The flippers for freediving are an essential piece of equipment, without which it is impossible to practice this sport. Thanks to them a person in the water acquires the ease of movement, which is the expression of the philosophy of the sport discipline.
What is freediving
The word “freediving” itself means “free diving” and it is, in fact, the oldest form of underwater swimming based on a long breath hold. This technique requires from the athlete considerable effort and good training. And it is impossible to improve it without appropriate equipment, which includes, among others, flippers for freediving. Read more about this technique .
A person can only stay underwater for a very limited amount of time without breathing, so he or she needs to increase the speed of the dive to reach as much depth as possible. And flippers should help with that. Their special design makes it possible to significantly increase speed characteristics and reduce the resistance of the water, allowing you to achieve better results with less effort.
Features of the fins for freediving
The fins for freediving have great rigidity, especially when compared to other models. Their main purpose is to bounce water as much as possible in the opposite direction to the direction of travel. They are supposed to rake it up and throw it back. In addition, freediving fins give the possibility to make a chain multistep impact cycle: making only one blow with the fins, the athlete, thanks to the recoil, generates another impact impulse, occurring without the participation of the diver’s legs.
Despite some differences, all models of free-diving fins have a similar design – with a closed calico, elongated and rigid blades. Often freedivers also use monolobes resembling the tail of a mermaid. With their help even beginners manage to develop decent speed, but to adapt to the use of such an equipment item, a little practice is needed.
Different models
Modern freediving flippers can be made of different materials. Most often the foot pocket is made of rubber or hard silicone, and the blades – of plastic, fiberglass or carbon fiber. When choosing the right model, you should be guided not only by the cost, but also by the functionality of this or that type of equipment and also on your physical abilities.
The most rigid freediving fins are used for extreme deep diving. They are suitable for sportsmen, who have been swimming for a long time and have well trained feet because to row with such fins you have to put quite a lot of effort. For beginners it is better to choose a model with lesser stiffness. You can tell it by a special marking on each product.
The softest plastic fins for freediving are marked green, medium-firmness – blue, the hardest – grey. Glass-textolite fins for diving are not soft, but may have stiffness above average and high. The stiffness of carbon fins for free diving is measured in figures, the smallest figure – 15, the biggest – 80.
If you have a desire to learn freediving in St. Petersburg, we recommend the Baltika club. In Moscow, however, there are many more quality training options for professionals.
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