Can I buy 2nd stage and rent 1st?

[Scared Silly]

First to the OP welcome to da' Board.

I was waiting for someone to mention this. Who puts a regulator in checked luggage? You should always have the regulator in your carry on to protect it against theft and damage.

Baloney. Yes when possible it is preferable to carry on rather than check bags. But not always reasonable when taking other gear like UW camera gear. Ya check what can be lost and not impact your trip. And of course can be easily replaced by the airline.

As for the OP's question. Just save up and buy a complete reg. You are on the right track in buying gear like a reg before a BCD.

 

[diver 85]

OP, I wouldn't----but that's just me........btw, not that heavy for traveling.....We(wife & I) ALWAYS carry our own(complete set--ie Octopus & her's has a Veo 100 console 'on it') in each's carry-on bag......Been doing that since 1985--& back in the 'early' years(when the 3 kids were @ home) we carried a total of 5.......

 

[Lorenzoid]

You say "1st stage is expensive and heavy to transport in luggage." If you can afford to buy an airline ticket but cannot afford to buy a 1st stage, you need to re-think how you are budgeting for your dive trips. Consider either buying a complete regulator set (with both 1st and 2nd stages) and economizing on your travel costs or, alternatively, economizing on your equipment costs by renting a complete regulator set at your destination.

 

[keyshunter]

Who puts a regulator in checked luggage? You should always have the regulator in your carry on to protect it against theft and damage.
.

I know of a number of people who have put their only regs in checked baggage on multiple trips without a damage or theft problem. I carry one complete reg set in carryon and another complete set (first stage, 2 seconds, spg, inflator hose) in a checked bag. In well over 75 trips, all with several plane changes, I have never had a damage or theft problem with the regs in checked baggage.

 

[halocline]

I was waiting for someone to mention this. Who puts a regulator in checked luggage?

I do, all the time. Regulators are not very fragile or particularly valuable. Try traveling with a musical instrument sometime, that will change your perspective.

The only dive gear I carry on is my computer, and frequently I don't remember to do that.

 

[Damselfish]

I was waiting for someone to mention this. Who puts a regulator in checked luggage? You should always have the regulator in your carry on to protect it against theft and damage.

Not only are regs not that all that delicate or desirable to steal out of a bag, but many airlines outside the US carriers have much tighter restrictions on size & weight of carryons that makes checking regs a better option.

 

[Brandon]

I can haul a drysuit + full technical gear (double regulators, bp/wing, lights, stage reg, etc.), and not hit the weight limits for a weeklong trip. For a warm water trip, my checked bag weighs 35 lbs. Just did it. With drysuit/undergarment/doubles wing/bigger fins, checked bag is 48-50 pounds. Have done that a bunch of times. I have a carryon regulator bag for the rest + a backpack for my clothes/personal items.

I have super heavy Zeagle Flathead VI 1st stages and none of my gear is of the "lightweight" or "travel" variety, so it's not like I'm trying all that hard. Some of the divers on this board can cram everything for a warm water trip into a carry-on bag. That's some seriously next level stuff there.

 

[CptTightPants21]

I guess checking regulators is more common than I thought. I have done a few scuba trips and everyone I know always puts the more expensive stuff in a carry on. Some combination of regulator, camera, drysuit, computer.

 

[Lorenzoid]

I do, all the time. Regulators are not very fragile or particularly valuable. . . .

For me, it's not the fear of damage or theft that encourages me to carry my regs and other gear aboard, but rather the fear the airline is going to lose my checked bag. It has happened once to me and once to my wife, each time requiring us to use gear that the dive op rented or lent to us. On a non-diving vacation, it's not a big deal to have your bag show up a day late, but for a week of diving at a resort or liveaboard for which I paid a lot of money I want all my gear there from Day 1.

 

[halocline]

For me, it's not the fear of damage or theft that encourages me to carry my regs and other gear aboard, but rather the fear the airline is going to lose my checked bag.

I understand totally. I will often drive to Houston (3 hrs) to catch a non stop rather than fly from San Antonio on dive vacations. They're much less likely to lose a bag on a non stop, and it's just less stressful to not have to worry about it.

Still, one can rent gear for a day in almost every dive destination. It's not ideal under any circumstances, but it's better than not diving.

What makes me chuckle is the extreme paranoia about damage on a primarily metal and hard plastic, very durable, device that costs a few hundred dollars, that can be purchased at dive shops anywhere they exist. Imagine the heartburn that goes along with checking a $20K (or quite a bit more) extremely fragile cello or guitar made by an individual that is no longer alive, and therefore really not replaceable. Pro musicians that must travel for a living deal with this all the time. It really sucks.

I think some divers have a particularly emotional relationship with their regulators, as if their lives depend on these magic machines. They're actually quite interchangeable and all more-or-less do the job.