need advice on equipment!

[wyo diver]

Hello all! I am a free diver from Wyoming who is in need of advice on freediving equipment. I am wondering about some of the things I am using, I am diving with a regular snorkeling mask, how much differance will a good freediving mask make? Also do any of you dive with a dive watch? and how much differance will it make?My last question is about my snorkle...I am using a stay dry type however in most pictures I see divers are useing a different type. I would love to get some advice from you

[cdavis]

Hi Wyo,

Welcome to DB.

For freediving down to 50 ft or so, a snorkeling mask is fine, as long as its not huge. For deep water, a very small volume freediving mask will save a lot of air and is worth the restricted field of view. Any kind of time piece is handy, although a dive computer is best. Surface interval is my most useful piece of info. Time down is interesting, particularly for training purposes. On snorkels, there are as many opinions as divers and it depends heavily on how you dive. My 2 cents, learn to use a simple J tube snorkel that fits close to your face, curves around under your ear and is comfortable in your mouth. Simple, bullet proof , least resistance in the water and least air resistance.

Connor

[harbour seal]

wyo diver,

for me there are 3 major issues with masks: air volume, field of view, fit.

air volume
the smaller the volume of the mask the less air you need to equalize your mask as you descend, which means you have more air in your lungs (definitely an important consideration for freedifing). scuba masks tend to have high volume as there is no real limit to air for equilizing the mask as you descend; although they have recently started to produce lower volume scuba masks as well (not sure if they are low to the same extent as freediving/spearfishing masks though). additionally, the lower the volume of air in the masks generally the less drag created in the water. for example, in the pool i was surprised to notice how much more drag my low volume alien mask creates than my swim goggles (i expect a large volume scuba mask creates substantially more drag than the alien mask)

field of view
small air volume, however, often is a trade-off with field of view. extremely small volume masks designed for high performance freediving (usually diving up and down on a measured line) do not have extremely wide field of view, which is not really necessary in this type of diving anyway (eg, omer abyss, cressi minima). there are some spearfishing masks, such as the omer alien or cressi matrix, that have a fairly small volume but still maintain a wide field of view (wide field of view is important in spearfishing or recreational freediving).

fit
all masks seem to fit differently so read through the forum and see how a particular mask fits (eg., some are designed for smaller faces). if a mask doesn't fit well you will have problems with leaks and/or be uncomfortable. some masks have a very flexible silicone skirt, which makes them both comfortable and fit a wide variety of face types (the alien is one example).
also there is the sphera mask (see swimm2000.com in the "other goggles" section), which has a low volume and an extremely wide field of view, however the fit is a little more finicky than the alien and i have heard they only last about a season before the seals go (i just got mine and haven't used it yet as the visibility in the water has been very low anyway).


personally, to get started i bought the black freediving package from spearfishinggear.com, which consists of an omer alien mask (low volume and wide field of vision), omer zoom snorkel (a flexible j-type snorkel--fairly standard and works quite well), omer black millenium fins (very durable and blades can be changed), omer socks (have open-cell neoprene cuffs on the ankles which seal well with my wetsuit). i am very happy with all of the gear so far---also it suited my recreational freediving needs well.

one other thing about snorkels is that some freedivers prefer rigid tube j-snorkels, which they leave on the surface (attached to a float) when they dive (i presume this is for hydrodynamic reasons). the rigid tube allows the snorkel to stay out of the water without having to be attached to your mask during breathe-up. most recreational freedivers/spearfishers tend to keep their snorkels attached to their masks as they may not surface at the point they dove (and left their snorkel).

also you will need a rubber weight belt to hold your weights, which will stay tight around your hips even as you descend and your wetsuit compresses at depth. finding the right weight will depend upon many factors including the thickness of your wetsuit, your style and depth of diving and personal preference --- but it will take some experimenting with different amounts to find the right balance. refer to some recent threads for weighting info (eg. the link below).

generally, with any piece of gear for freediving you will be able to find threads detailing people's hands-on experience. prior to any gear purchase be sure to make good use of the deeperblue search function and ask questions if you can't find what you need.


also check out these recent threads discussing freediving equipment:

http://forums.deeperblue.net/freediv...equipment.html


http://forums.deeperblue.net/beginne...vancouver.html


this is an excellent thread as well which covers a whole bunch of freediving topics - great info to get started:

http://forums.deeperblue.net/beginne...reediving.html


cheers,
sean
vancouver, canada

edit - to add snorkel and weight belt info

[wyo diver]

Sean,
Thanks so much for the advice! I also have been reading about nose clips which are used to free your hands while equalizing. If you have a moment I would like your opinion on clips.
Thanks
Rick

[harbour seal]

Originally Posted by wyo diver

Sean,
Thanks so much for the advice! I also have been reading about nose clips which are used to free your hands while equalizing. If you have a moment I would like your opinion on clips.
Thanks
Rick

hey there rick,

so you really ought to give the search function a try, it really is amazing the amount of info that is easily available here on deeperblue.

as far as noseclips go for freediving vertically (ie., descending into the depths) they are generally used either with fluid goggles or mask-free. fluid goggles are pre-filled with fluid and thus do not require equalizing as you descend, which saves air on very deep dives, which i believe is the whole point of using them (along with the hands free aspect i guess). most fluid goggles have a narrow field of view so don't enjoy much use during recreational purposes.

unfortunately you cannot use a noseclip and a mask together to dive as you cannot equalize the air space of the mask as you descend.

