waterduck
Contributor
I am planning on taking my SS back plate and wing on a trip.Should I remove the wing from the plate for traveling or would it be ok just to keep it assembled completely.Just wondering if there might be a possibility for damage.
BP/Wing for air travel
- Thread starter waterduck
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I would remove it and roll it like you would a t-shirt and put it in your clothes back to eliminate any potential for damage. If it is going in the luggage hold. I typically remove the OPV when I travel so the wing doesn't inflate at the lower pressures inside the aircraft.
I'd put the wing in your carry on if you could. I showed up for a cave course once with a small puncture in my wing which probably happened somehow in transit. Luckily, a piece of duct tape got me through until I could replace the bladder. If you can't, at least take it off the plate and try to pack it away from anything hard.
2airishuman
Contributor
In general, there's more chance of a "pinch flat" if you leave the wing on, from it getting pinched between the edge of the backplate and some other object. It is my experience that the BC will pack down smaller if the wing is removed. I also remove the cambands, but not the harness.
I put mine in my carry on.
OP
waterduck
Contributor
Thanks for all the advice.I like the idea of putting it in my "carry on",but just trying to visualize that packed in there with my regulator set baffles me.You are talking primary reg,octo,spg consol and dive computer. Maybe my Carry On is of the wrong type,which is a backpack style.
I use an Osprey Farpoint 55 travel backpack. Since the plate and wing travel in the same bag regardless there is no advantage to separating them. Attached to the wing, my SS plate will not move around in the bag which, in my opinion, increases the risk of pinch. I put the BPW in first with wing down then put my wetsuit next and nest the reg set and inflator with the suit and harness. Boots go at corners further protecting the wing. Stuff miscellaneous gear in gaps including the cambands. Since its usually on my back or in the overhead it never really see any significant stress. And my wing is an Oxycheq. Built like a tank but bulky and will not roll.
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I put my wing, Oxy 18 or 30, usually on either a VDH Universal plate or an Oxy Travel Plate, in my roller travel bag. I put my mesh (boat) dive bag in the bottom of my roller and then the plate and wing fully assembled and sucked flat and squashed down on top of that, tank straps down. Then I pile everything else around and on top. Regulator in a padded bag to the front, masks in the middle etc. and finally exposure gear on top. Never had an issue, domestic or international.
My carry on space is consumed with camera gear and my irreplaceable Argonaut Kraken. No room for any other dive gear in my carry on. Dive gear is supposed to be rugged, I give it a work out.
N
My carry on space is consumed with camera gear and my irreplaceable Argonaut Kraken. No room for any other dive gear in my carry on. Dive gear is supposed to be rugged, I give it a work out.
N
halocline
Contributor
I never bother to carry on dive gear other than a computer. If it's packed well it's pretty tough. I separate the wing from the plate (and the cambands) but that's to make it easier to pack, not so much for the gear's protection. Masks are in a plastic box. I use a beer cozy for my can light head and try to protect 2nd stages by folding a wetsuit around the regulators. I've never had a problem.
Add me to the list of those who don't carry on dive gear other than computer and mask. I separate the wing and plate, lay the plate on the very bottom of my checked bag, then layer wetsuit on top of the plate, then regulators, then some clothes, and finally the wing laid on top. The wetsuit and clothes act as padding.
When I first started travel diving, I dutifully took the regs in my carry-on. However, it has since occurred to me that worse comes to worst I can rent regs, just as I can rent a BC. What if the BP/W disappear with a lost bag?--am I still going to use my 7'-hose reg set with a rented jacket BC? Probably not. Even if I could carry plate, wing, regs, mask, computer, etc., ALL in a carry-on, then that would leave me with a checked bag with nothing but a few t-shirts, shorts, bathing suits, toiletries, etc. If I'm traveling with an airline that gives me a free checked bag, I'm going to use it to the fullest.
When I first started travel diving, I dutifully took the regs in my carry-on. However, it has since occurred to me that worse comes to worst I can rent regs, just as I can rent a BC. What if the BP/W disappear with a lost bag?--am I still going to use my 7'-hose reg set with a rented jacket BC? Probably not. Even if I could carry plate, wing, regs, mask, computer, etc., ALL in a carry-on, then that would leave me with a checked bag with nothing but a few t-shirts, shorts, bathing suits, toiletries, etc. If I'm traveling with an airline that gives me a free checked bag, I'm going to use it to the fullest.
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