In this video, Andrew goes over the basics of why we use floats while spearfishing, different ways we can use them, and different types of floats.

The main reason we use floats is for safety. They make you visible to boats, other divers, and even search and rescue. There are also some locations that have regulations on floats, flag size, and the distance you're allowed to be from your float while spearfishing. Floats are also a great place to store your fish after you've speared them. Some people use belt stringers to hold their fish, however if you're diving in a place where there are sharks, keeping your fish on a stringer attached to your float is preferable. Floats may also be used to hold other things such as extra spearguns, polespears, even a bottle of water. 

Blue water floats can be used when hunting big game fish. They can be rigged directly to the gun using a float line, or with a break-away set up. Both allow you to track the location of your fish and speargun. Another way you can use a float is by anchoring it using a small weight or dive anchor. This allows you to dive around the float as opposed to having it attached to you or your gun for the length of the dive. 

There are several different styles of floats. The most common style is the inflatable float. We recommend against a thinner vinyl float, as they are easy to put holes into. Instead, we recommend floats with a more durable material. Another style of float is a hard plastic float. These are very durable and hold up very well, however are not great for travel as they aren't inflatable. In terms of high pressure blue water floats, there are different styles, some with flags and some without. These are inflatable as you need to be able to inflate them to a high psi for blue water hunting. We also have board style floats, which can be inflatable or a hard plastic. 

Andrew's favourite style is the hard float, specifically Rob Allen hard floats. However these aren't the best for traveling. Andrew's favourite travel-friendly float are the high pressure blue water floats, either Riffe or Sporasub.