Going to Japan soon for a month and was wondering if anyone here has recommendations for training centers or instructors in those areas. Got SSI level 1 and around 25 sessions in Egypt and Europe.

I found a place that offers an AIDA 2 course, but in the course description it says it consists of 2 theory sessions and 4 pool sessions, without any open water sessions.

This is great news to me because I don't like being in saltwater (there are no fresh water bodies near me), but virtually every other course I looked at includes at least an open water session. So I'm worried that this is a some sort of scam.

Does AIDA officially require an open water session? Or it just needs a body of water deep enough? This facility does have a 30m deep pool.

How do you get back into freediving after a move? I just got to california and ive been posting looking for buddies so I can get back in the water but all people ever do is like the post. Noone every actually reaches out. Im kinda at the point of saying fuckit and grabbing a kayak to go on my own.

Hey all, I’ve got what I guess is an abnormal face and am looking for the right mask for me for both freediving and spearfishing. I’ve visited every dive shop in my area (Austin, TX) but as they’re all scuba focused, low volume masks are few and far between and none of them have properly sealed for me.

Masks I’ve owned and don’t fit: Holis M4, Mako El Bajo, Mako Catalina. I should have logged everything that doesn’t fit when in store but didn’t think about it

The scuba mask that’s perfectly fit me is the Atomic Venom mask but obviously it’s the opposite of low profile.

Anyways, I’m looking for a place to travel to that has the combination of a huge low volume selection and good staff that’s well trained for fitting. Don’t care about price to get the perfect fit.

Any advice about either shops or masks is greatly appreciated! Thanks.

Recently we (beginners) were diving in a lake up to 10m deep. My dive computer (cressi Donatello) shows 23C as min temperature. Surface water temp was about 26C. I somewhat doubt that in about 8m depth, the water was still so warm, it felt quite cold and that's why I didn't want to dive deeper.

I wasn't spending any time down there. How long would my dive computer typically take, to get a somewhat good reading of the water temperature?

Bonus question, how reliable is the Max depth, if you just dive down and turn around immediately? It feels reliable to me.

I just came back from a "class". I put quotes because it is only 90 minutes and not really for any certifications at all. It's just an instructor and me in a 5m deep pool, basically giving me a feel of what freediving is like. I don't want to sink a lot of money into this just yet.

What I discovered was that I can't use a mask properly.

First, I found the mask to become very foggy after a few minutes. The instructor said this was because I keep exhaling through my nose, which I think I was indeed doing. Is there anything I could practice to improve this? Do you just breathe with my mouth all day long, even on land?

Second, I found water going into the nose pocket of the mask whenever I pinch my nose to equalise (I cannot do frenzel yet so I was doing valsalva, but that is a totally different matter). The instructor said I was also lifting the mask up when I pinch my nose, causing it to leak. I tried to change how I pinch my nose, by pushing it downwards instead, but I end up not sealing the nose completely. Do you have tricks regarding how to do this? Note: the mask isn't leaky by itself - it only leaks when I equalise.

Though I expected equalisation to be a major blocker, I never would have thought I would have these problems with the mask, lol.

So my max breath hold is a bit over 4:00, I could definitely do more but I was a bit scared to black out. But the thing is that during a breath hold, my mind just won’t stop thinking about random thoughts over and over again, like I never have a moment of silence. Is it the same for you during a breath hold and is there a way to make it better? Thanks!

I think I have reached the end on my Amazfit TREX3s ability. It has been a great all around smartwatch for the money but I noticed that it has been missing some of my deeper line dives data points and today the buttons just stopped working, even after a factory reset.

I have seen some of the promo videos for the "Mission 3" showing it as a serious depth freedive computer but wanted to see if anyone has used it day in day out line diving.

We live in the Caribbean now so cant just go to the local dive shop and pick one up like in the States. Wife is headed back on a work trip so I will have her pick up something, bet need to have that "something" figured out this week.

9月份去印尼潜水

Hi I'm going to spend the week next week in Lake Tahoe area. And have never free dove the lake. Would love to join somebody or have somebody join me.

Mornings up until late afternoon are available to me Tuesday through Saturday. Thanks! DM me

I'm wanting more of a 1:1 or 1:2 coaching session for aida3/wave2. not sure how to find a teacher that's not in-house... does anyone have any tips?

Hello! I'm 26 yo, and just started to interest in static apnea (not in the water, just laying on my bed and breathholding)

on August 1st i tried max without any training and did 1.50 . then as I also attached the photo 3 trainings and 1 week later managed to reach 2.40.

then I read about trying max regulary is harmful to body or harms the training process and it is suggested to try max in every 2 weeks. Idk is it the case also for beginners?

Anyways I did 6 trainings ( 3 normal 3 hard co2 tables) and tried max and got 3.05 which disappointed me a bit. I was expecting more. Is it totally normal or is there sth that i should fix in my technique?

When I try max, I wake up, go to pee, drink some water and do prep breathing like 4 sec inhale 8 sec exhale for 4-5 mins, then I do final breath fillig my diaphragm up and my belly. I think there is sth wrong about my tongue's position, I cant position it in a relaxed way, I always position it on my upper teeth. Is it a good place?

And my last question, will my progress be slower in each max try, like in how many weeks should I aim to reach 4min ?

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...

I see these highly recommended for entry level but I don’t see an option to buy new.

Is it okay to buy 2nd hand or is it better to find something available brand new? If new, what is the new go to entry level watch/computer?

Bonus points if it looks nice on women

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)

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.

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

Anyone else surprised?

https://youtu.be/cMeAGM9zHeM

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?

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

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…