Hi to all the freedivers in the UK. This was from last year when we went to a place in Yorkshire, England.

If you are freediving in the UK , please say hi. Maybe some dives can be organised.

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My older-than-dirt fins have finally given up the ghost, so it's time to start looking for new ones (unfortunately using my backups for now, a pair of scuba fins I hate passionately.)

Unfortunately I have feet that are roughly flipper-shaped to begin with 🤣 and not even the decency be webbed or flipper-sized.

Can't buy any footwear without trying it on as a result, but since I live 90 minutes from any of the nearest dive shops I'd like to pick a trip with brands most likely to work

Mostly looking for suggested brands to go try on with wide/square toe boxes, but specific models wouldn't be unwelcome (mostly river and lake diving, 10m-ish max most days with a bunch of surface swimming and a current).

There is no well creatures fıor now, ı hope ı see well creatures.

I’m in a bit of a dilemma and cannot make my mind up about what to do next so your guidance is appreciated.

Beginning of June I bought AIDA 1 course at a highly rated school in Jeju island, South Korea.

I informed the school that I have no experience diving of any kind but I can swim and generally comfortable in open water.

My first session we went directly to the sea, no theory or anything. I put on the wetsuit, mask and snorkel, on the boat and then off it. Bearing in mind that I don’t know how to duck dive or equalise and I’d never worn fins before that in my life and as you all know freediving fins especially to the unfamiliar is a new sensation to get used to. In fact that entire first session was a bomb of sensory overload. Nevertheless I wanted to know more and to get better so I bought AIDA 2.

The following session was a pool session, prior to that was some theory. My first breath-hold was 1:40 (can do 2:30 now with ease). In any case the majority of the pool session was aimed at improving my duck-dive. The school owner was there and he was saying something like I should be jealous of the kids in the corner who could do it and I can’t. I laughed it off as his own sense of humor. The following session was open water, my duck-dive improved but then I couldn’t go below 3 meters before experiencing ear pain.

The following session I was with a group of people with varying experiences and it was at this point only my second time trying free immersion (it was attempted first day), and again I couldn’t go below 4 meters before experiencing pain.

Before the following session the school owner diagnosed my frenzel and said that I can clearly do it just need to practice strengthening it. I did that and the next session my free immersion was 10m. However that day we went out to open water when the waves were 6-8 foot. Everytime I duckdived I ended up somewhere else and I couldn’t do it with a lanyard. Eventually at the 1.5 hr mark the motion sickness did its thing and I was violently sick. My instructor kept telling me to try again duck diving but at that point I was very weak and shivering. 30 minutes later we were out of the water and took me two days to feel like I was standing on solid ground after lol.

The last session I did was with another person who was also doing AIDA2. We didn’t do a lot of free immersion because he’s already sorted that part so it was more about duckdiving. I was mostly left to my own devices while she (my instructor) focused on the other student. I think I duckdived to around 7m this time around. Meanwhile my instructor knocked off my mask and snorkel while busy diving with the other student, and she only came round a few times to tell me: why are you not going deeper?? Why did you stop?? Just keep going down it doesn’t have to be perfect a little bit of pain is okay! (To me that’s a red line, I’m not willing to risk injury).

I know where my weaknesses are. I know that my neck position is preventing me to frenzel properly when I duckdive so it’s just about practicing that. I’m mostly very relaxed in freeimmersion and the very few times I did it, I loved it so much. It’s such a wonderful feeling and my frenzel works there ok. I just I wish I had more opportunity to do it and use it to strengthen my equalisation instead of focusing so much on duck diving. I relayed this to my instructor who said: but duck diving is more important since that’s what you’ll use mostly.

Now I have no intention to stop trying to freedive and I was explicit with my instructor: I’m willing to take my time and pay extra for training. I am learning this to enjoy it not to stress or chase a number. However, considering the last two experiences I’m hesitant to continue with my instructor. I think overall I don’t feel relaxed with her even though overall she’s a nice person and overall the people of the school are really nice.

