Hey all!

Quick intro, ran a dive center in Bali for a bit over 3 years.

I was wondering if other dive centers struggle with the same things as we did, or if you've been facing different challenges.

For us, getting a healthy balance between OTA & Partner bookings vs direct bookings was a monster, as our commissions were pretty high and eating into our profits.

If you own or manage a dive center, what's the one thing that's hardest about running the business today?

Not diving itself—the business.

I'd love to hear what you're dealing with.

So I completed my first two freedives at the beach, and I'm wondering: is it better to take my final exhale and deep inhale with the snorkel in or without it? With the snorkel, it seems a bit better since I don't have to swim for a few seconds before diving, which means less movement. But without it, I'm not sure if the inhale is the same as a normal deep breath. 🤔

There was a big competition in Panglao PH this week. Check out these close-calls made by the AIDA Judges! Do you agree with these results? Should we go to FULLY A.I. Judging in the future?

Can anyone recommend a good freediving computer? I am working with a budget, and all I am really looking for is dive time and depth, but something reliable. Since I need to order everything, I cannot just go around to a local shop to fix things.

So I don’t really freedive in natural locations but this seems to be the best place to go for answers after posting in snorkeling. I got this mask from Walmart about a week ago simply for pool use and they’re leaking water. I’ve adjusted the strap multiple times ranging from completely loose, less loose, to all the way tight and no matter what it leaks. It seems like the water is leaking from just the outside corner area of my eyes. I’m not sure if the silicone is too flimsy and isn’t sealing properly or if they just don’t fit my face. I would like some advice.

Edit: When I did the test where you breathe in to test for suction it had fit and made perfect suction but when I put it on with the straps the part that goes around the corner of my eyes pushes out, as I described the issue you guys I realized what was going on thank you for the help.

Hello I’m getting into the sport of freediving and more importantly it’s going to lead into spearfishing whenever I felt like I built up the necessary skills . I just wanted to know what is the proper swimming technique when using freediving fins like the C4 MB002 carbon fins? Also when it comes to breath hold and training to stay under water for longer periods of time. What is the proper way to train ? I want to build my lung capacity and also get use to holding my breath and staying under the water for longer . Any advice is helpful !

Is it worth it to pursue this if you want free diving to be easier? No equalization needed? Wondering what the general consensus is.

Hey everyone,

I'm flying soon and I'll be bringing my long freediving fins with me for the first time.

For those of you who have traveled with freediving gear before, how did you transport your fins?

Did you take them as a carry on, or did you check them in with your luggage?

If you checked them, did you use a fin bag or just pack them inside your suitcase?

Have you ever had any issues with airlines regarding the length of the fins or damage during travel?

I'd really appreciate hearing your experiences and any tips for traveling with long fins.

Thanks!

Used to dive a bit and moved to somewhere its not as prevalent. Looking to get back in to it.

Had mares razor fins in the past I belive and was very happy with them.

After looking at prices I noticed they have quite a few newer models right around the same price as what looks like the last set I owned.

My question is are the other offerings from them better at any thing in particular?

Also curious if anyone recommends other brands for any various reasons. Its been so long since I had them in want to make sure quality hasn't dropped or anything like that.

Pb back when I used to dive regularly was 95 ft and I doubt ill be getting back in to that extent so dont feel i need cf blades or anything that crazy.

Expect to do a lot of shalow and river dives mostly.

Any advice or help is really apriciated.

Edit for forgetting budget is comfy at 100-200

I’ll be staying in Los Angeles from July 29 through July 31 and would love to arrange one or two freedives with a knowledgeable local. I'd also appreciate dive recommendations.

What I enjoy is freerange exploration observing wildlife, photography, and letting wildlife encounters happen organically.

I’ll have my complete freediving setup with me, including wetsuit, fins, mask, weights, buoy and dive flag, so I won’t need rental equipment.

I would especially appreciate someone who knows Catalina, Palos Verdes, Laguna, or another good local wildlife site.

I’m available all day July 29, 30, or 31.

Feel free to comment or DM me. Also, if there are any better local groups, forums, Discord servers, or other places where I should post this, I’d really appreciate the recommendation.

Freediving fins for large feet ? (EU 49-50)

There was a thread posted a year ago, but it seemed it was oriented towards U.S. brands etc.

Anyone knowing any EU based or EU accessible brands without huge tax/shipping fees would be appreciated.

I wanted to share my experience in case it helps others before ordering from Evolve Apnea.
I ordered freediving gear, but I received the wrong item instead of the lanyard I paid for. On top of that, my diving mask arrived with visible scratches.
I emailed their customer support immediately, attached photos of both issues, and explained that I needed the replacement urgently. When I received no response, I also contacted them through Instagram and Facebook.
Unfortunately, I never received a reply on any platform.
I understand that mistakes can happen, but completely ignoring a customer after sending the wrong item and a damaged product is unacceptable.
Has anyone else had a similar experience with Evolve Apnea’s customer service?

I use a smart watch daily and also wear my dive watch frequently. An old suunto d4i. I was looking at getting a suunto ocean as its a bit of both.

I met a scuba diver with one and now the more I look at it the better it sounds.

Has anyone used one and whats their opinion?

