What Spearfishing Gear To Get First?

Well, after being a relatively new scuba diver, I am now starting to get into some Freediving and Spearfishing. Due to the fact that these generally use different gear, there's quite a bit more gear I need for spearfishing and freediving stuff. As far as I can tell, i'll need:
Wetsuit
--Looking at 5mm suits here. One of my main questions--do Camouflaged wetsuits really help? I went out with a Cressi Tecnica 5mm suit yesterday, and it was quite a bit different from the Pinnacle Polar Semi-Drysuit that I use for Scuba. I liked it a lot though.

Fins
--Obviously my Jetfins aren't really going to cut it for freediving. When I went out yesterday I used a pair of Cressi Gara 2000HF's. This has been my only experience with freediving fins, so I have nothing to compare them to.

Speargun & Accessories
--Most of my diving yesterday was just freediving work. During the end, we got into a little bit of spearfishing stuff. The guns were Cressi Geronimo Pro's. I'm still slightly unsure of the advantages and disadvantages for Mid handle vs. Rear handle vs. Euro Guns, what features to look for in a gun, what size of gun to get, etc.

Neoprene Socks
--Doesn't seem like there's too much to worry about here, just looking for something that would fit into a full-foot fin better than my dive booties.

Gloves
--It seems that spearfishing gloves generally have more durable palms/fingers than my diving gloves.

Snorkel
--Not much to worry about here...Just looking for a simple J-Snorkel that's lower profile than the snorkel that I no longer wear for scuba diving (No real need for a snorkel when on scuba imo).

Mask
--2 main things here--while my scuba mask (Atomic Frameless) is relatively low volume, I think it's still a bit higher than most freediving masks like the Cressi Super Occhio I used yesterday.

Weight Belt
--Seeing as I carry no extra weight from my BP/W when scuba diving, I don't have a weight belt. It looks like for freediving, rubber weight belts are the way to go.

Computer
--Yesterday I got to use a Cressi EDY computer, and it was great--made keeping track of dives very easy. I don't think my Suunto Vyper Air would work too well for freediving, since it's quite a bit bulkier and doesn't have a set freediving mode. The Guage mode on it may work a little bit though--I'll have to look into it. For right now though, the computer isn't at the top of the list of things I need as I could just use a stopwatch and depth guage for now.

So, my main questions aside from the ones I pointed out for each individual gear item are:
Do you have any recommendations for gear to get?
And my main question:
What gear do you recommend I get first, and what should I save for later and borrow/rent in the mean time.

If it helps at all, I'm in Southern california so water ranges from the low 50's to the mid 60's, and at least as far as I can tell, a large portion of the spearfishing done around here is in the kelp forests.

Thanks.

That's a lot of questions...but good ones. I'll try to give some quick info for ya -

Wetsuit - If you are on Scuba, don't change anything. If you are freediving I strongly (VERY STRONGLY) recommend using an open cell suit or something with a Titanium or similar lining. Do not use a nylon-lined wetsuit (typical of Scuba & Surfing wetsuits) unless you like being cold. I believe camo does work to some degree if you are using effectively (Aspeto style) lying on the bottom. It's purpose is to break up your outline. If you are swimming along in camo I don't think it makes a difference, you look like a large swimming predator with a cool-looking pattern. FreediveShop in SoCal will have a good assortment of suits I believe. Another reason for a proper open cell is to help you breathe up properly (trust me on this).

Fins (freediving)- I suspect that you would have been happy with those Cressi fins you tried. The footpockets are comfortable compared to some others. Pretty much any long-blade design will be a good start. Even if on Scuba you would find the longblade designs work better. The idea is not to swim faster, but to swim easier. In other words it takes less effort and movement to travel the same distance with longfins vs. standard scuba fins. This not only helps your bottom time and efficiency, but is also more stealthy.

