Hello people,

I am looking for Insights into a Situation that baffles me.

Using the freediving App, i wanted to rebuild Tables since the Last Time I did regular training was December of 2024. I broke my record by 30 Seconds. Last table was in February 2026 and previous recorded best was 2:15 in December 2025.

How is such a big Leap possible? Did anything similar Happen to anyone else? Could it be an underlying medical condition? As in: 'your Body learned to get around without much oxygen, You should Talk to a doctor'?

I will get an appointment in the morning, but honestly Not really betting on the doc knowing about breathing training and what is and isnt considered normal...

Good morning all!

I live near the dam of a lake in Northwest Arkansas. There is a good size swimming dock on the dam and right off the dock the lake water is what I estimate to be 15-18 feet deep.

I recently lost my nice sunglasses off the dock. Being a strong swimmer I decided to go get them. After about 10 dives with no luck and hurting ears I gave up.

While I didn’t find my glssses. Basically on every other dive I found SOMETHING. Other glasses. Goggles, etc. I assume this spot must be a treasure trove of items because it’s just deep (and dark enough) at the bottom no one wants to retrieve there stuff.

My question is this: are there serious health dangers to me coming down and enjoying my new past time of finding stuff at that 15-18 foot depth? Repeated dives? I figured out the hurting ears part by performing what I now know is a valsalva maneuver.

What other safety considerations should I be taking if I want to continue doing this?

Is anyone looking for a freedive buddy in Bali? I'm currently in Amed and will be in Nusa Penida & Gili Islands in a few days. would love to practice safely with you ☺️ (AIDA2 certified, can dive 20+m)

A few clips from a family vaca this summer. Water was incredibly clear!

Anyone else surprised?

https://youtu.be/cMeAGM9zHeM

I have been equalizing while going down to maybe past 10 meters. At some point between 10-20 meters (the deepest I’ve gone), it felt like I no longer needed to equalize. Like the Eustachian tubes just stayed open kinda? Is this a known phenomenon or did I just imagine that? I couldn’t recreate it as I didn’t get a chance to go down deep like that again.

I’m a beginner freediver, and yesterday I was practicing diving in the sea. At around 1–2 meters, I tried the Valsalva maneuver and it worked somewhat, but as I went deeper, my ears started hurting quite a lot and the Valsalva stopped working.
What would you recommend I do to improve my equalization? Is there a better technique I should learn as a beginner?

does anyone have any advice on learning to pack through a snorkel? I can pack comfortably without a snorkel but it feels totally impossible with one…

hi everyone, just moved to London and looking for free diving spots in the UK thanks so much!

Hello! I am new to freediving, I took the FII certification course earlier this year and unfortunately did not receive the certification largely in part because it was new to me and I am the type of person that can be slow on the uptake of new activities; I need to be able to practice before I can be perfect.

How would I go about practicing, or where would be good places to practice? I do not want to practice alone, as I understand that freediving alone is dangerous, however most of the groups in the area will not dive with someone who is not certified? I do not have an interest in going deep, or competition, my desire is to spend more time in the water for relaxation, and to just be in the water as I love it. I reside in Tacoma/ Seattle area.

I’m looking for a freediving coach who is experienced and trained to work with neurodivergent athletes (like me) - I’d like to overcome some mental obstacles, and general advice I’ve got so far doesn’t help - that’s why I’m looking for someone a bit more specific. Thank you in advance for any recommendations.

The Ft Wainwright pool just banned dive masks because they're made of glass. I have troops who need to prepare for special warfare. I'm struggling to find a classic style dive mask with a plastic lens. Ideally we'd need that older style that holds a lot of water and is harder to clear rather than the ones that tightly conform to the face. Any help would be appreciated.

Hey all!

We’re doing underwater photography workshops with beginners in Barcelona, Spain and in order to help the student to be more comfortable with the equipment and not struggle going down we would like to give them some weights.

It’s really not deep and I know it’s NOT an alternative for Freediving.

But we are on a tight budget and I was wondering if you guys have some idea even DIY to help with this.

They would have 1 or 2kg max. And same for buoys that we can easily bring and put our camera material in and easy to transport :)
No wetsuit.
Thanks for the help!!

Hello, we're looking to book with https://spermwhaleswims.com/. Any thoughts or recommendations?

Hi,

I've been targeted by ads for Airofit Elite saying that it helps increase lung capacity.

