New and alot of questions

[fanmm]

Hello dear divers,

I'm kinda new into freediving. i have not done a course yet. i do alot of training at home dry static etc. my current best is around 4 minutes. while snorkeling, ill go deeper then most people and for safety i will do a course and find a buddy.

i've got some questions about the equipment:
- How do you guys pick up fins on internet? i'm from the Netherlands and it can be cold here (15degrees in summer is possible) so finding my right size freedive is no problem but what if u wanna wear socks? how to do that?.
- Are there any books/vids you guys wanna recommend?
- is a low volume mask necesarry as a starter? do i even feel the difference?
- maybe some recommendation on fins ? i was actually checking at the Omer eagleray fins ?

i hope you divers can help me out!

Daniël

 

[Jethr0]

most people wear fins with socks. if buying a set for the first time best to head into a shop, that way you can get an exact fit with the wetsuit sock on.

There's lots of stuff out there to read and watch, something i've been finding helpful lately is a youtube channel by adam stern an australian freediver.

If your just starting out get a pair of of freediving plastic fins and dont worry about a new mask just yet

 

[vinnie]

Hi Daniël, I too am new to freediving and bought my fins 3 days ago. I got the Cressi Gara Modular LD (softer blade) for 60 euros on Amazon. I don't like wearing socks so I got the same size as my scuba diving fins but yeah 15 degrees is kinda cold (I had to rent socks and fins when I went diving in Spain last April as water temperature was 14 degrees)

Other fins I had considered buying:
- Mares Razor
- Omer Stingray
- Salvimar System One
I went for the Cressi fins because they were the cheapest ones and a friend of mine has the non LD model and likes them a lot. Also, all of the fins above have removable blades so you can buy blades with different stiffness later if you feel like it.

This video gives great tips about choosing the right fins: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sYatQHRkW1I

 

[Tim B.]

Hey Daniel,

Had the same questions a few months ago. Although not the 4 minutes, kudos for that! ;-)
A lot of people here recommend the Cressi Gara 3000 LD for beginners. But you'll hear the same few names tossed around all the time.
I personally had the opportunity to try them on during a course and found them to be nice, so I ordered the next version of the fins.
During my level 2 I used Mares razor. Nice fins as well.

I think you'll know what to look for when you have tested a few fins.
A lot of people here say that it doesn't really matter which beginner plastic fin you'll buy, as long as it fits you.

For the mask.
I was super keen on a Cressi Nano but had already bought another mask for snorkeling (mares xvu).
Have done -30 m in it and I don't think the mask is the limiting factor. ;-)
What I want to buy is a wetsuit, a weight belt and a better simple snorkel.
I had already bought a computer, but that was lost in the mail. Some people say you don't need it, some day that it makes your training much more efficient.

I read two books on freediving.
James Nestor - Deep and Adam Skolnick - one breath.

Both books were mediocre (opinion) and have several mistakes in them. One breath especially really drags on for ever.
Still, while reading them I picked up a of knowledge about freediving and the involved physics, mental challenges and how stuff works.

There is heaps of good websites on Apnea and a lot of people with an experimental approach.

You'll learn the most during your first course/s I think. And from there on you'll have all the means on your hands to explore into the depths.

 

[Brochman]

Hi Daniel.
I live in Shetland which has similar temperatures to yours (15 degrees in the summer time) and i found that using closed heel fins just did not work for me as i had to switch from 5mm closed cell socks to 8mm closed cell socks and sometimes i had to change them daily as the weather fluctuates that much here so closed heel fins just were not the answer as i would need two pairs to fit with the two different socks. I instead decided to go for a pair of open heel freediving fins Riffe silent hunter fins are the ones i chose but there are other open heel fins out there on the market and some will suit you and some wont e.g. If you have done a lot of swimming,cycling, running etc for years then your leg muscles will be strong. When i started spearfishing i went for the beginners fins which was Sporasub fins at the time which were the first fins to have changeable blades but i couldn't get the power out of them so two weeks later i ended up buying the black stiffer blades which worked out fine for me.
Low volume masks are different as they sit closer to your face so give you a bigger field of vision and because they are lighter the weight of the mask is less likely to pull the mask off your face so not so many leaky mask problems. They come as the goggle type and what is also the called frameless mask. I prefer the frameless mask as you have a clear view ahead of you for spearfishing but this is not everyone's choice and more to the point you have to find a mask that fits your face properly this video will show you how to do that,forget about brands its just what fits your face best as everyone has a different shaped face.

I buy all my kit on the internet as there are no shops with freediving/spearfishing gear on the island.

Any other questions i will be happy to help you with.
Cheers.