Weights

[OceanObsessed]

When a freediver takes a deep breath, his stomach needs to expand to draw extra air in--for this to work optimally, the weigh belt needs to stretch--otherwise it would have to be so loose that it would instantly fall off your waist.

I agree, the rubber weight belt is the way to go. The rubber belts stay put and don't slide up and down your body when your suit compresses. I like to wear mine lower on my hips so that it does not interfer with my diaphram when breathing.

If you purchase freedive specific gear (masks, weight belt, fins, etc) you can use that gear for recreational scuba too. Scuba masks, belts & fins are not always the best for freediving though. IMO the only exception to this is freedivng wetsuits. They are so compressible that your bouyancy changes alot with depth... which is okay for freediving but it is a bit less pleasant for scuba.

 

[dumpsterDiver]

As for how much weight, I like to be just slightly negative on the surface--as long as I am slowly kicking, my body planes enough to copensate without my having to fight any weight ( I don't feel negatively bouyant). Dan

I think all the experts will tell you that weighting to be negative at the surface is not appropriate for anyone, especially a new freediver.

So far he has heard:
Wear crappy lead shot belts
Use a scooter to pull yourself down
Weight yourself to be negative at the surface....

don't beleive everything you read on the internets

 

[DanLVolker]

I think all the experts will tell you that weighting to be negative at the surface is not appropriate for anyone, especially a new freediver.

Maybe an "expert" scuba instructor

Most scuba instructors would be very lucky if they could freedive deeper than 30 feet...
If you could read, you would have seen I said the slow speed at the surface held the weight....as for shallow water blackoput issues, I would say any freediver should be diving with a buddy--whether a pound negative or a pound positive, if you blacked out you would need a buddy to survive.

If you can't swim well enough to make 1 pound of negative bouyancy a non-issue for your safety, take up golf.

 

[OceanObsessed]

Wojo,

Now that you are probably thoroughly confused, I am going to recommend something different than everyone else. My recommendation is to go with what the professional freediving schools teach like FIT: If diving deeper than 33 feet then weight yourself to be neutral at 33 feet. If diving less than 33 feet then strive to be neutral at 6 feet above the bottom. The upper 33 feet is considered the danger zone because that is where over 99% of all SWB’s occur. That is why it is best to always be positively buoyant in that zone when diving deeper than 33 feet. Go with what the professionals use, I do. They have invested the time and research to have the best guidelines.

Also, go with a rubber belt and old fashioned solid lead weights. In my opinion, it is a more comfortable and better belt than the non rubber belts and you can use it for both freediving and scuba. Remember to wear the belt low on your hips so that it does not restrict diaphramatic breathing. I use the Omer rubber weight belt with the quick release buckle (not the one with holes). You can find it on Leisurepro.com. I like to use 1 or 2 lb weights and distribute them evenly around the belt. I don't like changing the weights out so I have two belts... one for deeper than 33 feet and another weight belt for 20 feet.

-Chris

 

[dumpsterDiver]

Maybe an "expert" scuba instructor

Most scuba instructors would be very lucky if they could freedive deeper than 30 feet...
If you could read, you would have seen I said the slow speed at the surface held the weight....as for shallow water blackoput issues, I would say any freediver should be diving with a buddy--whether a pound negative or a pound positive, if you blacked out you would need a buddy to survive.

If you can't swim well enough to make 1 pound of negative bouyancy a non-issue for your safety, take up golf.

The depth that I (or any other scuba instructor can reach without a scuba tank) is irrelevant to the discussion. I will stand by my statement that your apparent recommendation for weighting a freediver to be negative at the surface diverges considerably from what I, and most all freedivers, consider to be prudent. I will not question your ability to freedive or scuba, but your advice is very far from anything I have read on the subject.

 

[DanLVolker]

The depth that I (or any other scuba instructor can reach without a scuba tank) is irrelevant to the discussion. I will stand by my statement that your apparent recommendation for weighting a freediver to be negative at the surface diverges considerably from what I, and most all freedivers, consider to be prudent. I will not question your ability to freedive or scuba, but your advice is very far from anything I have read on the subject.

And even with your agency based pontificating, you fail to emphasize how important the buddy system should be to freedivers.
My first impression is that few scuba instructors should offer opinions about freediving, and the second would be that even among freediving, the "schools" out there are typically teaching freedivers how to cheat the protection of their CO2 breathing regulation mechanism...things like "Static Apnea" are considered as good or worthwhile, even though they have nothing to do with safety, and little to do with the enjoyment or sport of freedivng. Teaching sled drops is even more ridiculous---perhaps even more foolish than the equivalent of a PADI DEEP AIR course ( joking here--I don't believe PADI would ever go that far to make money) ...

When money can be made by teaching something, the ability to teach it becomes more important than the sport<to some>.
Even more important, I would bet that you are one of those instructors who never met a potential student they would not be willing to "teach" diving to--regardless of whether the student was a "Never-Ever" or not.....there are plenty of people who should NOT be scuba divers or freedivers, but it is rare to find dive instructors who will live by this.

 

[dumpsterDiver]

And even with your agency based pontificating, you fail to emphasize how important the buddy system should be to freedivers.
My first impression is that few scuba instructors should offer opinions about freediving, and the second would be that even among freediving, the "schools" out there are typically teaching freedivers how to cheat the protection of their CO2 breathing regulation mechanism...things like "Static Apnea" are considered as good or worthwhile, even though they have nothing to do with safety, and little to do with the enjoyment or sport of freedivng. Teaching sled drops is even more ridiculous---perhaps even more foolish than the equivalent of a PADI DEEP AIR course ( joking here--I don't believe PADI would ever go that far to make money) ...

