r/freediving

Hello! I’m looking for some noob advice! I just went snorkeling for the first time in B.C.S., Mexico and now I’m obsessed. I want to start snorkeling and freediving regularly, will probably sign up to take the PADI beginner course soon.

My questions that I’m hoping you lovely folks could help answer:

- what is the best fin length for freediving, and what are the differences in length? Is longer or shorter harder or easier? From what I'm seeing online, shorter for scuba and longer for freediving? I am a strong swimmer as I grew up in the water and I work out regularly so I’m not sure if I would need something for true beginners? But I admit I am a beginner at this new-to-me sport!

- what are the differences in fin material? I am seeing carbon, fiberglass, and plastic. I did see another thread where someone recommended carbon but I'm just curious as to any notable differences when swimming, and practical use.

- what are your favorite brands for fins, mask, etc.? I am assuming I will need to find a local dive shop to try on masks and make sure they fit my face correctly. I've already experienced trying on a mask that had air gaps on the side. I like the look of the Tidal dual lens, and the anti-fog feature seems practical.

- how much weight will I need on a weight belt?

- what brands do we like for swimwear? I (39F) personally would love to give my money to the brands who use recycled materials & donate back to conservation efforts.

- is there an “affordable” underwater camera that is still good quality? I realize good quality is probably not going to be super affordable.

- anything else I should consider before making any initial investments in gear?

Thanks in advance!!

Hello, my husband recently started free diving again. It’s not a major hobby just from time to time looking for spiders or just kinda exploring our coast.
I wanted to get him a diving watch but the more I look the more confused I get. It seems most threads talking about divers watches don’t actually use it for diving at all.
I want something basic but actually useful for diving. Im not even sure what a watch like this should have, I don’t dive at all.
I know he likes one of those casios g shock ones but I am hesitant to drop over 800 euros on something that might not be used much at all. We have a whole house full of items for hobbies we don’t really use 😅 so a basic budget one would probably be enough for a start!
I only really looked at Casio because I know he liked them but also I don’t really wanna buy something that will break quickly cuz it was from a random brand I know nothing about .
So any recommendations for brands or specific models that will work ?

Have been just playing around with holding my breath and seeing how long I can go for but I get discomfort in my throat. Am I meant to be holding my breath with my lungs or by closing off my throat?

This has been bugging me for a while and I want to see if others feel the same.

IG and YouTube have basically created this equation where depth = credibility. Like, a diver hitting 50m gets way more clout online than someone who's been quietly teaching excellent technique and safety at 15m for years. And honestly? that second person is probably a better diver to learn from in most cases.

I think the problem is it pushes newer divers to chase numbers before they really have the experience or fundamentals to handle those depths safely. You see people rushing through certs, skipping proper equalization work, all because they want that deep dive clip for the gram. It's not everyone obviously, but it's becoming a pattern.

The thing that gets me is that the community used to be more about the experience, the breath work, the connection to the water, now half the content out there is just "look how deep I went" with zero context about the training behind it.

Anyway, I’m curious what you guys think, are we losing something along the way because everyone feels like they need to prove how deep they can go?

I’ve never really tried diving but I was swimming with fins just normal length I’m 5’11 in a lake with my friends and we were seeing how deep we could go. I hit about 7.3m before needing to surface and my best breath hold I was able to hit was 1:36. I’m just woundering if I should devote my time towards this hobby because I love swimming and breath holds I do them in my sinks a lot. I just don’t quite know where or what to get started with.

Hello,

I am planning to go to Dahab this November for about 1–2 weeks, and it will be my first time solo traveling.

I completed my AIDA 3 last summer and I’m planning to complete my AIDA 4 or other same lvl certification, so I thought Dahab would be a good place to do it since I am already planning to go there.

I have some problems with my equalization. I’m using Frenzel, but after around 25m I feel like there’s no more air in my mouth to equalize with. I’ve read that I should be able to get to around 40m with Frenzel no mouth fill needed, so I guess I’m doing something wrong with my glottis.

