A comparison between the risks of freediving and scubadiving

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Sbiriguda

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Location
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I started from Scuba and I am now taking a course of freediving
I would like to make a comparison between the risk of the two disciplines

1) A first question, do you believe freediving is more or less dangerous than scuba?

Some people say there are more accidents and casualties in freediving, but I've also heard that this is actually due to the fact freedivers are often actually spearfishing and this activity makes things more complicated. Here in Italy mostly they tell you it's strongly recommended to do scuba with others but you can try also alone. While most people say it's mandatory not to be alone when freediving (well this is the theory of course...)

2) I would like to make a table of the risks in the two disciplines (I will modify it also based on your feedback) in order to discuss the several risks, their frequency and actual danger

Freediving

1) Drowning due to panic or illness
2) Freediving blackout
3) Syncope (same as blackout + cardiac arrest)
4) Hyperventilation
5) Ears damage
6) Risks related to marine enviroment (jelly fish, corals, etc.)
7) Risks related to human activity (boats, fishing lines and nets, spearfishermen accidentally hitting humans, etc.)
8) Hypothermia
9) Equipment failure

Scuba

1) Drowning due to panic or illness
2) Decompression Sickness
3) Arterial Air Embolism
4) Nitrogen Narcosis
5) Ears damage
6) Risks related to marine enviroment (jelly fish, corals, etc.)
7) Risks related to human activity (boats, fishing lines and nets, spearfishermen accidentally hitting humans, etc.)
8) Hypothermia
9) Drysuit + excessive weight
10) Equipment failure
 
I think for free diving there is always the risk of drowning after being trapped in something like a rock [happened not long ago around here] .
With scuba diving if you get trapped in something you still have some time to try and work it out if you dont panic, with free diving that time is very limited.

[Sadly a couple of months ago a free diver here had his fin trapped between some rocks which ultimately led to him drowning at just 3m's depth.]
 
I am not an expert on this but would guess the easiest for a scuba diver to get could be:
-ear damage, either mild or serious (very easy to get especially if new and hasty diver and the warning signs may not be obvious enough)
-lung overexpansion (very easy to get unintentionally and quickly if having bad buoyancy skills and not paying attention, for example new divers with task loading)
-entanglement to various things, especially to one's own lines if not used to deploy them correctly
 
A non-inconsequential danger of scuba diving is the dependence on all the gear. Freediving uses gear, but it is very unlikely to fail, however a fin blade could break on ascent or a fin pocket could rip.

The risks associated with regulator and several hoses, BC, dry suit, computer failure probably should be considered. In fact, a scuba diver should have a plan to survive any one piece of their recreational gear failure.
 
I have understood that decompression sickness cases related to recreational scuba are most often not life threatening and are not on par with the freediving blackout risks at all.

One could blackout with scuba as well with similar consequences but the reasons may be different...

hypothermia would also be one risk with all water related activities.... up here I would consider it being much bigger risk than those related to nitrogen narcosis for example if talking about rec diving depths and times.
The list was not intended to be necessarily about directly life threatening stuff I think?
because most accidents don't seem to lead to fatalities but to various degrees of damage instead
 
drysuit + too much weight would be the biggest risk factor for a new diver I think, too much to think about and way too easy to bolt to the surface unintentionally all the time if not paying attention. 1st hand experience with that as well as with hypothermia related to a leaking drysuit and cold water :shocked:

I don't think a computer failure would be much of a problem underwater if turning the dive immediately when that happens and not trying to continue the dive closer to NDL .

Equipment failure related to diving lights could be actually pretty serious in situations where one would really need the light to end the dive safely. I think this is seriously underestimated issue in rec diving, some divers especially new ones may never carry lights and IF they carry they don't have backup. still doing dusk dives and even night dives. Poor planning = asking for troubles I think
 
The risks associated with regulator and several hoses, BC, dry suit, computer failure probably should be considered. In fact, a scuba diver should have a plan to survive any one piece of their recreational gear failure.
In the FIPSAS courses I think (alternative to PADI) they have a specific set of exercises made in a controlled environment and under instructors supervision. They simulate equipment failure. For example you are supposed to swim with one fin only, or without computer if you have one, or withou mask etc.
Never tried myself. Anyway they say it's even fun and makes people more aware of the proper usage of all the gear
 
I don't know whether there are any useful statistics, but it is my understanding that, in practice, freediving beyond relatively short, shallow dives is far more dangerous than scuba diving.

So much so, that I decided not to take any of the classes, after having been interested.
 
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