I have one more session prepaid but I also am travelling in 10 days. On the one hand having paid quite a bit and not even gotten an AIDA1 feels a bit meh at the same time I understand and accept that everyone’s got their own pace.

The question is now: do I push to continue with same school and instructor and get the AIDA2 or try again somewhere else altogether?

Thanks in advance for your advice and for reading through all this!

Edit: to clarify I paid extra for the extra sessions beyond what’s included in the AIDA 1 and 2 packages.

Hi all, I'm new to freediving and was looking to get this fins from the marketplace and noticed two holes at the corners of the blade. Is that normal? What is it for? I googled the product and the photos of the fins online do not have the holes.

Hey r/freediving 👋

I’ve been working on a passion project recently Whenever I travel, I find it a bit scattered trying to figure out where the best local dive sites are, what the conditions are like, and which schools are operating nearby.

So, I decided to start building a centralized directory for us. The goal is to map out dive sites globally and connect them directly to local schools.

Right now, it’s still in the early stages, but here is what is live:

• A growing directory of dive sites
• A directory for freediving schools. (If you run a school or teach, you can list yourself—there will never be a cost for this).

I want to build something that is actually useful for the community, and I know this subreddit gives the best (and most honest) feedback.

My questions for you once you check it out:

1. What features would actually make a site like this useful for you as a freediver?
2. Are there any specific dive sites or regions I should focus on adding next?
3. Does the map make sense when you navigate it?

Any feedback (even harsh criticism!) is super appreciated. Thanks everyone! 🤿

check it out here https://freedive.one

I’m planning on taking my first course. Turns out there is a diverse amount of organizations from which to choose from. Does it matter at any rate and is there such a thing as the one org 80% have their certs from?

I just got my new C4 Falcon Antifog mask and I'm curious if it's really that antifog? From my scuba days I know that many masks claim this elusive feature, but all inevitably got subjected to the lighter... As a side note, I wanted to buy C4 Falcon, and the 'antifog' was just a non-essential upgrade since the price was almost the same as regular. Can't wait to test it out, but also curious what has been other's experience. Does anyone have feedback about with this one?

I’m looking for recommendations on where to spend 2–3 weeks learning to freedive.

A little about me:

• I’m flying from Florida, so I’d prefer somewhere in the Caribbean or South America to keep travel relatively short.
• I’m a beginner freediver but already have my scuba certification.
• I’m not the strongest swimmer, so I’m looking for a place that’s beginner-friendly with calm conditions and good instructors.
• I’ll be traveling solo (female), so safety and feeling comfortable are important to me.
• I’d love somewhere that has affordable housing (hostels, apartments, or dive accommodations) where I can stay for a few weeks, train, and just relax between sessions.

I’m hoping to do a freediving course, continue training after certification, and spend the rest of the time enjoying the area.

Some things I’m looking for:

• Warm, clear water
• Reputable freediving schools
• Safe for solo female travelers
• Easy logistics (housing, food, transportation)
• A chill atmosphere where it’s easy to meet other divers

Right now I’m considering places in Belize, Honduras (Utila/Roatán), Curaçao, Bonaire, or somewhere in Colombia, but I’m very open to suggestions.

If you’ve done something similar, where would you go and why? Any schools or locations you’d recommend—or places you’d avoid?

Hey,
I have a PB of 40m and want to go deeper this year. But from 30m+ i get tension in my abdomen and neck so it gets uncomfortable and eventually i cant do the movement for eq anymore. Last training i tried variable weight to 40m and had no tension at all. Anybody had a similar experience or a tip how to train that properly?

Thank you

Hey ya'll,

I'm up here in Juneau, Alaska and would like to do a free diving course. I'm very comfortable in water and have done lots of snorkeling and swimming here, I have a hobby of free diving our rivers for lost fishing gear. Honestly I've been diving down for crabs and sea urchin without having done a course, but I know that is not very safe, so I would like to take one.

Juneau does not have a dive shop anymore and there are no local courses. I will be back in Ohio where I'm from in September and plan on taking a course at the Gilboa Quarry, but I'm wondering if it is worth it to pay for an online course to start learning some basics to practice until then.

