Before moving straight away towards the freediving gear, we must have some know-how about freediving. As the name suggests, freediving is a type of diving slightly different from scuba diving. The main thing that differentiates freediving from scuba diving is the breathing apparatus. In freediving, you won’t have to take the breathing equipment underwater and need to rely on your breath holding ability and breath up on the surface.
Regardless of the breathing apparatus, the divers undergoing freediving still need some equipment to enhance the diver’s performance with lesser efforts. This equipment is indeed known as the freediving gear. The freediving gear is usually designed to be designed so that it is lightweight and gives comfort to the user.
Freediving gears can allow you to go even deeper into the water very easily. Following are some of the tips and things included in the set of freediving gear.
1. Wetsuit:
Both of these things are considered the most important when considering purchasing freediving equipment. If you want a wetsuit that fits you well and is composed of such material as durable in salty water, you have to spend a greater amount. The price range of these suits start from 250 dollars and can be up to 400 dollars.
These suits are made with general fitting standards. But if you want to get your customized suit according to your own measurements, it would cost you higher than usual suits. Their price starts from 400 dollars and can be as high as 800 dollars, depending upon the brand and suit type.
2. Weight Belt:
The weight belts must be strong enough to hold your wet suits under high pressures inside the seas. Don’t go for a cheap belt because in saving some money, you can face a lot of trouble in while diving. Choose a belt made up of flexible rubber to compensate for the compression of your wetsuit deep down in the water.
Good quality and durable weight belt can cost as little as 30 dollars and can go up to 50 dollars depending mainly upon the quality.
3. Snorkel:
After the wetsuit and the weight belt, we rank snorkel as the most important part of the freediving gear. It’s not that much costly and can make a huge difference in your diving experience because it makes your dives significantly pleasurable, and it’s also convenient for breathing.
Keep one thing in mind while purchasing the snorkel that it should be flexible enough and must comply with your head.
4. Fins:
Whenever you think of freediving, the fins appear in your mind don’t they? But one thing you need to understand that they won’t be that much necessary at all as compared to other equipment for free diving. But still, if you want to purchase these fins, you can follow the guidelines as follows to understand them better.
- For beginner freedivers, we strongly recommend a budget option fins made up of plastic material. And they can cost somewhere between 100 dollars to 160 dollars.
- Then comes those divers who can dive more or equal to a depth of 66 feet are recommended to use these mid-ranged fins. These are made up of cheap fiberglass and can last longer if handled with care. They can cost you somewhere from 200 dollars to 300 dollars.
- The last option is for the professional divers who need to drive long distances in the water. And also, for those who are consistent in diving. We recommend you purchase these fins if you are serious about diving. These are not recommended for beginners. They will cost you more than 300 dollars as they are made up of carbon material.
5. Diving Masks:
Diving masks are also an important part of the freediving gear. Usually, most divers have diving masks that they don’t need to buy repeatedly, but this should be the first thing on your equipment purchase list if you are a newbie in freediving.
It’s most important to make sure you have a mask that fits well on your face. After that you can choose color and style. Most freediving masks are much smaller than your typical snorkel of scuba mask.
6. Freediving Gear Bag:
If you are a diver, you must have some diving equipment, and if you are a newbie who’s just going to purchase the diving mentioned above equipment, you will surely need a bag to keep all these things all together and aligned at one place. There are many different bags of different standards available in the market and online on the dive shops. You can choose one of your own choices.
Essential bags don’t have good enough zippers and are not that durable, but they are still good enough according to the price bracket in which they come. If you are a beginner, you must go for that bag.
But if you are a professional and want a bag according to your level, then you can buy the pro bag with branded zippers and the one with the best durability, guaranteed. But keep in mind that this pro bag’s price tag will be according to its specifications like storage ability, quality of zippers, and material from which it is made. A good bag will last you a long time and is resistant to rust.
7. Dive Computer:
First of all, keep in mind, if you are a beginner diver, you don’t need a diving gauge at all.
Diving gauges are suitable for the professional divers who want accuracy and often want to see their current depth clearly on their gauge. These gauges are really easy to use, which makes them the best choice. As a competitive diver you’re going to want a computer with multiple alarms while a spearo may want a computer that tells you the best surface interval between dives.
They also have a wide range of different gauges depending upon their quality and price range. The basic diving gauges start from as low as 200 dollars, and the professional gauges can be as expensive as more than 1000 dollars. You can choose one according to your budget considering the specifications you need.
Conclusion:
Choose which equipment you need and then purchase, keeping in mind your budget. And hopefully, this guide should have helped you in choosing the diving equipment.
