Flying with your gear... & spare air?

[diver 85]

How do you all recommend traveling with your gear. I have a bunch of trips planned this year and I am fairly new to diving. I am wondering...do most of you just put your gear in your dive bag and pay for an extra checked bag on the airline and HOPE its not overweight?

And can you have a spare air tank in your checked baggage if its empty? I assume full is a no go but what about if the tank is empty??

I get 2 FULL sets of (warm water ie Caribbean diving) diving gear(ie 2 BCs, 2 sets of fins, skins, 2 2mm shorties, 3 masks with 2 snorkels, 2 sets of 2mm booties, & my 2 mm hooded vest, folded up mesh dive bag,3 small dive flashlites, plus a spare parts kit) in an old, large Samsonite suitcase(sorta like below) for my wife & I.....Everything but 1 regulator set each, dive computer each, & my camera stuff go in the (diving) suitcase---Total weight about 48 lbs...You gotta do these things this way these days, lol...

Our 'other' checked in bag is a softer one, like the 2nd one below, for our clothes....2 checked in bags good for a week+ for no additional charges(international Cont flights etc)....

and yes to spare air.....

 

[vladimir]

Is it that you dont participate in any activites besides diving when on vacation or the only time you dive is when you're on vacation?

Did I dangle a modifier? I meant, "All my diving is done on vacation." Though often, pretty much all of my vacation is spent diving, too.

 

[diver 85]

Did I dangle a modifier? I meant, "All my diving is done on vacation." Though often, pretty much all of my vacation is spent diving, too.

ditto on the planning of a vacation.......dive, dive, dive......

 

[Fourseventeen]

Heck I wish I could get away with ONLY 2 pieces of checked luggage including dive gear. My wife will use up that black bag all by her self for a weeks vacation. Shes a prissy girly girl plus when we go on vacation we tend to do a lot of different things other then water activities. So she needs an outfit for this, a dress for that, 20 pairs of shoes LOL. ok maybe not 20 but she really does bring about 5-6 pairs of shoes for a 7-10 day trip and at least 10 outfits. Plus a suitcase of different make up and hair stuff and yada yada yada LOL. Our last trip we went for 8 days (no diving) her suitcase weighed in at 58lbs. We had to move some of her things into my carry on just so we wouldnt be over charged.
I think if I buy 2 of those Akona carry on bags JUST for our dive gear...1 for hers and 1 for mine and then have a "personal" carry on bag for my camera and such then we will be good there. Then have 2 checked bags for our actual luggage. If those Akona carry on bags fit all the primary gear like some people are leaving in the reviews for the product then I should be good to go. We leave in 12 days!

 

[vladimir]

Heck I wish I could get away with ONLY 2 pieces of checked luggage including dive gear. My wife will use up that black bag all by her self for a weeks vacation. Shes a prissy girly girl plus when we go on vacation we tend to do a lot of different things other then water activities. So she needs an outfit for this, a dress for that, 20 pairs of shoes LOL. ok maybe not 20 but she really does bring about 5-6 pairs of shoes for a 7-10 day trip and at least 10 outfits. Plus a suitcase of different make up and hair stuff and yada yada yada LOL. Our last trip we went for 8 days (no diving) her suitcase weighed in at 58lbs. We had to move some of her things into my carry on just so we wouldnt be over charged.

Sounds like my ex-wife. I counted once--she tried on 27 pairs of shoes before deciding which pair matched her dress for dinner. That's pretty much why I divorced her--I need a wife who can cede part of her luggage allowance.

 

[KentFromPGH]

I bring my regulator (with dive computer) as a carry on. I guess I should also pack my mask in my carry on (prescription lense) but don't. BC, fins, wetsuit, etc. goes in checked with any overflow clothes that won't fit in carry on. My wife and I were able to get all of our dive gear in one Wenoka Sea Style dive bag last year on a trip to Grand Turk (was flying US Air so was worried about her Anoka bag being oversized). The more you travel the less you will find you need to really bring along.

 

[diver 85]

Heck I wish I could get away with ONLY 2 pieces of checked luggage including dive gear. My wife will use up that black bag all by her self for a weeks vacation. Shes a prissy girly girl plus when we go on vacation we tend to do a lot of different things other then water activities. So she needs an outfit for this, a dress for that, 20 pairs of shoes LOL. ok maybe not 20 but she really does bring about 5-6 pairs of shoes for a 7-10 day trip and at least 10 outfits. Plus a suitcase of different make up and hair stuff and yada yada yada LOL. Our last trip we went for 8 days (no diving) her suitcase weighed in at 58lbs. We had to move some of her things into my carry on just so we wouldnt be over charged.
I think if I buy 2 of those Akona carry on bags JUST for our dive gear...1 for hers and 1 for mine and then have a "personal" carry on bag for my camera and such then we will be good there. Then have 2 checked bags for our actual luggage. If those Akona carry on bags fit all the primary gear like some people are leaving in the reviews for the product then I should be good to go. We leave in 12 days!

Well. after 31+ years, I've finally got her trained---correctly......lol(good thing she doesn't read this site)...That 2nd one is one we just got to replace our other Samsonite(pic below)---thanks to LIAT Airlines....
, on the way to Dominica no less...coming back we duct taped it in Dominica then shrink-wrapped it in Puerto Rico--that did the trick.....

hope the new one holds as much junk as the old one....

