The Ultimate Guide on Freediving Equipment For Beginners
When starting out on your freediving journey, one of the most important things to consider is investing in the proper freediving equipment. This is so that it ensures a safer and more enjoyable freediving experience. If you’re new to freediving and looking for your first freediving equipment, it can become quite confusing about what equipment you’ll need to suit your freediving needs. With all the different freediving equipment on the market, choosing gear can become quite a task! That's why we're here to help.
There’s a wide range of freediving equipment on the market, but what you should invest in, completely depends on where you’ll be freediving. Here I’ll be explaining some of the most essential freediving equipment and what you should be considering when selecting your equipment.
Relaxation is key when you’re freediving, so you want to use equipment that you feel comfortable, relaxed and warm in. So when you’re browsing for your freediving gear, make sure to try the equipment on and get a feel of how you feel in the gear. If you’re using gear that’s uncomfortable, tight or just not right, it can ruin your whole freediving experience.
4 Essential Freediving Equipment
Freediving Masks
Let’s start with masks, as I believe that they’re one of the most essential items that you need to invest time into when selecting the perfect mask for you. Masks come in a wide range of shapes, sizes and features so you need to find a mask that fits your needs perfectly. Selecting a mask that’s too big can result in mask leakage and mask fog. Investing in a mask that’s too small can cause discomfort and mask fogging. Either way, finding a mask that’s the right size for you is essential to ensure an enjoyable freediving experience.
When selecting a freediving mask, we recommend that you try on a range of different masks in-store so you can get a feel of what feels most comfortable on your face. Here are some things that you can try to see if it’s the perfect fit:
- Hold the mask gently against your face, making sure your hair is not under the skirt.
- Gently inhale through your nose. If the mask stays in place with no air leaking in and then it should be a good fit for you.
- Check that the mask skirt seats evenly against your skin
- Adjust the strap for a comfortable fit and put the mask on to see how the mask feels on your face.
- Try pinching your nose to make sure you can equalise your ears without affecting the fit.
If you’re buying from us online and your mask doesn’t fit right on your face, you can have peace of mind with a 30-day money-back guarantee. You need to make sure that the mask fits. Don’t settle for a good-looking mask if it’s going to fog up or allow leakage constantly.
Here are some of our top freediving masks in our range. You can also view the whole range here.
Freediving Snorkels
Now let’s talk about freediving snorkels. When choosing a snorkel for freediving, we recommend that you select a basic-style snorkel. When selecting a freediving snorkel, all it comes down to is simplicity and comfort. For freediving, you won’t necessarily need all the features that snorkelers might require, such as dry valves and splash guards or any other additional extras as you’re not constantly on the surface - so you won’t always need your snorkel.
Keep it simple and choose an uncomplicated snorkel. Here we stock a wide range of freediving snorkels on our website. Here are a few freediving snorkels that we recommend:
Freediving Fins
Freediving fins are another one of the most important parts of your freediving equipment set. You may have noticed that they are distinctly different from scuba diving and snorkelling fins as freediving fins are considerably longer. Freediving fins are longer and more flexible than snorkelling or scuba diving fins for better efficiency and thrust with as little effort as possible. Freediving fins come in a range of sizes and shapes just like other fins but they also come in a variety of blade hardness levels that affect the propulsion and energy efficiency of the fin.
Freediving fins come in 3 different options which are:
- Plastic
- Carbon Fibre
- Fibreglass
If you’re a beginner freediver, then I’d highly recommend selecting a plastic freediving fin design as fibreglass and Carbon Fibre is for more advanced and deeper free dives. Soft bifins are recommended for beginners because they save energy, minimise oxygen consumption and improve technique.
When selecting a fin, you should be choosing comfort over look and select a fin with the correct size foot pocket so that it doesn't fall off or rub your feet.
Freediving Exposure Protection
Wherever you choose to go freediving, whether it’s warm water or cold, we recommend that you invest in proper exposure protection for your freediving adventures. Wearing exposure protection can keep you safe from things that can sting and keep you warmer for longer, therefore prolonging your freediving experience.
The type of exposure protection that you choose completely depends on where you choose to freedive and how cold you get in the water. If you’re wanting to dive in warmer waters, then a skinsuit might be the exposure protection you need. If you’re freediving in cooler waters, then a 3mm wetsuit might just do the trick.
Again, selecting exposure protection might just come down to how cold you get in the water. If you tend to get colder quicker, then a thicker wetsuit might just do the trick. We stock 3mm, 5mm and shorty wetsuits on our website, so take a look and see which one might fit your needs. But remember, the thicker your wetsuit, the more buoyant you will become. So you might have to use additional weights on your weight belt when freediving.
Here are some of our recommendations on freediving exposure protection:
- Designed for freediving: Orca Mantra Women's Freedive Wetsuit/Orca Zen Men's Freediving Wetsuit
- Skinsuit: Fourth Element Hydroskin Women's Full Suit/Fourth Element Hydroskin Men's Full Suit
- 3mm wetsuit: Fourth Element Xenos Women's 3mm Wetsuit/Fourth Element Xenos Men’s 3mm Wetsuit.
We’re Here to Help
There are many different options of freediving equipment in the market, it may become overwhelming on deciding which equipment will suit your freediving needs.
If you have any questions about freediving equipment, tips and advice, please email us at support@mikesdivestore.com where we have a team of freediving professionals here to assist you in making the right decision on freediving equipment options. Or if you live locally or in the surrounding areas of London, pop in and come visit us in-store where you can try on a wide range of freediving accessories for yourself and get a feel of which styles you like best.
