Gear??

[duncanbloor]

As someone who's quite new to the professional side of this sport (and didn't even realise there was a professional side to it until I started reading this)
Could someone please give me a very basic list of what equipment I would need to take my freediving one step further

duncan bloor

travel insurance

 

[fcallagy]

Hi Duncan,
Short list suit, long fins, low volume mask, rubber weight belt, knife,buddy,if you are going recreational. if you want to get depth join a club do a course use the clubs facilities ropes etc, plenty in th UK

 

[duncanbloor]

i'm more of a keen amatuer really, just want to start off recreationally then see where (and how deep) it takes me! Don't want to get too serious with clubs and stuff just yet!

 

[fcallagy]

Cool Duncan but if your in the water make sure you have a buddy with you. the only other thing you may need is a float where your diving to let boat users know where you are otherwise the above should keep you going for years. i forgot to add a snorkel.
Courses are something i would recomend for down the road if not straight away and from my limited experiance of clubs in the UK most are serious about enjoying life not just diving depths.

 

[duncanbloor]

Thanks for the advice. I'll start shopping around I think, although I already have some of the stuff like wetsuits / snorkel etc. Do you know if there are any books available on freediving?

 

[fcallagy]

A few duncan, umberto pelizzaris manual of freediving is a good if detailed read available on the site here. Emma Farrells One breath is very good but probably more motivational rather than instructional with fanatastic pictures and definatly worth reading. and read the link below if you haven,t already done so.
http://forums.deeperblue.net/beginner-freediving/64959-how-start-freediving.html

 

[Erik]

Best advice is hook up with someone near you if possible- you'll learn a lot very quickly and get the social side of the sport too.... freedivers tend to be really nice people to hang around, even if it's only on dive days. It's nice to have a hot coffee or tea after a few hours in the water and tealk about the experience.

Terry Maas has a geart book called Freedive that will give you the basics, and really this forum is your best resource other than going diving with people with experience.
[ame=http://www.amazon.com/Freedive-David-Sipperly/dp/0964496615]Amazon.com: Freedive!: David Sipperly, Terry Maas: Books[/ame]
Cheers and welcome.

 

[Crazys13]

Welcome to the sport, Duncan. I'd recommend the omer Marseillaise belt. It is thick and high quality and will last you a while. And get yourself a nice 2 piece wetsuit. I don't know what you have to spend, but I would go the custom route and get an Elios or the like. If I could do it again, instead of buying the 2 wetsuits that I have, I would have gotten one of those. The price/quality ratio is excellent though. That's my 2 cents on those couple things. I am sure that someone of higher experience will elaborate a little more on the gear

There isn't anything better than having a few drinks with your dive buddy after a dive. Given that most people find that our passion is very wierd, so having someone else that is passionate about the sport is simply intriguing, and the conversation lasts for hours.

Welcome to the forums as well!

-John