2 full days in Labuanbajo and I wonder what's the best way to freedive around. I know there is plenty of spots and diving centers for scuba, but I haven't found much info about freediving.

Thanks in advance!

I'll go first - In my years of existence, I realized it was just me that overthinks and made my life harder. Freediving required me to relax, trust my people and enjoy whatever was in store for us, in this case, underwater scenery.

When we relax more, we learn how to enjoy things. We learn to detach and realize that we don't own anything in this world and it just exists for us to enjoy. Changed how I live my life ever since!

What's yours?

Hello guys few days ago i was freediving and i was kinda deep(not sure how deep but not more than 10m),i was trying to reach the floor but couldn't, and i dived a few times very fast. And since then i am getting winded,breathe very shallow and sometimes need to gasp for air mid sentence. Also yesterday my chest started to hurt too.

So I'm located in Alaska, and mostly dive very cold, glacier fed rivers and ocean that's between 40-45 F. I'm planning to return to a place where I've dove in the past, but you have to go in the winter when it's cold so that the glacier sediment clears up and you can actually have some visibility.

When I've gone in the past, I had a friend's house to crash at and take a hot shower to stave off the hypothermia. He moved, so I'm trying to figure out the best way to do this. I'm honestly very broke, and can't really afford to rent an AirBnb or anything like that, so planning on ferrying to the spot, hitch hiking to the river, and tent camping for a weekend to dive all day as much as I can. The water temp will be around 38 F, and the air temps will be around freezing (last time I went there was over a foot of snow).

I'm trying to figure out a way to warm up after I get out of the water. Usually I dive for around 2-2.5 hours in these conditions, then need to get out as I'm starting to shiver uncontrollably. I mostly stay in shallow water, and don't push my breath holds in these conditions, so no need to worry about dying while diving, but I am worried about being able to get warm after. For reference I dive with a 8/7/6MM Hollis Neotek V2 wetsuit.

A couple of options I've considered:

1. Getting a hot tent with a wood stove or propane stove - Strongly considering but honestly pretty expensive and not sure how it would go with a cheap one. Also, will add lots of weight and gear to carry as well
2. Battery powered heated clothes - I don't know anyone that has ever actually used this stuff so no idea if it works well or not but I've seen them advertised
3. Making myself a thermal wrap - Basically reflective emergency blanket inside my warmest sleeping bag and wool clothes in my tent - just not sure if it will suffice depending on how cold I will get, specially with such cold outside temps in a tent
4. Portable sauna tent - I know they exist but haven't taken the time to research cost and details

So, does anyone have any thoughts or suggestions? Anyone else dive in remote cold water?

I wanna know how can i stop swallowing when holding my breath, i know its important to not swallow deep in the water so i gotta train so but i end up swallowing when i reach 1min30 or 2min face in bowl.

Im 16 btw

I'm unfamiliar with the conditions in South Florida, I've only gone snorkeling there during January when it was windy but consistently sunny. I want to visit to get a free diver certification and do some snorkeling, but I only have a few weeks in July available to go this year and I'm wondering if it'd be worth it with the weather possibly impacting visibility. Ft Lauderdale area. Thanks