 

[DandyDon]

Really? This is a common assertion, and I guess it makes some sense, but is there any evidence that it is true? I lugged my gear around the world several times in a big dive bag that proclaimed "US Divers" on the front, fin pockets on each side, and mesh insets to allow your gear to dry. Nobody ever stole it. Maybe thieves realize that, for the most part, dive gear is not that portable, not that easily resold, does not hold its value that well in the re-sale market, and is not that expensive compared to, say, jewelry, electronics, camera gear, Louis Vuitton bags, etc.

Yeah, you hear that a lot, but I've never had a problem. Big jet arrives at Roatan, etc, everyone gets off with bags, you figure most of them have dive gear whether the bags were made by Akona or a Walmart contractor.

Don't bash the guy for Spare Air. Lots of rescue personnel carry them for just what he suggested: to use in case of a land-based emergency where you might need to be under water or in smoke for a limited period of time.

He carries it as a safety device, not as a diving device.

Now, bash him for suggesting using it to extend bottom time by all means.

:lol:​

Something he'd heard, not suggested - and I asked where he heard that.

idocsteve...
I only seem to dive while on vacation because I live in AZ and frankly there isnt any real diving here. We have a lake with nothing in it but algae and cat fish. I travel a few times a year, typically in the Caribbean where the diving is much better. I havent dove much but would like to start getting under more often. I have always had an issue with equalizing my ears but from what I am always told....its because I lack the experience. Hopefully thats the case and I will get past that.

Great video: Doc's Diving Medicine Home Page

Plus antihistamines and decongestants. My bud always has troubles with his ears the first few days of a trip but I nag him and he's getting better and exercising his ears the week before we go someplace. Once on an overnight trip to New Mexico to dive a practice pit there, he did ok the first day, but could not get down the second. On the surface...
"Did you take your pills?"
"No"
"What do you mean No?! How can you forget that after all this time...?!"
We loaded and went home.

Barrelroll...LOL. naw I wasnt suggesting it to extend bottom time...I hear thats what a lot of people get bashed on for doing. Mainly want to keep one with my work gear as apposed to expecting their to be one in whatever vehicle i am using that night. I had also planned to bring it with me when I dive incase of a malfunction with my gear or if I am stupid enough to run out of air. I would NEVER use one to extend my diving time.

Did you look at the 6 cf model linked above?

Heck I wish I could get away with ONLY 2 pieces of checked luggage including dive gear.

Take what you want, including digital scales, and pay the luggage fees. On most trips you can check two 50# bags each for $27 each way, roll-on 40# bag each and carry a personal backpack for cameras, etc/

I bring my regulator (with dive computer) as a carry on. I guess I should also pack my mask in my carry on (prescription lense) but don't.

:shocked2: Wow!

 

[Fourseventeen]

dandydon...
heard about the bottom time thing from searching around for info on the spare airs on the internet.

6CF model...its a lot larger then the spare air system. The spare air I can toss in my work bag and when I get into my work car I can toss it in the door panel pocket so it is quickly accessible should I need it. The Oddysey system appears much nicer though. Plus if I am needing my hands to try and free someone from a car that is submurged I think the Oddysey system would get in the way and be to heavy to hold in my mouth without the use on my hands.

Docs video I have seen...watched it this morning actually. Thank you.

Every dive after my first dive (when I learned I cant equalize easily) I started taking Sudafed the night b4 a dive and the morning of the dive. Honestly dont know if it helped. I can equalize...just takes time and usually one ear goes before the other and occasionally while on ascent I will get a small case of vertigo...usually about the last 5-10 feet before surfacing. I know i get sea sick easily but I think this may have to do with my ears. I was watching one of the videos for SDI certification and it says DO NOT TAKE SUDAFED. Why is that? Anything better you would suggest taking to help with my ears?

 

[DandyDon]

Sudafed is a brand name originally derived from the drug name pseudoephedrine which divers have used for years as a decongestant - with some controversy, but still the popular drug of choice. I take as I have since the 80s I think along with antihistamines for my general allergies, but while I never have trouble clearing (probly cuz of all my years of nose blowing), my bud cannot get down without it. I don't know why the vid said to not take it as long as you take enough that it doesn't wear out before you finish the dive.

Real pseudoephedrine has become increasingly difficult to find since it became a behind the counter med in a well intended effort to prevent it from being used in production of unlawful drugs. The Sudafed company sells other drugs under that name now, but it can be acquired on request with ID. Adding antihistamines can help with ears and related problems; I think all motion sickness meds are really antihistamines.

The most common topics in Dive Medicine forum have to do with ear clearing, vertigo, and sea sickness which are indeed related to ears. An ENT who posts in the forum DrMike really likes the nose pot or Neti pot (Neti is Sanskrit for "nasal cleansing") - which my bud swears helps. I tried it; maybe it does, but I just use table mpm-iodised salt in water.

The most popular ear rinse after diving is alcohol and vinegar, by the way. Opinions vary on mixes, but DocV suggests equal parts alcohol, white vinegar, and water; I just mix a 50% alcohol solution and vinegar - close enough. The homemade mix has a shelf life of 30 days before the vinegar breaks down too much. Store products are just alcohol and glycerin so they will last longer, and while the glycerin can sooth the sting of more alcohol, the omission of vinegar is unfortunate. Some will suggest hydrogen peroxide, which can damage your ears really, but mixed with alcohol probly just breaks down to water - so a waste at best.