Freedivers / Underwater hunters need the most efficient and suitable equipment they can get, knowing they only rely on their muscles and lungs in order to move and sustain themselves under water. They will try to avoid any unnecessary movement, because they know that the slightest effort will consume precious air.

Therefore, the material, design, quality and excellence of every piece of equipment counts:

• THE WET SUIT: Since freedivers must be fully relaxed in the water, their choice of wetsuit is of the highest importance. What they don't want is a thick, stiff and uncomfortable wetsuit. In other words: the traditional Scuba or older generation open cell type (split cell inside) wet suit. These wet suits will restrain their movement and cause drag in the water, which will drain their much needed energy. They will also absorb their precious body warmth, due to the water circulation as well as obsolete isolation features. For blue water hunters or freedivers who launch from a boat, the ideal wetsuit should be a Chicle Bio-Mimetic or a Chicle Bio-Termic. These suits, besides all the qualities you'll read about in their respective pages, offer two major advantages to the freedivers: they offer no resistance (or «drag») in the water whatsoever and allow you to stay completely dry inside out. Once on the speeding boat, you'll be standing on the deck, smiling at your dive buddies who are shivering, wrapped in large plastic garbage bags to avoid freezing! And if the freedivers launch from the beach, then the Hombra Termic is THE wetsuit for them. Picasso offers dozens of different models wetsuits. Our regular wetsuits are way more comfortable than anything you've ever tried before. You have my word on that. I am addicted to these wetsuits myself. I couldn't imagine diving with anything else.
  
  
• THE FINS: Freedivers need the maximum efficiency from their fins. The fins should allow the most «thrusting» output, versus energy released. This means a lot. Many points should be taken into consideration in order to obtain that result: a) the length of the blade b) the shape of the blade c) the blade's memory d) the molding process of the foot pocket itself, and finally: e) the total weight of the fin . It would be too long to explain the how and why of each point. To make a long story short: a freediver must use long blade fins, which should be perfectly engineered for optimum water canalization in its high memory blades. The foot pocket should be of thick and inflexible cold molded rubber, to prevent it from acting as an energy absorber and, finally, it should be as light as possible (running shoes are light, aren't they?)
  
  
• THE MASK: No question about it: a low volume mask is a must. We all know that the water pressure reduces the air volume by half each ATM. (33 ft or 10 meters). In brief, what freedivers don't want, is wasting much needed air on equalizing a higher volume mask. Scuba masks are definitely not acceptable for freedivers. You may think or feel that a larger volume mask is more comfortable and that you'll never do without it. Think again; after you get used to a low volume mask, you'll never ever want to go back to your old one. Trust me.
  
  I was there before :-)
  
  
• THE SNORKEL: It should be very comfortable. Mouthpiece in pure silicone. Freedivers spend sometimes the whole day breathing through it. This is very important. In a way, it is the freediver's breathing apparatus. It should also offer the least drag possible, have a large air intake and be flexible. I'd hate to enter a narrow underwater cave and feel my teeth pulling out because of a rigid snorkel! :-)
  
  
• THE WEIGHT BELT: Ideally, a rubber or an elastic weight belt. Why? Simply because unlike Scuba divers, freedivers go up and down all day. This means that a regular belt which fits them perfectly on the surface, will start «spinning» around their waist once at the bottom. The compression thing again, you know. It would also be ideal if the weights were hydrodynamic. This is best achieved with the Hdrodynamico on a Marselles or regular rubber belt.

And the list is long... I'll be back to tell you more about the ideal dive knife as well as the socks, gloves, buoys and other accessories. And if you are an underwater hunter (a spearfisherman if you like:-), then you're gonna love to read what I have to say about the fabulous Picasso line of spear guns.

In another chapter, I'll be telling you about the ideal way to be prepared for various underwater hunting methods and preys.

Until then, I'll see you in the Blue!