Spearguns - this one topic alone will open the biggest can of worms in this entire forum. Everyone will have an opinion of what's the best gun made and you should buy this or that. The reality is that any gun on the market today will shoot fish, but not every diver out there can shoot fish...so, the morale is not to get too caught up with "what's the best gun" but rather put time and effort into becoming a better spearo. Your skills get better with practice, not with budget. That being said, better quality is easier to work with. I will give you my suggestion, take it with a grain of salt and make your own choice. For freediving, I use an aluminum railgun. They are light, easy to maintain, affordable, etc. More specifically I personally use Mako railguns. However, most railguns will work the same if they are rigged properly. The worse thing you can do with any euro gun is overpower it. If the bands are too short you will have a hard time hitting the broad side of a barn. To add to your question...mid-handles are designed to be able to swing the gun side-to-side easier. That being said, they're typically used for big, bluewater guns. Typically only found on wood guns. They also require using two hands when you pull the trigger so you don't knock your own teeth out. Imagine one hand on the butt, one hand on the handle. The handle itself acts as a pivot point while you swing the gun at the butt end. Best thing is to figure out what the local freedivers are using and why. If you only plan on doing bluewater then I would say a big, wood gun is great. If you are doing bottom hunting primarily then you have a million options to choose from. Remember, it's not your budget, but your skill that lands fish. Figure out your target area and target species and that will help you determine the gun to get.

Neoprene Socks - yes, you are correct. I use the OMER fin socks that have the smoothskin on the outer, top of the ankle area. First, I put on my wetsuit pants. Then, roll/fold up the bottom of the wetsuit legs. Next, put on your fin socks. Finally, roll your wetsuit legs down over the fin socks. If you are wearing an open cell wetsuit and you are using the OMER 5mm fin socks I described the bottom of your wetsuit will form a nice seal with the fin socks (keeps you warmer).

Gloves - yes, again correct. Most scuba divers are trained to "DON'T TOUCH ANYTHING". You will find that as a spearo you will be using your hands a lot. You need to use gloves designed to hold up to fish scales, holding onto structures, loading bands, etc. Some simple neoprene ain't gonna cut it.

Snorkel - I have found that some J-snorkels work fine, some try to drown you. You will have a hard time finding a freediver with something bad to say about the Riffe Stable snorkel.

Mask - low volume is critical, other than that of course it must fit right. Skirt color should be anything but clear. Black, blue, camo, whatever. Clear silicone can allow glare on the glass which you don't want. Also, you want to minimize the fish seeing your eyes (believe it or not). Mirrored lenses really help with that, but it's also a little like wearing sunglasses underwater...so expect to lose just a little available light.

Weight belt - yes, rubber weight belt for a couple of reasons. I used to think that freedivers were all old school and broke (financially) and that was why they all had rubber weight belts. I was happy using my soft lead shot weight belt. I was wrong. First thing, rubber weight belts when worn properly don't slide up your chest while you descend head first. Second thing, while you are breathing up on the surface you don't want a weight belt over your stomach interfering with your breathing technique. You should be wearing your weight belt tight over your hips...like the latest low-rider fashionable jeans the girlies are all wearing (even the ones that shouldn't be). This will allow you to breathe freely and with a rubber belt it will stay in place on your descent and won't compress at depth.

Computer - unless it's a freediving computer forget about it. The old standby has been the Suunto D3 or Mosquito (D3 preferred). However, the D4 just came out (my like-new D3 is for sale now ) and there are also a couple of other options today. Oceanic has a freedive watch/computer but you have to switch modes to see your dives (all day long after every dive, not convenient). The latest watch/computer here in the USA is the Immersion Prowler...which I really am liking so far. I may be picking one up soon. What you are really going to want to know are only a few things - Depth, Bottom time, Surface time. That's really it. Of all those things, the surface time is probably the most important. Depth you likely already know from the boat or just from knowing the area. Bottom time is, of course, important but you will start your ascent based on what your body tells you - not what your watch tells you. However, once you are on the surface your body will tell you it's OK sooner than it should. A good rule of thumb is to double your surface time to your bottom time. For a 1 minute, 10 second dive you should stay on the surface for at least 2 minutes, 20 seconds. Your body will feel ready to go again after about 1 minute, 30 seconds. Trust your computer. All the other features are valuable, but what I mentioned already is what you will ALWAYS use.