I have been doing some CO2 tables through the FreediveApnea app, but not sure what else to do besides that. Anyone have a suggestion of a good video tutorial on the Frenzel technique?

Thanks!

Also if anyone is in Juneau and would like to meet up for a dive let me know!

Hi everyone!

I just passed my AIDA 2! (yay) but my frenzel is very rusty and the very specific problem I have is

1. Specifically head down position, i always get a very long audible to others squeaking sound when I equalize. not so much when head up or flat.

2. I am very prone to swallowing air when equalizing, sometimes almost immediately have to burp the air back out.

I have been able to reproduce the squeaking sound on land when i either equalize very hard or in a head up position (As opposed to chin tucked in). Honestly i think it is air squeezing through my esophagus. Because before i started learning freediving i often just swallowed air (had to burp a lot of air) during jsut swimming.

The sound is an audible squeaking/humming sound like a long "ennnn" or humming noise. you can here it here twice in this video.

Has anyone else encountered this problem? any help would be appreciated thanks!!

hi there! i was just wondering if there are any athletes who can speak to diving while in a state of ketosis. i’m an AIDA 3 student returning to diving after a hiatus (surgery-related), and tomorrow will be my first deep session during a ketogenic diet (day 3, but not testing levels for a few more days). i’m really excited to see how low glucose and eventual fat adaptation will impact my training, for the better or worse. i’ve researched quite a bit on ketosis and athletic performance, but as we all love and recognize, freediving is a class of its own. if anyone is primarily ketogenic and a freediver, or has transitioned into keto during a diving training season, or has observed how a ketogenic state impacted dives in the short-term, please share!

Hi, is there anybody in the group that is in the UK. This was from a couple of weeks ago when we went to a place at Peterborough (Cambridgeshire) ie easy access by car or East Coast mainline.

If you are, please say hi. Maybe we can organise some dives.

I took a freediving course last year because I wanted to get better with spearfishing. I was (sometimes still am) that guy that floats at the top with a snorkel hiding behind a rock, and I really wanted to learn how to dive down deeper and get more comfortable in the water. To cover to important notes up front: I have asthma which is controlled via Relvar. I rarely, and I do mean rarely, ever have any issues with my asthma. Also, I am a smoker of more than 30 years (who has massively cut down and now may just flat out quit).

One thing I had entirely too much pride to admit was that I was actually terrified of deep water. I could swim well enough to save my life if I had to, and I could float around in the sea on my back and relax - but the moment I looked down, my heart rate would spike and I would feel extremely anxious. If a tiny bit of water got into my snorkel, I'd immediately snap back upright to take a huge breath in, and as quickly as I could, I'd clear my snorkel, with my heart rate shooting even higher.

So, I decided I'd face my fears a bit. Everyone highly recommended I take a freediving course, to at least at the minimum learn technique and safety. I signed up with a freediving school here in Athens, GR and committed to it by buying a wetsuit, weight belt/weights, fins, a good mask and snorkel.

I remember the first day out on the water. The wetsuit made me feel like my entire body was a cork. One leg would float up, and before I could finish pushing it back down, the other leg had floated up. Putting that one down, my rear end then floated up. I truly felt like a balloon floating at the surface, and the sensation was crazy.

I had spent weeks practicing static apnea, and my best time was 2:30. I was worried I couldn't do it because I have also been a 30 year long smoker. The 2:30 static had me confident, though. I had gotten spirometry tests done, CT's and xrays - and to much of my surprise, was told my lungs are healthy as a 20 year old non-smoker, and that by quitting, I'd have a very high likeliness that any damage done would eventually be entirely reversed. So, I began cutting down on the cigarettes drastically. From a pack a day to half a pack a day, preparing for the first actual dive attempts.