Hey everyone! I’m looking to buy my very first action camera, but after watching a ton of reviews, I’m completely overwhelmed and stuck in analysis paralysis. I just can't seem to make a final decision.Has anyone here personally tried out different models? I’d love to hear your real world opinions and experiences.

Is surface time still running in apnea activity, after you ended your free dive session ? Garmin support so far said its normal, but I have suspicion its not correct behavior (Im not talking about surface interval). Its currently more than 24 hours since Im out of water, and surface time is still running and all other stats were zeroed when I saved activity. Thank you.

EDIT: checked with Garmin,,,its expected bahvior, basically like another surface interval and it will be zeroed in next dive/apnea session

I am going to Dahab for two weeks this October. Last year I mainly went with DF diving taking my pb from 34 to 40 CWTB.

I would like to explore some other coaching options.

Would like to do approx 10 sessions to a max budget of around 800 eur.

I know, TouchDown seems to have the best reputation but the cost of 1250 for 8 sessions I can't afford it.

Any recommendations? Dony Mac from True Depth free diving seems to be at my budget. Any one with personal experience with him?

TIA - feel free to PM

Please!

I have both a cressi atom and a cressi calibro.

Both of them leak just under my nose if I have even the slightest stubble.

The calibro is worse.

To 20 meters I actually just prefer Swedish goggles and a nose clip but I know that I need a mask for deeper. I can only blow air out of my right lacrimal duct. So my right eye is my rate limiting step.

Please recommend a mask. I can’t come to terms with no eye coverage. Roast me if you have to, but I need a mask

Hi all. I'm on Roatan for 5 weeks, working remotely during the weekdays, and diving in the mornings on weekdays and multiple times on weekends.

I'm a new scuba diver and was only planning on scuba diving, but I saw a free diving shop on west end, where I'm staying, and I'm thinking of enrolling in their 2.5 day course.

I'm an OK swimmer, not great. I have no issues with scuba diving, but I think free diving requires more expertise with swimming, perhaps more so than I have currently, and if that's the case, I should probably get better at swimming before I attempt to learn how to free dive?

This is the course: https://www.roatanfreediving.com/product/aida-2-freediver-course/

Any thoughts here?

Don't want to drop $400 and 2.5 days on this course if I need to be a better swimmer first.

Hey lovely people! 🪼

I’m on the hunt for a wetsuit. I was curious to get if anyone’s knows of any plus size friendly brands.

I use to wear a 14-16 when I was younger but have since gained weight in my mid 20’s
And looking to get another, (goals to lose weight but wanting one for now)
I rarely use them but am looking for one for the colder autumn/winter months ahead

*long sleeve and legs*
is what I’m aiming to buy

Any particular brands that size around a UK 18-20 for females that you could recommend in the UK?
I’d love an exciting and colourful or patterned one but totally open to anything right now.

Open to most mm thickness
Just wanna see what’s out there

I live in Cornwall so there’s lots of places but I don’t have the means of travel at the moment so online shopping is my saviour for the most part!

Also separate questions and food for thought, do you prefer a two piece or a standard zip up all in one wetsuit and if so why? :)
(Open to both myself)

Thanks guys, happy diving! 🤍😊🐚🫧

Am I too salty? I find myself annoyed by the term “freediving”. If I borrow some split fins and strap a small aquarium to my face then dive to 98’….did I go “freediving”or “snorkeling”? If I’m snorkeling a reef and decide to drop deep…did I “skin dive”? Does it even matter? Am I the only one feeling like it’s become too tribal or exclusionary? (Like snowboarders vs skiers.). Yeah. I’m a salty Gen-X’r

i’ve never gone snorkeling or diving before. i have a feeling i’d really enjoy free diving more than snorkeling, but is it worth it to spend the money on snorkeling fins if i know i’ll probably want free diving fins eventually? are they really much different?

I got interested in freediving from watching some Instagram reels, of people moving in all sorts of beautiful ways. It seemed to me like they have gained a "third dimension" of movement, similar to flying, but without an aircraft.

It also reminded me of when I was a child (~10 years ago, when I didn't even know the word "freediving"), I used to be able to dive down to 3 meters in my local pool (which shut down) and I really liked the feeling of being underwater, being away from everyone else at the surface, And I enjoyed the idea of not being able to breathe (this is my kink).

So I did a quick search on how to get started with freediving, and I was intimidated by all the training courses and certifications I need. I had assumed that, unlike scuba, freediving was something I could do without qualifications. The fact that I need a buddy is also a major roadblock - I have no friends, I have social anxiety, and the people in my family can barely swim. I am also a lot fatter and a lot less fit than 10 years ago.

All this is to say, that I feel like trying out freediving is a huge commitment, and I'm afraid that all of that will be for nothing, if I eventually find that it actually isn't like what I imagined it to be, or that I just get frustrated and give up.

In fact, I already did "get frustrated and give up" once, attending a swimming class when I was a child. I really hated learning about the proper techniques of breaststroke/freestyle and stuff, partly because I find it very hard, partly because I already was satisfied with how I swam (which is something I sort of just naturally figured out). Thinking back, my favourite way of swimming was basically dynamic apnea.

TLDR: I just want to be able to move freely in 3 dimensions in the water, but learning to do this seems like a big commitment.

Thanks for reading my rant. Please give me some advice.