ultimately, it will depend upon the style of diving you are wishing to pursue. noseclips tend to be associated with performance freediving and going deep where you sacrifice wide field of view to save every possible ml of air; however, noseclips are often used when doing static breath-holds and when performing dynamics (horizontal distance swimming).

personally, i have never used a proper freediving noseclip, so hopefully a more experienced diver can add any pertinent info i overlooked or misconstrued.

here are some related threads i found using a quick search, that should get you started:

http://forums.deeperblue.net/freediv...ose-clips.html

http://forums.deeperblue.net/freediv...ose-clips.html

http://forums.deeperblue.net/freediv...nose-clip.html

if hands free equalization is what you are after check this thread out:
http://forums.deeperblue.net/equalis...alisation.html

cheers,
sean

[wyo diver]

thanks sean,
most of my diving is to spear fish and pick up lobster so mabey the nose clips are not for me, however I will do the research you recomended.
Rick

[covert]

for spearing and grabbing bugs nose clips are generally a no no. Dont even waist your time investigating that avenue mate. Just get the most comfy mask you can get your hands on as well as decent finns and a custom made suit. And your good to go

[octopus]

You are fine with any (comfortable and good fitting) fins, mask, gun to start with. You'll build up knowledge and experience and then make gradual replacements of your gear over the time, depending what you find your requirements to be.
Of all things mentioned, I would say that dive watch is a must (at least it is for me). I am of opinion that you need to know depth and time spent underwater. Depth and time alarms are also very usefull. People tend to loose track of time when spearfishing and this is the main cause for high fatality rates among spearos. Do not overstay your maximum planned underwater time, no matter how big temptation is.

[fcallagy]

Hi Rick,
along with whats said above get a good knife not too big as streamlines as possible and dont dive with out it. If you ever get tangled you will be glad to have it.

[covert]

good call fcallagy knife being probably your most important peace of equipment. Lol actually said this same sentance to my wife last night when i got hammered for sharpening my knife yet again in the lounge

the knife i love the most out of my collection would be the omer mini laser, its a beautifull creation Trust me if you buy a knife this is the baby you want. By the way in case you were wondering im not affiliated with omer in any way lol.

[harbour seal]

i would definitely echo what these guys have said regarding the importance of suit and knife.

a custom suit from elios is the way to go in my opinion. an elios suit will fit you like no other and keep you extremely warm.

as far as knife, i have been very happy with my omer flat hunt knife, which is very streamlined and does the job.

i made a custom pouch for it to wear on my forearm. i attached a loop of cord to the handle that i slip my hand into before pulling it out, which keeps me from dropping it. also if my non-knife arm gets tangled i can still pull the knife by bringing the cord to my hand.

one last thing about the knife is you do not want to put it on your belt. if you have to drop your belt then bye bye knife (if you are tangled then you are in trouble). additionally, i find it is more likely to get snagged if it is on your belt. the best places to wear it, in my opinion, is the inside of your calf or the inside of your forearm.

finally, if you are scraping and scrambling along the bottom (e.g., grabbing lobsters) at all then i really recommend having a strap/velcro flap/cover that keeps the knife from easily falling out of the sheath (of course it should be easy to disengage). this feature might be a good idea regardless of your scrambling habits.

cheers,
sean

[covert]

thats why i love the the mini-laser, perfect for killing fish, comes with the most amazing sheath and velcro strap,

not the best picture but here goes.
http://www.passionepesca.org/pimages...3_small_er.jpg

[harbour seal]

Originally Posted by covert

thats why i love the the mini-laser, perfect for killing fish, comes with the most amazing sheath and velcro strap,

not the best picture but here goes.
http://www.passionepesca.org/pimages...3_small_er.jpg

wow, that looks pretty cool.
where did you get it?

[Fondueset]

You can get everything from Jimdoe2you or at spearfishinggear.com

I have the mini laser too - it is very nice, but also a very thin and small knife - designed primarily to kill fish that are not huge.

Regarding masks - the Sphera is pretty awesome, cheap and fragile. Some lots of them also correct nearsightedness to varying degrees. In my case I have one that corrects my vision underwater almost perfectly - it gives my daughter headaches. I have another that corrects almost not at all.

The Alien is great mask. The Cressi Matrix is a bit trickier for fit, but has a MUCH wider field of view (not that the alien is bad) and a little more volume (not an issue down to 20 meters or so). There aren't all that many masks that rival the matrix for visual field. As mentioned above, the Alien has nice silicone and is a good bet for fit - Omer also has some other excellent freediving masks - the bandit and aries 39 come to mind.

Freediving fins are really a blast. They help you get down with less effort. You an pay as much as you want for them - on the inexpensive end Cressi Garas are nice, as are the Omer millenium's mentioned above. With fins it comes down to footpocket comfort first.

I use a rigid Aqualung impulse II snorkel because I dive a lot in open water with chop and it does a great job shedding water during long breathups in the waves. It is bulky however. I'm not crazy about the small diameter of the Omer snorkels. I can feel a little resistance breathing with them and I don't see any reason for that. A good basic wrap-around design snorkel is great though.

[odd.i.c.]

A note on the Sphera mask...
I agree that it's very likely a great mask to dive with, BUT not for everyone. I ordered one and it is WAY too wide for my narrow face. I can't possibly dive with it. The low-volume mask I went with is the Cressi-sub Minima, which has a significantly smaller field of view (not great for Spearos, which I'm not) but it fits like a glove!