Summary Answer to your last question - it's tough to say what to buy first given I don't exactly know what you have now. However, I would say a proper wetsuit needs to be a priority. Believe it or not, a speargun might be towards last. Get your personal gear first and do some diving with fellow spearo buddies...hopefully some with experience in your area. Pick their brain and find out what they like and why. I encourage you to have an open mind and look at everything out there. Divers that make statements like "Brand X is the only way to go" either have an agenda (sponsorship) or simply don't have experience with many other brands, or some other nonsense reason for making such a one-sided statement like that. There is no one right answer to anything in this sport.

I hope that helps, there are many GREAT spearos in your area, find them and dive with them. Be respectful of their spots and equipment.

If you want more info, check out my DVD...there's 3 hours of footage and info that you should find useful.

23six:

Wetsuit - If you are on Scuba, don't change anything. If you are freediving I strongly (VERY STRONGLY) recommend using an open cell suit or something with a Titanium or similar lining. Do not use a nylon-lined wetsuit (typical of Scuba & Surfing wetsuits) unless you like being cold. I believe camo does work to some degree if you are using effectively (Aspeto style) lying on the bottom. It's purpose is to break up your outline. If you are swimming along in camo I don't think it makes a difference, you look like a large swimming predator with a cool-looking pattern. FreediveShop in SoCal will have a good assortment of suits I believe. Another reason for a proper open cell is to help you breathe up properly (trust me on this).

Click to expand...

That was pretty much all what I figured. The only thing that seemed new was the idea of an open cell suit helping with the breathe up. And yes, I still need to get to Freedive Shop and James & Joseph. So far the only Freediving/spearfishing shop I've been to was the Spear Shack, though some of the general dive shops have some spearfishing gear too.

Fins (freediving)- I suspect that you would have been happy with those Cressi fins you tried. The footpockets are comfortable compared to some others. Pretty much any long-blade design will be a good start. Even if on Scuba you would find the longblade designs work better. The idea is not to swim faster, but to swim easier. In other words it takes less effort and movement to travel the same distance with longfins vs. standard scuba fins. This not only helps your bottom time and efficiency, but is also more stealthy.

Click to expand...

Yes, I would say that I'd be happy with the cressi fins, it was just a matter of having nothing to compare to. I'd say I have a pretty good feel for what the fins I used are like thanks to the hour-ish surface swim followed by lots of dives.

Spearguns - this one topic alone will open the biggest can of worms in this entire forum. Everyone will have an opinion of what's the best gun made and you should buy this or that. The reality is that any gun on the market today will shoot fish, but not every diver out there can shoot fish...so, the morale is not to get too caught up with "what's the best gun" but rather put time and effort into becoming a better spearo. Your skills get better with practice, not with budget. That being said, better quality is easier to work with. I will give you my suggestion, take it with a grain of salt and make your own choice. For freediving, I use an aluminum railgun. They are light, easy to maintain, affordable, etc. More specifically I personally use Mako railguns. However, most railguns will work the same if they are rigged properly. The worse thing you can do with any euro gun is overpower it. If the bands are too short you will have a hard time hitting the broad side of a barn. To add to your question...mid-handles are designed to be able to swing the gun side-to-side easier. That being said, they're typically used for big, bluewater guns. Typically only found on wood guns. They also require using two hands when you pull the trigger so you don't knock your own teeth out. Imagine one hand on the butt, one hand on the handle. The handle itself acts as a pivot point while you swing the gun at the butt end. Best thing is to figure out what the local freedivers are using and why. If you only plan on doing bluewater then I would say a big, wood gun is great. If you are doing bottom hunting primarily then you have a million options to choose from. Remember, it's not your budget, but your skill that lands fish. Figure out your target area and target species and that will help you determine the gun to get.

Click to expand...

The skill over equipment thing makes a lot of sense--it seems that just about everything in life is that way. I suppose my best bet for spearguns will be to get around a bit and see what works for people out here, as you suggested.