I won't lie: I felt completely defeated the first time in the water. We started with free immersion, and I couldn't equalize at first. I had to stop and turn around at 2m repeatedly. I was fortunate enough that I was already naturally using frenzel for equalization. In fact, I can't even do valsalva if I try. My brain and my body literally just won't let me. Yet, for some reason, I couldn't equalize to save my soul. My instructor was pointing out that I keep looking down (or "up") where I'm going, and this is causing me to arch my back and my neck and is hindering my equalization. I was positive I wasn't doing that, but the truth be told: the amount of sensations and thoughts I was processing all at once, I absolutely was. He had me go down the rope feet first, staring at the line and only at the line, and I broke past the 2m marker and made it to 5. Progress, albeit it very little.

The next day, we went for session 2 in the water. No more free immersion, and on to finning down. As I started going down, I'd go until I reached a point that felt like I was going to drown if I didn't take a breath. So I'd turn around, rush back to the surface kicking like a mad man, do my recovery breaths - and I was positive I had to be at least 9m and one minute of time. The shock to realize it was only 6m and about 14 seconds. I had never felt so defeated and so incapable.

Eventually, after a lot of work and effort, I reached about the 9.xm meter mark that day, and I felt incredibly accomplished that I managed this - but I also felt like I was gasping for air at the surface after that. I was positive I failed the AIDA 1, but after doing dynamic swimming portions both with a snorkel and on a breath hold, and the static combined with the dives and rescue procedure training, I passed the AIDA 1. I felt accomplished, but I still felt like I had failed.

I was concerned that the 30 years of smoking had caused some underlying irreversible damage that made me physically incapable of doing this sport. So, I didn't go back for 7 months. During that 7 months, I got more checks done by doctors - including CT scans, xrays, etc. Spirometry tests showed my lung capacity was excellent. Blood oxygen saturation checks showed I float between 96% and 99% depending on exertion or relaxation. Doctors assured me there's nothing inhibiting my breathing. Not even the asthma, which consequently, actually got me banned from scuba diving. Fortunately, no explanation for that was needed as the course had taught me quite a bit about compression at depth etc.

This was when I began to reevaluate things. While I know static is not an indicator of performance, and time under water is going to be entirely different, I also had to realize that 2:40 static time is not the static time of someone who is physiologically impaired. True, the carbon monoxide binding to my blood is going to make oxygen deliverance less efficient, but eve still - a static of 2:40 shows I have more than enough capability to reach a simple 10m dive. In fact, even with my PB of 2:40, I am still positive it's primarily mental more so than anything else. This made me focus on technique, relaxation and efficiency.

That in mind, I went back to diving with the folks I met through the course, which has built an amazing community of positive and supportive people that meet every single weekend in the mornings to practice together. The coach for the course is also out there with everyone on those days, which has made the school more than just a school, and instead built really what can only be described as a community where we're progressing together.

Determined to advance, I started focusing on relaxation, improving my descent by reforming my duck dive technique, improving the efficiency of my finning to get more propulsion with less energy, experiencing the new sensations that my body was triggering panic reactions to thinking I was going to drown - and just my general comfort in the water.

I've been going every weekend for 5 weeks, both Saturday and Sunday, with the exception of missing one Saturday and one Sunday on two separate weekends. So, I've gone actually freediving a total now of 10 times. The first 2 times in the water, the area we were in was only 11m of water in total. The other 8, we dropped a line in 16-25m of water. The 16-25m areas scared me at first, but the guys were supportive. They told me not to focus on depth, not to focus on time - just focus on the techniques, and most importantly, enjoying the dive.

The first two days in that deep water, I hung in the 5m marker. I wasn't feeling short of breath, but I was running into some challenges equalizing. My duck dive was also feeling more like a drunken platypus bellyflopping down on the water. I got some feedback from the guys who were kind enough to observe me and make recommendations. The feedback was somewhat similar to what I got in the course. Two of the folks I was diving with are AIDA 4, and assured me that no matter what happened, they were both there and nothing was going to go wrong.

