How expensive is Freediving?
What minimal equipment is needed to freedive and how expensive is it?
– Minimal equipment needed to freedive is just a mask, snorkel and fins, which isn’t expensive at all.
You can freedive without any gear at all actually. Nevertheless, basic items for freediving are considered to be mask, snorkel and fins. These three primary gear parts are quiet cheap and are easy to come by.
Mask is considered to be an essential part, simply because it allows you to see underwater. Even if water is crystal clear, mask will protect your eyes and smooth your experience as a whole. When choosing what mask to buy you need to make sure it’s low volume and has an integrated nosepiece. It is advised to buy a good one, not too cheap one. It will serve you for years. Same goes for a snorkel. While it allows you to breathe more adequately, some people don’t like to use it and prefer to go with just a mask. This option is likely for those who have at least some experience in diving and can hold their breath for some time. There are a huge variety of freediving fins. Differs in size, stile, stiffness to cater different porpoises. It is advised not to rush in purchase of fins as there is a big chance to get a wrong pair.
Which is more expensive: freediving or scuba diving equipment?
– The cost of freediving equipment is less than scuba diving equipment.
Since freedivers usually only need their lungs to freedive, costs on equipment may equal zero. Scuba diving, on the other hand, requires more. Fins, masks, regulators, tanks, and buoyancy compensators are just elemental parts that you’ll need in order to practice scuba diving.
However, more advance freediving will require more gear and more expenses as well. For example, if you wish to learn not just static apnea, you’ll need to pay more. To practice serious dynamic freediving you may need to buy fins, as well as spend some money on wetsuit and a trip to deep waters (sea for example), since it’s impossible to learn to dive very deep no matter how big training pool is.
How expensive is it to learn/ practice freediving?
– The cost of freediving training/course is like any other sport/diving course.
In the contrast to the equipment needed the cost for any freediving course will be approximately the same as any scuba diving course. Upon finishing a course you’ll be given a certificate. Each course has a different difficulty level, the time take to finish the course depends on how comfortable you feel in the water.
If you wish to increase your freediving skills, you should practice. It is important to understand that the price of such activity may differ depending on how far you live from the sea, for example. Training will be difficult and will come with an expense if you don’t have any deep waters near you.
By Yuriy - Apnea Pirate