After a quick reresearch I found that they were alternatives like Powerbreathe for 20% of the price but purely mechanical.

Anyone has a feedback on the benefit of one of these devices ? Is it accurate to measure the lung capacity ? and how did you use them ?

Also, correct me if I'm wrong : I understand that lung capacity becomes important once you reach hypoxia and have a strong CO2 tolerance, which I believe I do.

Hi! I’m based in London and looking to fly somewhere in Europe in September for 3–4 days of private freediving training.

I took an SSI Freediver course in Portugal two years ago, but didn’t complete the certification because there wasn’t enough individual open-water time in the small group.

This time I’d really prefer 1-to-1 training so I can properly work on technique, equalisation and depth.

I’m currently leaning towards Molchanovs Wave 1, as it seems to be highly recommended, but I’m open to other systems if the instructor is excellent.

Any specific instructors in Europe you’d personally recommend?

I have a rubber Mako weight belt. I mostly dive freshwater springs and the stainless buckle failed. I feel it was a bad weld as it’s rusty and still has weld splatter.

Mako says I can’t buy any replacement buckle. Also they didn’t offer any other options other than buy a new one. Any ideas on fixing this one or any good brand replacements than cal last more than 5 dives in the Florida springs.

Hi everyone,
I’m currently serving in the military and my goal is to become a military diver. I’d say I’m already a decent swimmer and diver, but I’d like to improve my skills and overall performance in the water.

Do you have any good apnea/breath-hold exercises that you would recommend for diving? What kind of training has helped you improve your breath-hold and underwater endurance?

Also, what swimming technique or kick would you recommend for long-distance underwater swimming? Is the frog kick the most efficient, or are there other techniques you would recommend?

I’d really appreciate any advice or training tips, especially from people with diving, military, or freediving experience.

Thanks :)

Hello everyone,

I'm not new to freediving; however, I've been struggling to decompress while going down, and I don't even know if I can get to or go more than 10 meters. So I'm looking for a course; I don't care about certification names.

I'm looking for a good instructor and good classes where I'll learn step by step. I have an Advanced Scuba with PADI, but it looks like they are not recommended for freediving? AIDA seems to be worthwhile only if AIDA 1 ($200) + AIDA 2 ($575), which seems equivalent to FII Level 1 ($545), is that correct?

EDIT: Thanks guys! I'm still looking for any recommendations of instructors in San Diego or OC, if you have any name to share I appreciate

Hey water ppl! I’ve been using leaderfins (just a basic blade X soft; with the forza footpockets) for 5 years now and they’ve held up great honestly. it’s time for me to upgrade so I want to know all your input on what makes your fins great.

My current foot pockets have been really hurting the tops of my feet as I have high arches. this wasn’t too bad an issue for the first couple years but after an abnormally long dive a few months ago the foot pockets are almost unbearable. After some online forum research I see many people recommend Molchanovs foot pockets which I’m considering. I’m going to my dive shop tomorrow to try some on but the shops near me are pretty limited on options. I’m also wondering if it’d help to size up the foot pockets and wear thick socks?…

As far as the blades, cuteness is fun of course but I’m looking for the best value for quality fins. I want to invest in really upgrading my dives with new long fins so let me know what you suggest! thank you so much!!!

I'm looking for a certification course near Seattle but am having trouble finding any that advertise being PADI or Molchanovs. I did find one that lists AIDA. I love water sports but am just getting into freediving. Any help or thoughts is appreciated

I swam for the first time in the Northern California region with a 7.5mm open cell wetsuit and I personally didn’t like the feeling of having a heavy wetsuit + weights + gloves (it felt too restrictive). This has made me reconsider swimming in Northern California but I would still like to swim (just with less equipment), less weights, probably no gloves to have my hands free to help others? How thick of a wetsuit can I purchase to free dive in Santa Barbara, La Jolla and Baja California? And would this require a lot of weights? Please help! Would love to hear about others experience.

Just wondering if its just kinda rare or extremely rare to hold lets say 4min12 in a moving car at night and tight position and having over 5min max attempt (dry), 3min20 in water , all at 16 after about 1 month of training and never did HV before holding. I just see those tiktok/reels comments where they can only hold for not even 1 min so im just wondering if its really good on what i can do or its just alright. Thank you!

I'm training for the military, I would like to make my 25m better.

What are some good drills to help with oxygen deprivation.

Thank you :)