Mask - low volume is critical, other than that of course it must fit right. Skirt color should be anything but clear. Black, blue, camo, whatever. Clear silicone can allow glare on the glass which you don't want. Also, you want to minimize the fish seeing your eyes (believe it or not). Mirrored lenses really help with that, but it's also a little like wearing sunglasses underwater...so expect to lose just a little available light.

Click to expand...

That confirmed a lot of what I thought, though the mirrored lens idea was something I had never thought about.

Summary Answer to your last question - it's tough to say what to buy first given I don't exactly know what you have now. However, I would say a proper wetsuit needs to be a priority. Believe it or not, a speargun might be towards last. Get your personal gear first and do some diving with fellow spearo buddies...hopefully some with experience in your area. Pick their brain and find out what they like and why. I encourage you to have an open mind and look at everything out there. Divers that make statements like "Brand X is the only way to go" either have an agenda (sponsorship) or simply don't have experience with many other brands, or some other nonsense reason for making such a one-sided statement like that. There is no one right answer to anything in this sport.

Click to expand...

Thanks for the info. I had kind of wondered whether it would be personal gear before speargun or speargun then personal gear. I'll take your advice for personal gear first, though it still may be a while before I make any purchases....My scuba gear was a pretty recent purchase and was by no means cheap. I suppose I'll go with something along the lines of Wetsuit>Fins>Little Items (Gloves, mask, snorkel, socks, weight belt....all relatively inexpensive)>Speargun>Freediving Computer. If you strongly recommend a freediving computer earlier, I'd consider it but it seems like a watch would work relatively well for the most part in the meantime, so it doesn't seem particularly urgent.

I hope that helps, there are many GREAT spearos in your area, find them and dive with them. Be respectful of their spots and equipment.

Click to expand...

It does help, and I appreciate it.

I suppose I also didn't mention a knife since it seems that for spearfishing you want one with a pointed tip, so I'll need a new knife too.

If you want more info, check out my DVD...there's 3 hours of footage and info that you should find useful.

Click to expand...

Interesting. I'll have to look into it.

Thank you very much for the help.

One last random question:
How exactly is Riffe pronounced? Reef? Rife? Reefay? Rifay? Reefee? Rifee?

Thanks.

r-EYE-fff

like rife (think "rye" bread, add "f" sound to end..."rye-fff")

The Freedive Shop HB was sold last week. The new owner is Harry. I suspect he will have a sale on freedive gear. I think this may be his post on Craigslist Riffe Wet Suits, Spearguns, Freediving, and SCUBA gears on sale

The SoCal Picasso Open is still on at San Pedro August 1, 2009. Sign up by June 20, 2009 for the lower registration fee.

The best socks for California may be Argos Extremes. They are 4mm and very comfortable.
http://www.freediveshop.com/

I would go with a fin that the blades can be change if desiring to upgrade to a fiberglass or carbon blade in the future. Go to the LDS and try on Picasso Black teams and also the newer softer Picasso footpocket with the sock you chose. If you have wide feet try out the Mares Razor Pro.

Check out Mako for ideas MAKO Spearguns - Why Railguns Are Superior

Sign up on SpearBoard. The California section will be more specific for your area. I have a 110cm railgun.

You have a long list.

Masks
Need to go to the shop and try out. My favorite are SeaDive TruVu RayBlockers:
Visually Enhanced Mask

Belt
I have a Spetton Marseillaise. See the Mako site for the rubber belt.

Wetsuit
Use what you have unless you have money to burn. The freedive open cell suits are more comfortable, but do not last as long as a SCUBA wetsuit. I have a 7mm Hammerhead Adaptation. The best color for your area is probably seal black. Buy a camo one if you like the design.

Gloves
Whatever is comfortable for you. I use Xcel Titanium 3/2mm with formed grip.

Snorkel
If there is a lot of chop or overhead surf a snorkel with a diverter is nice.
Riffe/Gull Stable, Aqua Lung Impulse 3, Atomic SV2, etc.