When I reach that deoth, the strong contractions start and I feel like I start losing all the air from my mouth into my lungs. I’m not able to control and close my glottis during strong contractions while also equalizing at that depth.

I’ve also read that in some freediving schools there you might not get the best coaching for specific weaknesses, since you could have a different instructor each day and there might be more than 2 people training at the same time. I feel like that might make it harder to properly work on my equalization issue.

So I’m looking for recommendations for instructors who could help me with this specific problem while also helping me complete my AIDA 4. Ideally, I’d prefer 1-to-2 sessions, which I think would be more fun and maybe more affordable than 1-to-1, while still allowing me to work on my issue.

Thanks!

So I'm a 200 lb 32 year old man about a pant size 38. I'd say I'm semi in-shape, I do work out, so I don't (usually) have (much) of a gut. My body fluctuates.

I think the belt I have is around 50 inches around. I arrange the weights in this order:

-3 lb

-2 lb

-3 lb

-2 lb

-3 lb

For a total of 13 lbs. My belt fits just fine without weights, but once I put these on, it barely closes on the last or 2nd to last hole. And it kinda puts pressure on my stomach. I also don't have pins to keep them in place. Makes me feel a little nauseous. And I wear a 7 mm wetsuit. Lotta pressure on my stomach.

Any advice?

Hello . I’m currently interested in trying to learn to free dive . I’m currently staying at a hotel for a couple month and I’m using their pool to learn how to get more comfortable with different swimming techniques . I’m currently just using googles and no fins . But is there any techniques I can learn in the pool that are helpful for free diving ? Aka equalizing , kicking pattern , swimming pattern or anything I can practice with the pool only being 6 feet deep max ? I know once I go back to where I’m actually from I’m going to take actual free diving courses .

I've been getting into freediving with swedish swim goggles, and after trying out a dive mask the other day, I don't know why anyone uses masks. My swedish goggles work great for me down to 10m, I don't feel pressure difference at all. As well, if I need to plug my nose to equalise, its right there. I replaced the lenses in mine with glass after the plastic got messed up. Visibility is great and no fogging. The rim of my pair are covered in rubber, but the shape is a classic swedish goggle with no flexible seal. I think the key is that they are rigid and very low volume, so they dont compress under pressure and also dont suck my eyes out of my head.

On the comtrary, the dive mask got fogged up, I wasn't able to jaw equalize while wearing it, and plugging my nose through the rubber sometimes causes water to get in the mask.

I am pretty new to all this and obv am not getting down to the depths that some of you are getting to, so I was curious if anyone else was using these.

EDIT: If you have never dived with swedish goggles, and don't know anyone who has, you need not reply. Seriously, there's a reason it's in the title

I'm one of a fairly small percentage of people that have passed out due to asphyxiation. I train jiu jitsu, and over the years I've passed out a couple times. It always came as a surprise and was always on a day I was compromised in one way or another. Maybe I was just getting off being sick, maybe I didn't sleep much, whatever it was, my 'fuse' was not as long as I expected it to be and I ended up waking up wondering what happened.

Now that I am getting into freediving and testing my oxygen supply in a much more hazardous environment, under water, I am wondering if anyone in this world has ever dealt with this. I figure on a bad maybe you would already be able to tell from warm up dives that your 'fuse' is short, and subsequently wouldn't end up attempting dives at the ends of your ability. But has anyone ever been surprised and paid the consequence?

Garmin makes solid watches for freediving (e.g. MK3, Fenix 8 are good). But, there are some things that I just can't believe are still issues. Here is my list.

• Alarms on MK3 and Fenix 8 are basically unusable. I never hear them
• I use my watch in the U.S. for running and have it set to imperial units. But for freediving, I want meters so I have to keep switching units and restarting the app
• We now have good algorithms for determining a safe surface interval (e.g. AIDA and Molchanovs have published formulas). But they're difficult to calculate and the watch should do it for us.

What else annoys you?