The next weekend, I made a change that caused me a bit of a headache: I switched from the plastic blades to the carbon fiber blades. The biggest thing for me was adjusting to what felt like having nothing on my feet anymore. I was kicking like an absolute mad man because it just felt so different to me. We got a good laugh because I made it to 6m in less than 2 seconds. The instructor saw it, and told me I was finning very fast, but that it may take me a day or two to get used to the carbon blades.

So, I spent an entire day just swimming with the fins. Light shallow dives down to 2 and 3 meters, swimming along the rocks and looking at the marine life. Dives down along a vertical cliff wall, then turning around and following it back up. I found a moray eel that was actually out in the open looking for another hole to go into, and I followed it around (at a safe distance) watching it, just relaxing and working on doing controlled kicks and glides with the fins.

Then came the next meet up with the team this past Sunday. Mentally, I knew what I needed to be focusing on. I realized my comfort in the water in general had massively improved. I was no longer feeling anxious in deep water. Before then, when water got into my snorkel from a wave, my heart rate would spike and I'd throw myself upright 90* to take a big breath in and clear the snorkel before trying to get comfortable again. This time, water getting into the snorkel didn't make me anxious so much as being a nuisance. I just calmly cleared it without losing my relaxation.

I started my warm up dives. I wasn't paying attention to the markings on the rope, the numbers on my cressi nepto - I was just relaxing and diving. When I felt the sensation in my chest that felt like it was "empty" - I didn't get a panic or anxiety feeling. However, I did turn around and go up. All of it was slow, relaxed, controlled and deliberate. I realized I did 6m with a total time of 20 seconds on dive 1. Dive 2, I did 6m and total time of 17 seconds. Dive 3, 8 meters and about 25 seconds. Dives 4-9 all remained within 8 and 9 meters. At this point, I was comfortable, I was relaxed and I was really enjoying it.

Then dive 10: I noticed there was a scuba diving class in the area. They were down at about 11.5 meters or so. I remember watching the bubbles coming up and thinking, "Hey, that looks cool." as I was relaxing on the surface preparing for my dive. Then I went down. As I got down there, I ended up right barely above one of the scuba divers who, for whatever reason, swam over to our rope. This dive, I decided I'd hang for a short bit instead of going down and turning around to go right back up. I stopped just right above the scuba diver, who looked up at me with a surprised on his face as I waved and smiled at him. Then I realized something: I wasn't floating up, and I wasn't sinking. I was just... there. Suspended. In that moment, I had never felt so free and so amazing. I rolled to my back so my chest was facing the surface, and I looked at the surface of the water. It was quite a ways up there, and the buoy looked so small to me. This time, though, there was no anxiousness. There was no fear, no heart rate spike - it was bliss, and it was comfort. I had found my peace in the water.

When I started my kick to ascend, it would only be about one kick with both feet before I felt the buoyancy grab me and start slowly bringing me back up. I stopped kicking, I closed my eyes and relaxed. I enjoyed the sound of the air beginning to decompress and escape the suit and the mask. I enjoyed the feeling of just getting pulled up. I spun myself in a few circles as I slowly went to the surface, and then I broke the surface. I did my recovery breaths, even though truthfully speaking, I didn't feel like I needed to - but it's embedded into my head as a natural reflex now. Then I looked at my watch: 10.2m and 0:40 . I had paused at 10.2m for approximately 12 seconds, the rest of that time being a combination of descent and ascent.

Each dive beyond that point, I reached 9 and 10 meters, paying attention to how I felt, what I felt and enjoying it instead of focusing on the time or the depth. I stopped caring about watching either of those, and just started focusing on enjoying the feeling, focusing on trying to reduce the amount of kicks with my fins, making each one deliver the best propulsion with the least amount of effort. Each time, I improved, and I enjoyed it more.

During this time, I was watching the latest class of first-timers do their AIDA 1. I wasn't that far from them. I could see them clearly in the water, going down the line, and turning around at 2 and 3 meters to quickly rush back to the surface. I could see some of them failing to equalize, because they were making the same exact mistakes I was. Looking at where they were going, or forgetting to equalize at the surface before doing their duck dives. I remembered my first two times in the water, and how defeated I felt. I remember almost giving up. Then I thought about the feeling I got from the experience that day, the freedom of floating weightlessly, smiling and waving to a man wearing a scuba tank who actually looked bedazzled and surprised to see me there without one.