When money can be made by teaching something, the ability to teach it becomes more important than the sport<to some>.
Even more important, I would bet that you are one of those instructors who never met a potential student they would not be willing to "teach" diving to--regardless of whether the student was a "Never-Ever" or not.....there are plenty of people who should NOT be scuba divers or freedivers, but it is rare to find dive instructors who will live by this.

So now we are talking about the buddy system. sled drops, deep air, static apnea, money hungry scuba instructors and unqualified students.

 

[OceanObsessed]

Regarding the freediving school that I made reference to:

the "schools" out there are typically teaching freedivers how to cheat the protection of their CO2 breathing regulation mechanism

Many freedivers are already CO2 purging and they are frequently doing it in such a way that is unsafe and actually causes shorter breatholds. The course that I made reference to teaches you how to do it properly and safely. In addition to that they also teach you to perform a buddy and self evaluation after every freedive. Safety is big part of the course. Using the technique is your personal choice but you will come out of the course safer than you were before.

&#8230;things like "Static Apnea" are considered as good or worthwhile, even though they have nothing to do with safety, and little to do with the enjoyment or sport of freedivng.

One of the reasons they teach static in the class is so that the student can listen internally for symptoms of hypoxia in a controlled environment so they will recognize those symptoms during real world recreational freediving. The whole reason for this is again&#8230; safety. Furthermore, although static holds are different animals than dynamic, it is a good way to build O2 & CO2 tolerance which is useful in real world recreational freediving.

Teaching sled drops is even more ridiculous---perhaps even more foolish than the equivalent of a PADI DEEP AIR course (joking here--I don't believe PADI would ever go that far to make money) ...

They offer Level I, II and III classes to the general public. None of which involves sled drops. If you want to pursue competitive freediving they will teach that too.

Everything that they teach in the level I, II and III courses is beneficial to recreational freediving. I know alot of people that have taken the course that I mention and I have never heard a single negative comment regarding the instruction. It is top notch instruction that all freedivers, no matter what your experience level is, can benefit from.

 

[AnotherNWdiver]

I know I'm late getting into this, but I've got to say something.

Yes, freediving with a buddy is vital, but so is being positively bouyant at the surface. I can think of so many reasons why this is so and the empirical evidence backs it up.

You need to relax on the surface, not work, and slow your heart down to freedive well. If you have to kick all the time to stay on the surface you will never get that chance to relax and slow your heart. You will be tired and thinking about staying up, not about your dive. If you're positive on the surface, and God forbid you pass out, you will at least stay on the surface. Hopefully your buddy will see what happened to you and keep your face out of the water. If you're negative, down you go. If both you and your buddy are negative on the surface and you start to have problems on the way up, your buddy will have to work against your weight and his weight to get both of you up. Either that, or he'll have to jetison about $75 - $100 worth of weight and weight belts. And if your buddy is working to stay on the surface, he will likely not have the breath hold to help deal with all your problems because he's using his energy to stay on the surface.

And the empirical evidence? Most freedivers who die, other than the extremists going way deep, are spearfishers who load on the weight to stay down.

And besides, even when I'm neutral at 33 ft. it only takes me about 7 kick cycles to get down to neutral. That's what those big fins are for.

Think about it. Would you rather work harder on the way down with a full breath or on the way up when you've used most of it up? Seems obvious to me.

But hey, it's your life.

JB

 

[DanLVolker]

I know I'm late getting into this, but I've got to say something.

Yes, freediving with a buddy is vital, but so is being positively bouyant at the surface. I can think of so many reasons why this is so and the empirical evidence backs it up.

You need to relax on the surface, not work, and slow your heart down to freedive well. If you have to kick all the time to stay on the surface you will never get that chance to relax and slow your heart. You will be tired and thinking about staying up, not about your dive. If you're positive on the surface, and God forbid you pass out, you will at least stay on the surface. Hopefully your buddy will see what happened to you and keep your face out of the water. If you're negative, down you go. If both you and your buddy are negative on the surface and you start to have problems on the way up, your buddy will have to work against your weight and his weight to get both of you up. Either that, or he'll have to jetison about $75 - $100 worth of weight and weight belts. And if your buddy is working to stay on the surface, he will likely not have the breath hold to help deal with all your problems because he's using his energy to stay on the surface.

And the empirical evidence? Most freedivers who die, other than the extremists going way deep, are spearfishers who load on the weight to stay down.

And besides, even when I'm neutral at 33 ft. it only takes me about 7 kick cycles to get down to neutral. That's what those big fins are for.

Think about it. Would you rather work harder on the way down with a full breath or on the way up when you've used most of it up? Seems obvious to me.

But hey, it's your life.

JB

The way I freedive, is with such a small negative amount of weight on the surface, that there is absolutely no way I feel the weight while slow kicking. In palm beach, the current runs over the reef at a couple mph, and you are normally going to have to kick on the surface to be over the area you want to dive on--you can't just hang over your target without kicking for 2 minutes..not here.

Also, we don't have very cold water here, the way you would as a Pacific diver--with the heavy wetsuits a cold water freediver uses, there would be much more bouyancy shift at depth than we get with our warm water suits--so the whole concept of neutral at 30 feet is far more meaningful to Pacific divers.