I freedive/spearfish and can normally equalize fine with Frenzel. I can go pretty deep and equalize consistently.
But sometimes, right when I start a duck dive, one ear just completely refuses to equalize, even though I’m still basically at the surface. I stop and don’t force it.
After a few minutes, it randomly opens on its own, and then I can dive normally again. It isn’t always the same ear, and it only happens while freediving—not on planes or normally on land. I’m not congested either.
The annoying part is it happens at least 3 times every session, which can ruin a dive when I’m trying to spearfish.
Anyone else experienced this? What could cause it? 🌊

I recently jumped off a boat with free dive fins and swam around a kelp paddy for the first time and I am hooked. I am super interested in learning and am thinking about taking courses from a shop near me that has good reviews. My ultimate goal would to be able to do blue water spear fishing, but I know that’s several steps and lots of learning in the future before I get there.

I’m just super nervous about the breath holding part of this. I can’t imagine being able to hold my breath for minutes. At about 45 seconds holding my breath while resting I get the panicky urge to breathe. I’m in alright physical shape, I can tackle strenuous backpacking trips but don’t do regular cardio exercise. Would I really be able to train up and learn to hold my breath that long and dive down and putz around with a spear gun without panicking and suffocating? Does this require lots of specialized training?

I have my advanced open water scuba cert and love scuba diving, I’m very comfortable in deep water and around reefs, have good buoyancy control and have never had problems equalizing. I even did a bit of lionfish spearfishing once and loved it, but that was just short snorkeling dives in a shallow reef with a short sling spear.

This is the list of the top deep (+75M) freedive training spots for experienced divers wanting to do their deep training but need only a safety diver a few times per week and use of the deep dive line/buoy/platform. Not for "training courses or camps".

The requirements are: 1.) Deep +75m availability and 2.) Warm water +25°C

Dahab, Egypt is, IMO the absolute best overall place for deep freedive training and medium-term living but only from Aug-Nov due to the water temp. Very economical too without trouble in finding COMFORTABLE accommodation under $1K per month. Those on a budget could easily get by on $1-2K per month in total.

Dominica looks like the easiest access for easy deep freediving from shore but very surprising to see the island is priced very highly. Using AirBnB, I don't see any house available for rent for under $2.5K-3k per month. So this place, while the diving is probably second only to Dahab is multiples higher in price and one can expect to pay around $3-5K per month for total living expense if desiring comfort. According to AirBnB the cheapest rental on the island is that of a literal TENT on the dirt and even that is +$1K per month, which is absolutely ridiculous and downright patronizing.

Nicaragua now has recently established freediving at the freshwater lake for perfect conditions and +100m depth. Accommodations there look to be $1-2K per month. Estimated total monthly cost is $2-3K.

Mexico Cenotes looks good but likely only for short-term training stays since the deep cenotes are not easy to access and can't simply just jump in a dive since they are owned by people and it requires more planning and money--like around $100 per dive session. Rental accommodations look reasonable around town at around $1-2K per month but since the cost per dive is overall more in price, so likely around $3k per month total.

Panglao, Philippines Has to be the best spot in the country, which is not in the middle of nowhere and has access to amenities. Comfortable rental accommodations can be found for just under $1k per month and SuperHome is the best priced for training only costing around $20 per session (they will pair you since there are many divers always training). Perfect for year round diving in warm water.

Roatan, Honduras has to be one of the top AMERICAS diving spot. Accommodations with comfort range from $1-2K per month but I am not sure how much the cost of freediving will be--assuming one just needs a safety on a few dives per week.

Mediterranean: Greece and Kas, Türkiye look great but are only warm in the summer and I'm willing to bet won't beat the prices of Dahab nor the dive conditions at the Blue Hole.

Feel free to add to this list with estimated TOTAL monthly comfortable accommodations and training cost that require only using the diving line and the need a safety diver on 1 main dive of a session and surface safety only for warm ups or for non deep dives.

Unfortunately, there's NOT THAT MANY PLACES in the world having easy access to warm and deep waters with easily affordable accommodations just minutes or meters away.

Hawaii could be possible but seems many of the people living there are traveling to Panglao!