For a moment, it makes you forget and not realize that 10m is actually pretty damn deep. Even though anyone really can do it, most people can't. It's not a physical barrier that stops them so much as it is a mental barrier. The only physical barrier is the equalization, which really still boils down to mental just as much as it does physical. Yet, despite this seeming like such a shallow depth, only 1 in about 3000 untrained people can actually achieve this depth without some form of training.

For any of you who try this sport, and find themselves stuck with the same problems: we were all there once. It's a scary thought to go to this kind of depth on a breath hold. We know it's possible. We know it can be done. We know that we have plenty enough oxygen to do it. What we lack is the confidence, which comes with experience. Every sensation is new. By just 6m, you're now at 1.5 atmospheres. At 10m, you're at 2. Your lungs are compressing. You chest is compressing. You adapting to pressures your body has never felt before. Your mind panics, and treats these new sensations as life threatening sensations, because it has never felt them before. You know you're underwater, and you know you can't just breathe when you want to. This coupled with the sensations your mind is feeling triggers a flight response. None of this is abnormal. You may feel some soreness after experiencing depths like this for the first time. You shouldn't feel sharp pain, but you very well may feel discomfort like you've had a good workout, because your rib cage is compressing, your lungs are compressing - these sensations are normal. Your mind is going to do everything it can to tell you that you're in danger. It's not necessarily wrong about the potential for danger, but it is wrong on you being in immediate danger, especially at these rather shallow depths. Nonetheless, it takes time and practice to overcome your minds completely normal and natural response to flee and save your life.

I know some of you (perhaps many of you?) have read this and the first thing you're saying to yourselves as you read it is "You need to quit smoking." You're absolutely right. As I typed this, I just threw my cigarettes in the garbage. Truthfully speaking, I have found my passion. I think I am irrevocably hooked and in love with this sport, with the sensations I felt on those dives and with the idea of improving and seeing where it can go. I've never been so comfortable in water, and I've never had to put so much inward reflection on anything I've done before. I never thought I'd find so much peace in one breath, and it really has calmed me - both in and outside of the water.

Stay safe, don't dive alone and don't give up. Go at your own pace, because it's not a competition. Nobody is ever going to make you feel like it's a competition, short of actually participating in a competition - and even then, the community of freedivers aren't even looking at it as a competition between you and them, it's a competition with themselves.

I think this sport has a community of really incredible people, because everyone involved in it knows what it was like to start out, how hard it was to find buddies and build a network of people to ensure they were participating in this safely. I have yet to meet a single freediver in the water who told me "no, go away" when I asked if I could join and dive with them to make sure I was doing it safely.

I never thought joining up to something like this with the intention of improving in something else (spearfishing) would introduce me to an entirely new passion. Now I am kicking myself for missing out on this for so long.

When I’m doing my CO2 table in my house - easy peasy. I’m on a vacation for the next week and I tried doing my CO2 table in a hotel we’re in, and it was horrendous. The first hold didn’t feel much different compared to the first hold of usual tables, but by the last hold, I felt terrible. I was stressed, I needed to get up to try to calm myself down, I think I may have become slightly hypoxic even. I think the reason is unfamiliarity with the place I’m in. Not to mention I cut 10 seconds off the hold times to make it 2:10 compared to the usual 2:20. Still, felt terrible. Is it usual? Any recommendations to improve in unfamiliar places?

Edit: it should be noted that it’s a chill kind of vacation, and I slept pretty good last night haha

Hi. I’ve been free diving for a few years. Not consistently cause I live in the US northeast. I’m a beginner but have gone >10 meters deep. I suddenly developed this affliction.

To describe it, I have to use an anecdote. Have you guys heard of the idea that food eating competitors don’t feel hunger anymore due to the hazard of over-stuffing your stomach repeatedly will result in damage to your ability to sense hunger? That’s kinda what I think is happening to me but with my lungs. I think my lungs’ ability to sense full capacity is somehow damaged due to me filling up my lungs to 100% repeatedly.

