Towards the quality

In 2007 I was still wondering why there are no commercial lanyards available and why lanyards still remain unsafe. If we do not standardize the manufacturing process, create basic lanyard testing methods and test them relentlessly, there is no possibility to have safe lanyards. Eventually, this situation would put at risk our community members' lives, and our friends' lives. 

Therefore, I decided to create a lanyard that would be tested and the manufacturing process would be standardized. I took an engineering approach to this production in order to guarantee the highest quality and safety of my products. 

Improments with versions

The first version I created came after several trials for myself, and my freediving friends. This version was under the X-Ocean brand. Best production practices, materials, and ideas of that first version were borrowed from surfing leashes. The surfing industry had decades of solid product testing and design we wanted to learn from. We realized freediving lanyards were used in similar conditions. 

Between 2010 and 2012, I made lanyards under the Breatheology brand, where Stig Severinsen, a tough and skillful world champion freediver borrowed his brand for my lanyards.

Next, I wanted to deliver lanyards also to the Asian markets as freediving started to boom there too, thanks to one of the freediving pioneers in that area, Jean-Pol Francois. I created a lanyard for his company called Freediving Planet.

FreeXperience is born!

Soon after, I decided to enter the market as an independent producer after improving lanyards and the test methods relentlessly for nearly 15 years. I believe that freediving is a relatively cheap sport and provides an excellent nice experience for most. 

I decided to name my independent brand 'FreeXperience' , in honour of 'Freediving with Experience'. Freediving is about developing this incredible experience in the ocean with presence, focus and awareness. These concepts, when mastered, lead to experience. I knew ' FreeXperience' products could help many beginner and professional freedivers develop themselves in the safest way possible. 

Today I'm still the only lanyard manufacturer who continues to strive for safety by developing test methods and using them for continuous lanyard development. I also publish my testing results publicly. 

Other brands have arrived in the freediving market with their own lanyards, and that is excellent. This is the way to grow our sport, improve design and safety: through competition. 

Today

FreeXperience is also investigating new ways of developing products that do not yet exist. I test modern technologies like 3D manufacturing technologies, concepts, and new materials. 

The original principle still exists in our way of moving forward: Kaizen - a Continuous Improvement from Lean Methodology. We are still eager to make our products better and safer, every day.

Kimmo Lahtinen 2022
Freediving Instructor Trainer & Freediving Competition Judge Instructor