Freediving gear and starter kits

What to buy first for freediving 

A complete first-time freediving kit covers the same gear list as a spearfishing kit minus the gun, plus a freediving watch if you are tracking depth and surface intervals. Order of priority for the budget: 

• Mask, snorkel and weight belt first. The cheapest entry into the discipline, and the gear you will not outgrow. 
• Long-blade fins second. Start with plastic or fibreglass. The blade-material call is covered on the freediving fins page. 
• Wetsuit third. Open-cell two-piece for Sydney year-round, sized at the freediving wetsuits collection. 
• Computer or watch last. Most freedivers do not need one until they are training depth or surface-interval ratios deliberately. See the freediving watches and computers page when you get there. 

The training-first principle is non-negotiable. Freediving has serious safety implications including shallow-water blackout, which can be fatal and can happen to fit, experienced freedivers without warning. Always dive with a trained buddy, never alone, and never push depth or breath-hold time past what your training and buddy supervision support. The PADI Freediver Course at Frog Dive is the standard training entry point in Sydney and is the prerequisite for safe depth work. 

The accessories most freedivers add after the course (lanyards, bottom plates, nose clips for static, training journals) are at the freediving accessories collection. 

For the matched head-and-foot kit, see the freediving mask, snorkel and fin collection. Come into Gladesville for in-store advice on a starter kit, or call (02) 9958 5699 with the discipline you are training and we will narrow the list.