Diving in the Philippines...Minimilist diving gear question?

[chiggins]

Hi All,

I shall be visiting and diving in the Philippines for one whole month late December and early January 2020.

I normally dive Sidemount Solo, however, I realise this may not be possible and I will have to switch to dive open circuit with a dive operator/buddy system and use some rental gear. so my thoughts were to downsize my own diving gear to fit into one suitcase and rent open circuit gear as little as possible.

Have any of you experienced having the basic travel gear to dive and travel at the same time?

For example, my OMS Slipstream fins are heavy and too big so any recommendations for a replacement set of smaller fins or other fins or a minimilistic BCD with weight pockets as I hate diving with a weight belt.

I hope I have conveyed my questions correctly for your understanding and look forward to any replies of your experiences.

Much appreciated.

Fastnail.

I travel with the Aqualung Outlaw; its pretty minimal but great for warm water travel and easily disassembles for packing. In a Lavacore top and board shorts I only need about 1-2kg of weight and pack a cam belt to strap it onto the tank. No extra pockets. Including my Oceanic Delta 5 reg, boots, 2 masks, and TG-6 w/ strobe, it can all pack into cary-on sized roller bag. I have done a 3 day trip with this (minus strobe) and a few changes of clothes in a backpack that fits under the seat.
For me, fins make the difference between being able to cary on and having to check bags. My travel style requires last minute flexibility, so checked bags are best avoided. Rental fins get the job done and I don't think I’ve been charged that much anywhere in the Philippines. For me, a few dollars a day is well worth being able to skip the baggage claim.
In 7 or 8 trips with my regulator in a cary-on, I have never had an issue with airport security in Cebu, Manila, or Bohol. My bag got searched once, but they just looked at my regulator to make sure it wasn't something else and let it go. As others have said, the low cost airlines will limit cabin baggage to 7kg. Cebu Pacific might allow more if you have camera gear, but both Cebu Pacific and Air Asia are best avoided if possible. If you are forced to check a bag, the low cost airlines might also offer to charge you an extra fee for sports gear. If your bag doesn't make it obvious that dive gear is inside, I think you are fine just telling them its a just normal bag.

 

[Fastnail]

I travel with the Aqualung Outlaw; its pretty minimal but great for warm water travel and easily disassembles for packing. In a Lavacore top and board shorts I only need about 1-2kg of weight and pack a cam belt to strap it onto the tank. No extra pockets. Including my Oceanic Delta 5 reg, boots, 2 masks, and TG-6 w/ strobe, it can all pack into cary-on sized roller bag. I have done a 3 day trip with this (minus strobe) and a few changes of clothes in a backpack that fits under the seat.
For me, fins make the difference between being able to cary on and having to check bags. My travel style requires last minute flexibility, so checked bags are best avoided. Rental fins get the job done and I don't think I’ve been charged that much anywhere in the Philippines. For me, a few dollars a day is well worth being able to skip the baggage claim.
In 7 or 8 trips with my regulator in a cary-on, I have never had an issue with airport security in Cebu, Manila, or Bohol. My bag got searched once, but they just looked at my regulator to make sure it wasn't something else and let it go. As others have said, the low cost airlines will limit cabin baggage to 7kg. Cebu Pacific might allow more if you have camera gear, but both Cebu Pacific and Air Asia are best avoided if possible. If you are forced to check a bag, the low cost airlines might also offer to charge you an extra fee for sports gear. If your bag doesn't make it obvious that dive gear is inside, I think you are fine just telling them its a just normal bag.

 

[Fastnail]

Thanks, Chiggins for the great information...you have given me some seeds of thought.

 

[Fastnail]

Get a spare cam strap and a couple of small weight pockets. I put the cam strap and weights towards the bottom of the tank and a couple of pounds in my BC trim pockets further up my torso. No more belt.

Thanks that is a great idea...I will try that.