Airline Packing

[ACHiPo]

If it's expensive (like camera gear), sensitive (like regs), or personalized (like prescription masks) it stays in carry-on where we can protect it.

Very interested in this thread. For years I prided myself in being able to business travel for 1-3 weeks with a roller bag and briefcase. On SCUBA vacations I replace the briefcase with my BC/reg, GoPro, mask, fins, batteries, and check clothes, et al. Now that I've fallen down the underwater photo/video rabbit hole, I'm trying to figure out what I care least about to check or if I can find magic "Mary Poppins" carry-ons that will hold all valuable and trip-critical items. Also, my most expensive photo gear is lenses and housing. The camera is relatively cheap. Of course, no camera, no images, so there's that.

Very interested in how others have dealt with this--I'm tempted to just risk checking dive and/or photo gear.

 

[ACHiPo]

Last time I travel by airplane to dive internationally (within SE Asia), I have the following (this is for our 6 days trip):

Carry on:

• One sling bag for camera (Olympus EM5III), 3 lenses, a small action camera, a laptop computer, powerbank, some cords, card reader, documents
• One 21" Semi-hard (polymer material but not as hard as Pelican) regular 4-wheel roller luggage. this one carry Ikelite Housing for Oly EM5III, One 6" Dome, One Flat Port, One port extension, One Closeup diopter lens, One Ikelite DS161 & charger, Sync Cord. Housing & parts are in a padded insert bag. also, One of my prescription mask.

Checked luggage

• One 26" Semi-hard 4-wheel luggage for all dive gears, soft-sided bag for housing trays & arms, vacuum pump
• Another 26" semi-hard 4 wheel luggage for clothing & powerstrip. This one I share with my wife's.

At that time, we travelled on low cost airline. Regular carry on weight limit was 7kg per passenger. However, I found a paid 'add-on' option that can double the carry on limit. so I pay for it. (4 payment as we had a connection)

The reason I choose regular wheel luggage over Pelican was with just the Pelican case itself, it's almost 5kg. Not much allowance left for what you'd put inside. And the airline we used was notorious at the connection airport that they actually asked for all carryon roller to be put on a scale.
Beside, Pelican does scream "Valuable inside".

Good inputs. I share concern about the Pelican "advertising" valuable stuff. The salesman at Backscatter recommended their suitcase-looking roller bag that is set up for photo gear internally. I still don't see how I can put everything I want to in carry ons, especially with carryon weight limits.

 

[Medel]

Back when I travelled with a dslr , I liked camera cubes and other soft packs that I could put in my other carry on bags. Kept things organized and safe without too much bonus bulk

 

[ACHiPo]

Back when I travelled with a dslr , I liked camera cubes and other soft packs that I could put in my other carry on bags. Kept things organized and safe without too much bonus bulk

Did you use camera cubes in a checked bag? I think my housing and lights will take up nearly all of my roller board.

 

[Medel]

Not underwater camera, so it was just body + lenses (and sometimes flashes). Stuffed into my backpack (took about half the pack) and under the seat in front of me.

 

[Nemrod]

Very interested in this thread. For years I prided myself in being able to business travel for 1-3 weeks with a roller bag and briefcase. On SCUBA vacations I replace the briefcase with my BC/reg, GoPro, mask, fins, batteries, and check clothes, et al. Now that I've fallen down the underwater photo/video rabbit hole, I'm trying to figure out what I care least about to check or if I can find magic "Mary Poppins" carry-ons that will hold all valuable and trip-critical items. Also, my most expensive photo gear is lenses and housing. The camera is relatively cheap. Of course, no camera, no images, so there's that.

Very interested in how others have dealt with this--I'm tempted to just risk checking dive and/or photo gear.

Most dive gear gets checked, most camera gear gets carried. Some international carriers have a 15 pounds weight limit and they are known to enforce it and I have seen them claiming only one carry on item, no personal item or extra backpack.

If you have anything much more than a GoPro or a TG sort of thing then you are going to have to check gear. No way around it. If you have a SO who is not a diver or is not gear intensive then you can cheat some things on to them. I am not sure where this no checking comes from? Well, I guess rent dive gear is possible, maybe.

 

[Wobbegong_th]

Good inputs. I share concern about the Pelican "advertising" valuable stuff. The salesman at Backscatter recommended their suitcase-looking roller bag that is set up for photo gear internally. I still don't see how I can put everything I want to in carry ons, especially with carryon weight limits.

The weight limit was why I'd separated the tray & arms off from the 'carry on' bag. That parts alone (tray with dual handles, 4 pieces of 5" arms, 6 clamps, vacuum pumps and some tools) is already about 1-1.5kg. Without them, my carry-on housing kit was already at about 8-9kg. (Ikelite strobe& battery is heavy)

Some friends of mine use 'Photographer/Fishermen vest' that has multiple pockets to put some stuffs on.
Good 4-wheels roller luggage that you can push around with ease may kind of trick gate agents that it's not heavy.
Also, Keep your arm strength and act like they're not heavy might also do the trick.

I'd seen some 3D print models of arms & clamps, which make me wonder how strong those would be? If they are strong enough and lighter than aluminum, that would be interesting.

 

[vkalia]

I do around 6-8 dive trips a year and this is what works for me:

My camera, lens, housing and ports* goes into a Think Tank shoulder backpack, along with my strobes (2x Supe D-Pros), a GoPro, a light and my housing pump, as well as a couple of spare batteries. The damn thing weighs a ton, but it's fairly compact and doesn't attract as much attention as a roller.

[*If I am shooting wide angle, my housing/camera/lens is a Marelux, Canon R7 and either the 10-18 or the Tokina 10-17FE and a 6" dome port. If I plan to shoot an assortment of subjects, it will be a Nauticam housing, Oly MFT camera, 2 small lenses, 2 ports.

In a separate personal bag, I carry an iPad, a Kindle, a pen/notebook, my dive computer, glasses and a couple of spare batteries.

My check in is a large Tusa roller duffel - this carries all my scuba gear (including regulator), my strobe arms, clamps, charger, all my dive gear and a couple of cubes containing my clothes. I put my fins in first, my backplate above that, my reg and mask goes into my backpack wrapped in my wetsuit and then I chuck my clothe cubes on top of this. The entire setup clocks in at 19-20kg on the nose, and has worked incident-free for me for many, many years (so you know I just jinxed myself!)

 

[bvanant]

We do a fair bit of traveling (probably 4 months per year, mostly Indonesia or Philippines). I put my camera bodies (2 x OM1), housing (AOI) ports and lenses (30, 60, 45 ,90) and the Kraken wet wide angle lens in a cheap camera backpack. I used to use Think Tank but since it will go on the plane and then to the boat I don't think I need a $400 backpack. The bagsmart was like $55 or so. All batteries are in the backpack as well. Chargers, video lights, strobes, arms clamps and trays all go in a hard-sided Samsonite roller. Each of us has a dive gear bag as well (all dive gear) and we split a clothes/medicines bag.

Bill