Freediving comes hand in hand with scuba diving, but it’s not until you start really getting into freediving you realise how different the two sports about are, and what different equipment is needed. After the enormous popularity of our “Best Scuba Equipment for Women” it was a natural next step as we grow Girls that Freedive to introduce women’s freediving equipment. We enlisted help from our freedive trip co-host Amancay Freediving to give us more information on freediving equipment for females.
Freediving Masks
Freediving masks should be low volume, meaning that they will hold less air between our faces and lenses, this makes it more comfortable to equalise without waste of air and create less resistance while diving.We all have different face so there is no universal mask, still here are some suggestions based of great feedback of our students.
This is one of mares latest releases, is one of the lowest volume masks in the market, super smooth silicone skirt, very streamlined creating minimum drag, perfect nose grip for equalisation and an awesome range of colours to match your full gear!
- The product’s latest-generation silicones deter condensation
- Ergonomic buckles with double buttons on the skirt enable the strap to be adjusted precisely
- Developed in partnership with the best athletes in the world
- Dedicated to the most demanding free divers and spear fishermen
- The SKIRT has been modeled with meticulous attention to facial ergonomics, making it suitable for all types of physiognomy
Scubapro Steel Comp Freediving Mask
This is a awesome mask starting by the technical part is very low volume (super important in freediving), with a very soft silicon skirt and the best part is that is frameless giving the mask a flexibility to fit a wide range of faces as well as adaptation to depth. Not least, is that it has a great strap that helps us not entangle our hair!It looks really cool and you have 3 colors to choose from black, white and transparent!
Hunter is a basic mask for beginners, is low volume mask but not as small as other you may find in the market. I have found that sometime changing from a big mask, to a very low volume one may be challenging; if that’s your case, then this is your mask!
It has very soft silicon and great for wider faces.
Freediving Snorkels
Different to scuba, in freediving the snorkel is crucial. If you have already gone through your freediving course you may be aware how important is to be relaxed during your breath-up; our snorkel is a big part of this. So make sure that you have a simple snorkel, no need of exhaust valves or splash cover, just a small, soft silicone mouthpiece with comfortable angle and correct distance from the tube, this will help breath from your snorkel comfortably without even being aware it is there.
This is full silicone snorkel, with a small and soft mouthpiece, the tube is long and the top curve help it be streamlined and dont get water in. The upper barrel on this versatile surface breather can be removed if you prefer to use a shorter pipe which is perfect to fit different faces. And off course look at those color options!!
Freediving Fins
So the most important thing when choosing your Freediving fin is balancing comfort and effort, you want a fin that fits you comfortably and help you be efficient.
Freediving fins are divided in 2 parts, the foot pocket and the blade.
Foot pockets are inclosed heal usually made of a smooth material.The blade is long, and can vary in material (plastic, fibre and carbon) and stiffness (soft, medium, hard).
For us girls the biggest challenge that we can find with fins is the foot pocket, The bigger commercial grands do not count with many options for smaller foot sizes so that may limit our search and options. But luckily, as more and more girls are joining the freediving community that is slowly changing.
As beginners I will suggest staying between plastic and fiber, once you start being more familiar with the sport, you can invest on a more advanced carbon fin (is almost 3 times the price). As girls we will probably be staying between a soft or soft -medium blade depending on the strength of your leg. We don’t want to waste our energy in un-needed effort.
Having in mind this characteristic we have divided our section in 2:
Read also: Best Female Swimwear
Basic/Beginner Freedive Fins
You will probably find this fin in more than one freediving school, for a plastic blade it has good flexibility, and is not too hard on our legs. It has a integrated foot pocket, small and narrow giving a better fit for woman feet. Its size starts at 37 (USA 5)!! And they are really affordable to start with.
Sporasub Lady Spitfire
It’s not only a beautiful fin, but it has been design for girls!
Foot pocket starts at 37 (USA 5)! The blue areas of the foot pocket are softer being comfortable without socks and it has an anti-slip pattern on the heel. They have interchangeable foot pocket so as you grow into freediving and want to upgrade your fins you will only need a change of blade, and will be able to keep the same foot pocket.
The blade is very flexible, is characterized by its semi-transparency and the keyhole at its top that decreases drag during the kick cycle. The hole, in fact, relieves water from the part of the blade that works less, thus it acts as a channel for water.
Advanced Freediving Fins
For beginners, Leaderfins is the full package: sizes, efficiency, price and style! They have a big variety of option between fibre and carbon fins. and their stiffness, these will help choose the one best for your performance.Foot Pocket size starts at 33 (US size 3)!!Finally my favourite is the amazing designs they have!
Carbon fins with more flexibility but a much bigger price tag. But we just can’t resist those patterns!
Women’s Freediving Wetsuits
Last but not least is our wetsuit…For freediving, we normally will use a 2 pieces wetsuit, this will give us more flexibility and comfort. You will notice that you can find different materials and even combinations of neoprene when looking for freediving wetsuit. Here are a few options of wetsuits specially designed for women!
Custom-made freedive wetsuit
If you are looking for a suit that fits like a glove then custom suits are always the way to go – you can guarantee they will fit and work properly! We love our Oceaner rec 45 2-piece suit, it is so comfortable and so,so warm! We are hooked on custom made, but with prices starting from $500 you have to be ready to make the (well worth it) investment!
Mares Apnea Instinct 30 / 50
Is a great wetsuit, specially designed for our woman curves, its two pieces; pants and top , has different thickness options: 1.7mm, 3mm a 5mm, which is great to be able to choose according to the water temperature you’ll be diving at.
The 3mm and 5mm and open cell inside and lined outside, is very good to keep us warm and at the same time, is strong not to tare apart with anything we touch. The 5mm jacket utilizes 3.5mm neoprene at the wrists and around the face, including the same application on the pants at the ankles and waistband making it more comfortable and flexible. 1.7mm is great for warm water and is lined inside smooth skin outside. The smooth skin won’t absorb as much water, helping us create less of a drag while diving.
Omer Yemaya
This is great for brave woman willing to dive in colder water! It comes in 5mm and 7mm, is open cell inside and lined outside. You will find some extra details in this one, such as ,a seal all around the edges made of smooth skin helping it seal tight and not having water flushing in and out. You will also find some knee pads to protect it on rough places and a chest pad most commonly seen for spear-fishers.
Girls that Freedive Advice
If you are just starting to freedive don’t go crazy looking for the top trendy gear you can find as soon as you start. Give yourself some time to discover yourself in the water, what disciplines you enjoy more and decide if you want to just have fun freediving or if you want to take it to a competitive level. Try different options while you train, and with time you will be realising what actually works best for you and your needs.
Remember freediving is a fantastic experience that will teach you a lot about yourself while having fun! As in life your mind is what will dictate where your limits stand, so when it comes down to the gear it will all come down to comfort. Don’t overthink it and don’t worry about getting to technical, think of it as your partner in life; choose something that you like but make sure you will be able to feel good and relaxed so you will be able to focus only on the fun and beauty that is all around you. You will discover how perfect things can be when you discover that your body can do things you could never even imagine!
Have fun, go freediving!!
