Freediving, what’s that you say? And why would I want to learn to Free dive in Kona Hawaii or anywhere else for that matter? The answer is to be able to explore the underwater world more closely in a fun, exciting and most importantly safe manner. If your someone who has a love for being in the water and yearns to explore the ocean realm in the most non cumbersome way possible then Freediving might be just what you’re looking for and I would suggest that you learn to Free Dive in Kona Hawaii which is one of the best places in the world to do so. But what exactly is Freediving and why should I think about learning to Free Dive in Kona Hawaii as compared to anywhere else in the world?
Freediving vs Scuba Diving
Basically “Free Diving” is like “Scuba Diving” but without a tank on your back so hence the name. You are in fact free of a lot of the heavy gear that scuba divers have to carry in order to dive such as the need to have what’s called “BCDs” that hold the tanks on your back and regulators that attach to the tanks so you can breathe underwater. Though Free Divers do have their own specialized gear they use which I will get into later it is not nearly as much to lug around as a Scuba Diver which allows a Free Diver to more easily access the water from both boat and shore and has more economy to it in that you do not have that extra gear cost etc. What Free Diving and Scuba Diving have in common is that they both allow you to get down to depth in order to experience sea life closely but what separates them the is how long you can stay down at that depth. In Scuba Diving you are limited by how fast you breath air out of your tank at depth and in Free Diving you are limited by how long you can stay down at depth on a single breath of air. What Free Diving should not be confused with is “Snorkeling” as a snorkeler spends their time on the surface of the water looking down onto the reef and they use more common types of gear more like a Scuba Diver might use such as mask, snorkel and fins. Yes, a Free Diver uses these also but they are highly specialized as compared to that of a snorkeler in that Free Divers gear allows them to more easily get down to depth while snorkel gear really does not. Free Diving should also not be confused with what is called “Skin Diving” which does include being able to do head first dives down under the water but to shallower depths for less time and does not include the same amount of training and safety precautions. In order to become a Free Diver, you will need to take a sanctioned course such as through Freediving Instructors International or “FII” which will teach you safe and effective techniques for breath holding and equalization down to the beginning maximum depth of 60’ and with advanced training the possibility of achieving free dives to hundreds of feet of depth. As mentioned earlier Free Divers use very specialized gear such as long fins made out of different carbon composites to give you more power diving down and low volume masks that are better to use at depth than a normal snorkeling mask. Free Divers also use a different type of snorkel and custom wetsuits all to make a free Diver more streamlined and able to achieve deeper depths and more time at those depths on a breath hold.
Why you should Learn to Freedive in Hawaii
Why you should want to learn to be a Free Diver is if you have access to water you can quickly get into and down to where all the exotic creatures of the sea are in a lot less time than getting kitted up in scuba gear and with less planning than what a scuba dive entails. The gear that Fee Divers use as compared to Scuba Divers can be carried anywhere in the world at quite a less cost such as to dive in Kona Hawaii and if you’re looking at more physical activity to burn off some of those calories while on your diving holiday then Free Diving is for you. As compared to Scuba Diving Freediving has become a world recognized competitive sport with international competitions held to see who can dive the deepest or hold their breath the longest which gives you more reasons to train and dive than just exploring the oceans if you wish. If you’re into spearfishing which is huge sport in Kona Hawaii then learning to Free Dive will help you out greatly with this as you will be able to spend more time down hunting for big game fish such as “AHI” by learning the proper breath holding techniques in Freediving. Spear fishermen who learn to free dive will improve their ability to not only stay down longer but they will be more successful in their hunt.
The reason you should learn to Free Dive in Kona Hawaii specifically is that Kona Hawaii is not only a world class Scuba Diving destination but a world class Freediving destination as well. Kona Hawaii is known for its warm, crystal blue waters filled with vast amounts of tropical fish on its reefs close to shore which also has many shallow swim throughs and even lava tubes you can safely explore as quite a few have openings above them. If you get out on a boat to dive in Kona Hawaii you might get a big fish encounter ranging from being in the water with Dolphins to Manta Rays and different species of sharks.
You should also learn to Free Dive in Kona Hawaii as it offers some of the best Freediving instruction in the world such as the ‘FII” courses from beginner to instructor level and in some of the best conditions in the world to learn in. There is even an introduction to Freediving you can do in Kona Hawaii before making the decision on doing the full course which I highly suggest!
To learn to Free Dive in Kona Hawaii you should contact Kona Freedivers today at konafreedivers.com who offer instruction, sales and guided Freediving adventures in Kona Hawaii.
