hard-sided bag and flying with drysuit

[Stoo]

Stoo, what sort of bag did your drysuit come with? Mine came with a canvas rolltop bag. If I traveled with mine, it would go in that bag and then in suitcase.

It was in a little soft bag with pockets, but I don't use it when I'm flying. I find that flying to cold-water destinations is a challenge for baggage weight, so I strip things to the minimum. I am considering cutting the end off of my toothbrush to reduce weight... ;-)

Honestly, I've never given this topic a thought when I'm flying. I stuff my suit in the bag and away I go...

 

[Lorenzoid]

I'm not Stoo, but my Santi came in a boxy-shaped duffel bag with shoulder strap, etc.

At this point, I'm thinking of putting the suit in a big clear plastic bag that has no closures, and then packing that in my regular roller duffel. If TSA wants to remove the suit, I have to believe they will at least make some attempt to shove it back in the plastic bag before putting it back in the roller duffel. If they do that much, the chance of them catching a seal in the roller duffel zipper would be low.

 

[Stoo]

Sounds like the same sort of bag... My suit is actualy being replaced... A loaner they sent came in a kind of a fold out sack that I guess is meant to be used as a mat to stand on. The Halcyon rep also lent his personal suit to me (he flies weekly I think) and it was just packed in a mesh duffle....

 

[Marie13]

I think some sort of bag is a good idea, even just to contain suit inside suitcase n

 

[Schwob]

Yeah, that's pretty much what has been said in previous threads. Have you ever found your suit shoved back into the bag haphazardly by TSA (or Canadian equivalent)?

Can't speak for the Canadian Equivalent to the TSA and never travelled with a drysuit yet, but I had bad repacking after inspection with stuff just thrown back in the bag / case experiences several times with flights originating in the US, once originating from Germany, once from Egypt.

On the latter (in 2016) my BCD bladder had a puncture going through both layers upon arrival , noticed when rinsing it our, that I am quite sure it did not have on the last dive in Egypt. It also did not arrive in the duffel nicely folded in the wetsuit as I had packed it. I have no idea where that happened and if for US bound flights there is another bag inspection sort of like there is for passengers.

On my last flight, from FLL to ORD, my fix a dive kit (in a soft sided, padded zippered bag, sort of like a little lunch cooler, but sturdier) arrived in a general mess of bag ---fix a dive kit zipper open ---contents strewn around in the big bag. This big bag was packed tight, there was no room for stuff to move around, meaning they just rummaged through the fix a dive kit and threw everything willy nilley back in my big bag. @$×&£€%=×@@@!!!

I also had non-re-closed tool bags on work trips before..., rolled up posters taken out of the roll and shuffed back in destructivey, books (gifts) that were individually in zip loc bags placed back in the suitcase w/o putting them into the zip loc bags such haphazardly that pages got damaged,... carefully in cardboard boxes packaged and padded chocolate Easter bunnies and Santa Clauses for the kids destroyed by wonderful security employees who really just don't care to repack the way they found it... & whatnot...

Just my track record...
I also had non-hand-inspected luggage... never an issue there.
I had hand inspected luggage that was repacked decently.
But, horrible repacking even occurred a few times with no note present that would indicated there was an inspection. Leading me to think that maybe that's what happens when some inspector wants to assure to be not accountable for potential damage. Not that it looks like to me anyone at TSA & the like ever is accountable for anything...
And maybe I should try to place a few sprung mousetraps strategically around the luggage...
... not really, just in thought...