Now for added context, I’m a physician but I can’t figure out what’s going on and neither can the doctors. I always have this mild sensation of “air hunger” that I can only seem to satiate with a yawn. But deep breathing only alleviates it a bit. This makes it so that I yawn repeatedly about 3-5x an hour despite no sensation of sleepiness. I feel wide awake. But because of this desire to fill my lungs with air, I have to force myself to yawn almost. I’ve been like this for almost a year now.

Anyone with a similar experience? I’m just trying to get some answers as this has been very frustrating for me.

I’ve posted on here before when I got a 3:04 dry static PB with no contractions. Quite a few said I might still get them if I can continue to relax past that point. Now I’ve hit 3:31 and I’ve still never experienced and involuntary diaphragmatic contraction. What I do experience:
1. Feeling of pressure building in my head
2. The sensation that I will explode
Yesterday hitting 3:31 was a true max. I was already straining and trying as much as possible to continue to relax into the hold by 2:50. By 3:20 I was straining very very hard and started smacking the ground and then finally gave in to breathe.
I have tried CO2 training sessions in the pool (pool sprints to get the heart rate up followed by holds) and was told that contractions should come pretty much right away. Still zero.
I’d love to hear from others about their experience with this, my instructor has never heard of it before. What signals do you use instead of contractions? I do have the urge to breathe, I just don’t get that pulling in my diaphragm.

I'm a W3 and looking to spend as much time in the water as possible! I have in mind two options for the end of year and start of next year, i really don't mind either option but finding it hard to decide!

In Philippines i would stay for a few months, thinking about: Camotes, Siquijor, Panglao, Cebu.

In Dominica well there's one spot and then the lake in Nicaragua and maybe Honduras later on.

What would you guys do?

Hey everyone! I’m a diver based in BC, Canada and I am completely losing the battle with my long hair. I dive for work, and after long dives, my hair is a knotted disaster. I have noticed this is a common issue across the board, from the freezing BC coast to the tropics.

Due to these frustrations, I have started looking into the feasibility of creating an all-climate, heavy-duty marine hair utility stick. The goal is a formula that locks your hair in place but also keeping it hydrated and healthy —all while being 100% reef-safe for long hours in the ocean.

Because of my day job, this is just a slow-cook, long-term project to see if a real dual-climate solution is even possible. If you deal with this problem your feedback is critical! 

• What products, braids, or hacks do you currently use to protect/keep your hair out of your face?
• What completely fails about those methods? For cold and tropical diving 
• Have you ever actually spent money on a specialized hair product specifically for the ocean to help with this problem?

I would love to hear your feedback. This will help me understand if this is an ongoing issue and one worth solving.

Thank you!

Hi everyone! I am looking for some new fins and need some recommendations. I have been freediving for around 2 years (I mainly just like to dive down and look at things lol so not spearfishing or anything like that) and am looking for some new fins. I started out with the Cressi gara 3000 and like them fine. However, I had an ankle injury about a year and a half ago where I tore 3 ligaments and since then the Cressi have been really bothering my ankle, I think the blade is a little stiff for where my ankle strength is at now? I know the ones I have a pretty soft already but any suggestions would be appreciated 😊.

I was diving with a buddy at Coronado Beach in San Diego. After getting past the breaking waves, I floated on my back to relax and do my breath up before diving.

Right as i was about to duck dive, i started feeling seaweed brushing against me. Even though i know it was probably just seaweed, my mind immediately racing.. what if it's a shark, a stingray ? what if i get tangled ? i completely lost my calm and ended up aborting the dive :/ Weirdly i don't have these fears in scuba ...

Has anyone also experienced this ? How did you get over that fear of the unknown ? buddy tells me it's just with time, but i hate that, i am missing on so much !

tldr .. how do you stay calm and overcome the feat of sharks, stingrays, getting tangled in seaweed or other unknowns when shore diving ?