freediving classes cost

[Mungdiver]

hey so ive been looking to find a freediving class in my local area of san diego, CA, United States, but it seems like all of the classes around here are at least $300 or more. and i know to take a scuba class its only about $100. why are the free diving classes so expensive? are there any places anyone knows of that do them cheaper?

and on a side note, does anyone know of any good spots to go diving in the san diego/LA area? (besides la jolla)

 

[kwtony]

The only "scuba classes" that mean anything are ; open water diver, advanced open water , rescue diver, dive master, dive instructor. Everything else is an addition to these. I can assure that whatever "scuba class" you mention provides you with none of these, as the books alone for the open water are over 100 dollars. So whatever you are seeing is probably just a 'scuba for idiots refresher class' and nothing of substantial value.

Let me ask you this, how much is you life worth? These classes cover not only how to properly dive up to 60 feet, but how to also properly rescue your buddy, who's passed out at that same depth. You are looking at it with a too narrow minded approach, and not thinking about all the other elements involved in diving that deep. The class is almost not enough for the amount of things they cover. If you are serious about the sport and was a guaranteed sure fire way to get deep and dive longer, a class is the best option. They will drill the basics in your head and it will make you a better diver. You'll realize that what you thought was proper diving this whole time, was really a poor form, SWB prone dive method...you don't know what you don't know, and simply writing it off as "too much money" is not how you should look at the class.

 

[Kars]

Good question. One has to consider the amount of contact hours, the equipment, logistics, the amount and depth of knowledge.. When you listen wel and ask you can learn years of dangerous trial and error. In short freediving courses are more dense, longer and personal. Freediving is more demanding.
Ask the teacher about the content of his course, and of what he thinks are important things to learn. Enjoy!

 

[cdavis]

Besides being much more intensive, freediving courses don't bring much in the way of equipment sales, relative to Scuba classes. The shop doesn't need to make any money on the Scuba course, they get it back and more on the equipment. My PFI course was more than $300( a while back), involved no equipment sales and I could not figure out how they made enough money to feed the instuctors, much less make a profit.

A better way to think about it is value received by the student. For me, it was far far more than I paid, best investment I ever made.