Freediving Buying Guide

Freediving is the practice of holding one’s breath while underwater. With that being understood, it’s likely you already have some sort of experience with freediving. Whether it was seeing how long you can be underwater in your bathtub or trying to pick up a coin from the bottom of a swimming pool, you have already tried freediving!

See below for freediving gear you'll need to get started:

An ideal freediving mask should have a low internal volume, which requires less air from your lungs to equalize as you descend. Another crucial factor is the skirt — the part of the mask that seals against your face. The skirt should be tailored to fit your unique facial contours, ensuring a secure and comfortable seal. Additionally, the nose pocket should be designed to avoid any pressure points or constriction, allowing the freediver to equalize easily and prevent mask squeeze.

You may have noticed that freediving fins are much longer than scuba diving fins. The reason is scuba divers are generally not in much of a hurry as they have about 60 minutes of air on their back. Freedivers, on the other hand, need to be more efficient. Hence, we have larger and more powerful fins.

A snorkel allows us to breathe while face-down in the water. You will need to catch your breath after a dive and prepare for the next one. The snorkel allows us to do this in the most relaxed way.

As discussed earlier, adding weight helps to compensate for the extra buoyancy of a wetsuit. It is, however, important to remember that weight is a double-edged sword. Not enough and it will be too difficult to get down. Too much and it will be too difficult to get back to the surface. You will be shown how to properly weight yourself as part of any beginner freediving course.

Freediving computers are essential devices that ensure safety and help you standardize and improve your dives. While your freedive computer may not be necessary when you first practice the sport, as you begin adding freefalls and traveling to greater depths, this device becomes more critical in ensuring safety and verifying your progress. Your dive computer will also help you calculate correct ascent profiles, preventing decompression sickness.

Staying visible in the water is a must for every diver. Giving the surface world a sign that someone is beneath the waves is a crucial safety procedure. Using a dive flag helps vessels identify that there are divers just below the surface. Divers may opt to fly a flag from the float they take with them to the water.