Discover freediving
Freediving is the art of diving with the lungs as the only air reserve. Over the past 20 years, freediving has grown into a popular sport in Norway. The equipment is light and affordable, you can spend hours in the sea and the experiences are waiting in line. With equipment adapted to Norwegian conditions, this is a year-round hobby!
Freediving is a nice breather from everyday life that also provides intense nature experiences, exercise and joy. The most common form of freediving in Norway is underwater hunting. The nutrient-rich waters along our coast provide a basis for life for fish, shells and shellfish, and an underwater hunter harvests for his own consumption straight from nature. Freediving is a perfect hobby for sea-loving people of all age groups.
What equipment do I need to freedive?
Wetsuit for freediving
For freediving, "open cell" wetsuits are used, i.e. they are not lined with inner nylon. These are the warmest suits, and you have to have soapy water or an application agent in the suit to get it on. If you are freediving, most people will choose a 7mm "open cell" wetsuit even in the summer, but a 5mm wetsuit can be comfortable when there are good temperatures in the water. The thickest wetsuits are 9mm. These are pure winter suits and are most relevant for river diving and in the coldest parts of the country.
Neoprene gloves and socks
Neoprene gloves that are 5mm thick work well most of the year, but in winter some choose to switch to three-finger mittens.
Neoprene socks should be 7mm all year round. You rarely get too hot on your feet, and if you switch to thinner socks in the summer, the fins can become a little too roomy.
Diving mask
Most diving masks can be used for normal recreational freediving. What may still be a good idea to test is the following:
• Can you get a good grip on the nose so you can balance on the way down?
• Is the mask pulled in towards the face when you breathe in with your nose so that you are sure that it is tight?
• Is there enough distance from the forehead to the mask frame so that there is no unpleasant pressure on the forehead when the mask is used?
If this list is "crossed" and you also know that the mask has tempered glass and comfortable silicone, you have found "the right one". If you do competitive freediving/apnea where you dive very deep, use the smallest freediving masks.
Snorkel
In many cases, the simple is the best, especially when choosing a snorkel for freediving. Go for a standard snorkel without a valve. There are fewer things that can break, it is usually felt that they are less in the way, and the snorkel is in any case only used on the surface when resting between dives.
Webbed feet
Flippers for freediving (freediving fins) are longer than "regular" flippers. To dive without air, saving energy is essential. Long flippers provide far more power than short flippers, and the bone frequency is lower. This means that you save oxygen and can dive longer.
Plastic fins are a good and affordable choice. If you have the budget for it, or when freediving has been well tested and you know it's fun, fiber flippers are the way to go. These are very comfortable and more efficient than plastic fins, but they also cost more.
Lead belt with lead weights
A freediving suit that is 7mm thick creates a lot of buoyancy. Diving with this without lead is simply not possible. The lead must compensate for this buoyancy
