Freediving

2009 AIDA Freediving World Championships - Orca Free Makes Debut

The first ever production run of Orca Free free dive specific wetsuits was completed just in time for the 2009 AIDA Freediving World Championships, held at Dean's Blue Hole, in the Bahamas. A number of free divers are already training and competing in the Orca Free, at the world champs, and experiencing the performance advantage it provides.

To follow the athletes competing for world titles and world records, and to see shots of the Orca Free in action, you can see updates at verticalblue.net.

Orca Free - Almost Here!

Great news! An initial production run of 60 of Orca's long awaited free dive specific wetsuit, the Orca Free, has just been completed. A number of them have been shipped to William Trubridge, who is in the Bahamas for the 2009 AIDA Free Diving World Champs. The remainder will be available to free divers around the world.

If you would like to register your interest in purchasing one of the first Orca Free wetsuits, please e-mail simon@orca.com. We will be posting photos and more information regarding the Orca Free over the next few days, and can confirm the pricing will be US$625, EU469, GBP375, NZ$849.

The Orca Free was developed in conjunction with William Trubridge and has a number of world first design innovations. The Orca Free is constructed from 2mm #39 cell Yamamoto neoprene with an SCS coating, providing an ideal balance between speed, buoyancy and thermal protection. The innovative Free Seal neck collar system has developed to stop water entering the wetsuit, and is complimented by the Free Zip - a waterproof zip. Any water that does enter the wetsuit is quickly channelled by the Free Flow drainage holes at the base of the zip.

Stay posted for more information and images over the next few days, and watch out for competitors at the world champs using the Orca Free!

Orca Official Sponsor at AIDA World Champs

Orca has signed up as an official sponsor for the 2009 AIDA Free Diving World Champs, to be held at Dean's Blue Hole, Bahamas, from Nov 25-Dec 5. We'll be providing wetsuits for all of the safety divers, and as mentioned below, the event should be the first showing for the new Orca Free wetsuit.

Free Dive Wetsuit Update - They're on their Way!

For some time Orca has been working with Will Trubridge to develop free diving specific wetsuits. While Orca's open water swimming wetsuits have proved to be well suited to free diving, purpose built wetsuits were always going to provide even greater levels of performance.

As many in the sport have noticed, Will has been testing prototypes over the last 6-9 months, perfecting the design and construction. Such is the interest in the new wetsuit, we thought we'd update you on what is happening.

Orca Free

The first Orca free diving wetsuit off the rank will be the Orca Free. The Free is based off the Orca Alpha wetsuit, with modifications for free diving. You can read what Will has to say about the wetsuit on his Vertical Blue blog. The testing he has been doing has shown some promising results. We're hoping to have an initial run completed in time for the world champs in the Bahamas in November, with full production in early 2010. It is likely the wetsuits will be available through orca.com and at major events.

Orca Breathe

The second free diving specific wetsuit Orca is developing is the Orca Breathe. This wetsuit is based off the popular Orca RS1 Fullskn and Orca Equip Lite. We're getting first prototypes of the Breathe in the next few weeks, and expect the wetsuit to go into production in early 2010 as well. The Orca Breathe also provides a free diving specific wetsuit at a lower price point than the Orca Free.

We've also worked up a new badge (pictured below) which we'll apply to all of Orca's free dive specific products. We'll provide more information on the free dive wetsuits as details are confirmed.

2009 Indoor Freediving World Championships

In August 2009, the Indoor Freediving World Champs were held in Denmark. There were some great results for the  New Zealand and Russian teams, and it was great to see so many competitors in Orca wetsuits.

You can check out footage of the competitors in action at the YouTube channel for the event here. You can also read a full run down of the how the New Zealand team went here. The New Zealand team took one third of all of the available medals, which is a tremendous effort.

The eagle eyed amongst you will also see some of the prototype wetsuits Orca has been developing specifically for free diving. William Trubridge has been assisting with the reseach and development of the Orca Free - more information will be released in the near future. A number of the Russian team wore the striking blue wetsuits, which use Orca's AeroSkn material. These are also a prototype, but results with their hydrodynamics have been very positive.

Freedivers have been using Orca wetsuits for a number of years now, and depending personal preferences and the type of training and events being undertaken, wetsuits including the Alpha, Apex 2, RS1 Fullskn and new Orca Equip Lite have all been popular.

William Trubridge Sets New World Record

Check out this video of free diving legend William Trubridge setting the new constant weight no fins world record! William is wearing the prototype Orca Alpha Free free diving wetsuit.

 

How does holding your breath for 10 minutes, or diving 90 metres down into the ocean without any breathing apparatus sound? Free diving is an incredible sport of physical and mental stamina.

In 2008 Orca started working with multiple record-holding New Zealand free diver William Trubridge to develop wetsuits specifically for the sport. Many free divers, including the world champion Russian women's team, are now using Orca wetsuits for training and competition. Orca free diving-specific wetsuits are currently in research and development and being tested by some of the  world's top free divers.

April 2009: William Trubridge Sets New World Record!

Congratulations to William on setting a new constant weight no fins record of 86 metres, and a free immersion record of 106 metres, at Dean's Blue Hole in the Bahamas.

To find out more about the records and free diving, visit William's website verticalblue.net.

Orca Free Diving Wetsuits

Orca's open water swimming wetsuits have proved popular with free divers. The balance of speed through the water, levels of buoyancy and  massive flexibility through the shoulders, arms and back, make the ideal for free diving.

The Orca Apex 2, RS1 Fullskn and new Alpha are all being used by free divers around the world. For more information on free diving wetsuits, please contact William Trubridge.