Flying to Utila with rEvo Mini

[broncobowsher]

I was just at Costco. Didn't even think of looking for luggage there. It would be nice to find a just right size for the rEvo. The rest of my luggage is showing wear as well.

 

[stuartv]

I was just at Costco. Didn't even think of looking for luggage there. It would be nice to find a just right size for the rEvo. The rest of my luggage is showing wear as well.

They had a 2-pc set that looked pretty good for this purpose. The big one measured out big enough to hold my Mini with just a few inches all around for padding. The small one is supposedly TSA-compliant to use as a carry-on. $169.99 for the set. The sides on the big one were thin but did not feel COMPLETELY flimsy. And the light weight is definitely a bonus, for keeping under 50#.

 

[rddvet]

I’ve found the best place to find suitcases cheap but good quality is Burlington coat factory (I assume it’s a national chain). I don’t like hard sided suitcases. I find they weigh more and the amount of protection you gain is minimal.

 

[stuartv]

I’ve found the best place to find suitcases cheap but good quality is Burlington coat factory (I assume it’s a national chain). I don’t like hard sided suitcases. I find they weigh more and the amount of protection you gain is minimal.

My Costco is literally 2 blocks from my house. And Burlington Coat Factory is one block further down.

I reckon I'm going suitcase shopping for lunch...

 

[rddvet]

My Costco is literally 2 blocks from my house. And Burlington Coat Factory is one block further down.

I reckon I'm going suitcase shopping for lunch...

Unfortunately I do find alot of variability in the stock and the quality of items from Burlington to Burlington. The one by my house always has really good deals on pretty high quality suitcases. Hopefully yours is good too. We've had good success with some Dockers brand suitcases from there. We travel alot and always carry lots of dive gear and pack them as tight as we can, with never any issues. I broke a zipper on one, but it was my fault for trying to muscle it closed

 

[Divermikey]

I'm now on the fence. My buddy that I'm meeting has flown all over the world (from England). Truk multiple times. US multiple times. Sri Lanka. Egypt. Etc., etc.. He always checks his (former) JJ or X in a regular hardsided suitcase.

I went to Costco and found a hardsided Samsonite that measured out to appear to be the perfect size for my rEvo. And the box said the suitcase is 6#. So, in theory, I would have 8# allowance I could use for padding and be good to go.

So tempting... I'm really worried that the airplane from San Salvador to Roatan won't have big enough overhead storage and I will be forced to gate check my CCR, if I carry it on.

Stuart, All valid concerns on your part. My experience on smaller planes is that they make you "gate check" any item bigger than a laptop or a soft bag. Also the closer to the front of the plane the smaller the overheads because of the fuselage tapering down closer to the nose of the aircraft.
When I check in for my flights I always watch them put the CORRECT tag with the correct airport code on my bags.
Prior to getting my peli case I used an old suitcase with the foam padding that an undercounter wine cooler came with when it was shipped to my house. I bought the peli case when the suitcase finally gave up. It certainly gave no indication of what was inside by looking at it. It only took a couple of trips and the peli looks well traveled on the outside.

 

[stuartv]

Thanks to all of your many excellent suggestions, I think I have settled on my solution.

This Samsonite Tech 2.0 27" suitcase from Costco. With a matching carry-on size suitcase it was $170, for the set. Burlington did not have anything I was willing to trust.

2 of these dog beds from Petsmart. $30 each. They are just a little too tall and a little too wide for the suitcase, so when I squeeze them in, they are perfect. Foam is expensive!!

With the 2 dog beds in the top and bottom and my rEvo squeezed into the middle, I could zip it shut without having to unzip the suitcase portion that lets it expand. It was only a little hard to squeeze the lid shut. Not so hard that I'm worrying about blowing out a zipper. But, hard enough that I'm pretty confident the rEvo inside it is not going to move around.

Fully packed, my digital luggage scale says Winner, winner! Chicken dinner!

Thank you again to all of y'all for the posts and PMs with suggestions. It was all very helpful!

 

[stuartv]

Stuart, All valid concerns on your part. My experience on smaller planes is that they make you "gate check" any item bigger than a laptop or a soft bag. Also the closer to the front of the plane the smaller the overheads because of the fuselage tapering down closer to the nose of the aircraft.
When I check in for my flights I always watch them put the CORRECT tag with the correct airport code on my bags.
Prior to getting my peli case I used an old suitcase with the foam padding that an undercounter wine cooler came with when it was shipped to my house. I bought the peli case when the suitcase finally gave up. It certainly gave no indication of what was inside by looking at it. It only took a couple of trips and the peli looks well traveled on the outside.

I researched the planes that I'm scheduled to fly on. It appears that all my legs are on planes with pretty good-sized overhead bins. So, I maybe probably would have been okay to carry my rEvo on. I decided to defer to the experience of my buddy I'm meeting there. He has flown many many times with his CCR in a checked, hardsided suitcase and never had a problem. If this works out well, then I will also feel pretty good about using the same solution when I go to Truk in October.

I just have a 1.5 hour layover in San Salvador on the way there and back. So, the least opportunity for something to get lost short of a direct flight (which was not an option). Fingers crossed!!

 

[Divermikey]

I remember seeing the small jugs once. They were priced the same as a large one. Gave up. There are a few trips where small jugs would be a good choice. The long weekend deals. As for re-using them, you do know that you can buy new security lids and seal them up yourself at home? Just have to find the right lid for the jug.

Any ideas on how to find the tamper evident caps the correct size for the 4.5kg jugs of sofnolime.

 

[broncobowsher]

Get out the magnifying glass and look for maker marks. Same for the jug. That is where I would start.

I remember looking for something else once and accidently found them. Didn't know I should have bookmarked it.