Frontpointer1000
Contributor
I have traveled extensively with my aluminum 40. A lot of my diving is Solo and so I take it with me on every trip. I have flown to Fiji, Saint Croix, Aruba and Sri Lanka with my little tank. My experience has been different every single time. Sometimes TSA doesn’t blink, and other times I’ve been held up for 30 minutes. Sometimes the airline baggage people hold me up, and sometimes they let me go right in, sometimes the gate ticket agent has a problem, and sometimes someone on the airplane has the problem. Once I have checked the cylinder as luggage but I almost always carry it on. At that time I also was required to open the cylinder and prove there was no contained gas.
My experience is that Most people don’t really understand what TSA or the particular Airlines policy is. I have never ultimately been told that I cannot take the cylinder with me. However it has taken talking to the boss’s boss’s boss sometimes.
If I am really concerned, I will pull up the Airlines policy on my phone to show people, but that has never stopped someone from telling me no. It is usually from a lack of experience on their side. I always undo the valve after letting out all of the gas. I keep the valve in a sealed plastic bag and another plastic bag with a rubber band around the top of the cylinder. This is because Individuals often want to visually inspect the cylinder. Once through TSA or whatever the countries equivalent safety check, I replace the valve and carry the cylinder by the valve. I will usually have to undo the valve once or twice to show someone else.
I do sometimes question whether or not it is “worth it”. I just returned from Fiji two weeks ago where all of my diving was Out of a resort. It was not sophisticated diving and they would not let me use their tanks to do any solo or shore dives. I had all of my own gear and just had them fill my aluminum 40. I did a handful of dives just using my 40. I was never all that deep, and still had nice 45 minute dives.
I always carry A din-yoke converter and a din to yoke valve for fills. My cylinder is DIN. I have found that most places have a hard time filling ID AN valve, so I bring my own converter.
It is a little inconvenient, but for my diving style, I have found that I am very comfortable with it and it’s worth it for me.
My experience is that Most people don’t really understand what TSA or the particular Airlines policy is. I have never ultimately been told that I cannot take the cylinder with me. However it has taken talking to the boss’s boss’s boss sometimes.
If I am really concerned, I will pull up the Airlines policy on my phone to show people, but that has never stopped someone from telling me no. It is usually from a lack of experience on their side. I always undo the valve after letting out all of the gas. I keep the valve in a sealed plastic bag and another plastic bag with a rubber band around the top of the cylinder. This is because Individuals often want to visually inspect the cylinder. Once through TSA or whatever the countries equivalent safety check, I replace the valve and carry the cylinder by the valve. I will usually have to undo the valve once or twice to show someone else.
I do sometimes question whether or not it is “worth it”. I just returned from Fiji two weeks ago where all of my diving was Out of a resort. It was not sophisticated diving and they would not let me use their tanks to do any solo or shore dives. I had all of my own gear and just had them fill my aluminum 40. I did a handful of dives just using my 40. I was never all that deep, and still had nice 45 minute dives.
I always carry A din-yoke converter and a din to yoke valve for fills. My cylinder is DIN. I have found that most places have a hard time filling ID AN valve, so I bring my own converter.
It is a little inconvenient, but for my diving style, I have found that I am very comfortable with it and it’s worth it for me.
