How do you carry your housing?

[TheNitroxinator]

I'm in the carry-on camp. The main reason is that, at a resort, I could rent suitable replacement gear until my checked bag is found and shows up. I don't know of any resorts that would rent a suitable replacement for my camera. If I have my camera and housing with me as a carry-on, the only way its going to get lost is if the plane goes down, which will mean I have a bigger problem than lost luggage. This also covers the unlikely event of theft; you can insure yourself and get replacements for any of your gear, but if you're at the resort itself, you can rent scuba gear pretty readily. I doubt you can rent a high quality camera.


I've been using a duffel bag as my carry on. That goes in the overhead bin, and I have a laptop case as my additional carry-on that goes under my seat. I'll put a big aluminum case (a Patima case for the C5050), Nikonos 105 strobe, WAL, Macro lens, and whatever else will fit after that. I'm changing over to something with roller wheels for my next trip, I'm not sure what just yet, hopefully something I can fit the camera gear and regulator.

 

[alcina]

Depends on my schedule. If I am diving right away, the housing, strobe, lenses, camera, etc all go in my carry on. I have two - one a Canon backpack, not sure it has a name but fits everything I need easily; two - a backpack I bought at Best Buy for my laptop. Laptop goes in there too and this thing will carry a ton of stuff but it is extra comfy (I tested it at Best Buy by filling it with pounds of stuff and walking around the store - not one store person said a word :lol: Never had it weighed either...

If I am not diving right away - at least three or four business days - then everything gets packed. Usually in the bag above and then in my main suitcase secured with shoes and extra padded with clothes on all sides.

I have never carried my regs on. I do carry my dive computer if I will be diving right away.

And to be honest, even though I knew I was diving right away on our trip to Cozumel, I just couldn't face dragging a heavy carry-on all the way from Australia so I packed everything. All arrived safe and sound.

And one word - INSURANCE.

have fun!

 

[kevreid]

I have been bag shopping for months. I researched this subject on all the sites (here, wetpixel, digitaldiver) and had all but decided on a Tamrac 5258 Cyberpac8. Only thing holding me back was the price. I was in Scubatoys the other day and found a bag, Armor Camera/video/regulator bag, http://www.scubatoys.com/store/Scuba_Bags.asp?PAGE=2. I couldn't resist for $29.95. It fit my needs perfectly. I have an Ikelite housing with double handle for an Oly 5050. The size of the housing with the arms attached is substantial and the depth of this housing is too large for many backpacks. The Armor bag lets me put the housing on end, taking up much less room in the bag than having to lay it flat. I have my housing, strobe, arms, two camera's, dive computer, regulator, and laptop in the bag with half the bag left over.
Only down side, it's a shoulder strap or handle carry and with all the above it's not light (as you would expect).

 

[Dee]

For those carrying on the camera backpack, do you carry your regulators/computers on too?

I carry my dive computer and logbook (it can't be replaced). Regs I can rent wherever I'm going, although of course I prefer my own. But when it comes down to it, regs can be rented, camera stuff that I like usually can't.

 

[Charlie99]

But when it comes down to it, regs can be rented, camera stuff that I like usually can't.

It's easy to tell that this is the UW Photog forum. The usual post is more like "Regs are life support gear....nobody but me touches my regs ..... you are risking your life using rental regs, .. etc".

We each have to figure out what would ruin our trip if it went missing. For some it's camera gear. For others it's a bifocal prescription mask.

For me the essentials are pretty simple: passport, cash, credit card, cert card and bathing suit. :banana:

I pack non-essentials in a suitcase, with the expectation that it will be dropped from chest height and have 3 or 4 suitcases stacked on top of it.

Charlie

 

[chickdiver]

A friend of mine uses "Micronesian Samsonite"- a large rolling cooler taped shut with all her camera equipment carefully wrapped in clothing and packed in nice and tight.

 

[alcina]

For me the essentials are pretty simple: passport, cash, credit card, cert card and bathing suit. :banana:

Mine's even shorter - passport, credit cards, traveller's cheques & copy of relevant insurance. Everything else can be replaced, bought, rented etc, at least to the places I've gone to so far (but I do check ahead of time).

 

[RonFrank]

One year on a trip to Key West our big suitcase (ski bag) was misplaced, and we did not see it for the first two days of the trip.

I carry my camera gear on because it's expensive. I have a couple lenses that cost over 1K each (in fact they most all do), and my DSLR cost more than I want to admit in it's day. I also carry it on because I have seen first hand the results of SOME baggage handlers. I hunt with guys from PA, and one year my buddies $200 gun case looked like an elephant had a fight with a gorilla with his case bearing the brunt of the force (really sad).

I also carry on a EXTRA change of underwear, socks, T-shirt, and personal items like a toothbrush, comb. You can get a LOT of stuff in a regulation carry-on, and after my experience with lost luggage (even for a couple days) it's best to have some personal items. I carry on my reg, and dive puter also.

Ironically I check my laptop if I bring one (which I generally don't). I use a portable CD burner to backup my images. These days most hotels have puters, and as I work with one all day, and for doing photography, and for surfing fun, about the last thing I want to have on vacation is my computer....

Ron

have my new PT-020 and going to international destination:

Looking at Pelican hard case so I can just check it but it's one more piece of gear with weight. Of course, I can't eliminate that completely but thought I would check for innovative ideas here before purchasing.

An aside would also be why are all the Pelican cases that are narrow enough to fit the housing only, are never deep enough forcing you to go to the wider case to get the necessary depth?

FYI: the rest of the gear is one roller scuba bag each containing dive gear and clothes so no room there.

 

[RonFrank]

When we were in FL last summer (three weeks) we bought a big rolling cooler. We brought it back on the flight (checked) filled with seashells, some Snorkel gear, and other odd things.

However keep in mind these things have no Way to lock (or most don't). I had duct taped mine shut, and when we got to the checkin, the guy made me cut the damn tape open so he could inspect the contents!! Fortunately I had duct tape handy in my baggage as I'd just taped it before leaving the hotel.

So if you go this route, realize that you better have a good strap that can be removed by TSA on these puppies, cause if they cut the tape to get into it, I'm guessing at some point the contents may end up where every they land. IMO I would NOT put camera gear in one, unless the thing has some better clasps.

Ron

A friend of mine uses "Micronesian Samsonite"- a large rolling cooler taped shut with all her camera equipment carefully wrapped in clothing and packed in nice and tight.

 

[scubaaaronh]

I agree totally with ron and carry some clothing and camera on board

Most of the flights now won't let you board the plane with regs in a carry on. So they go in my gear bag and the photo equip goes in the carry on bag on the plane with me. It really confuses the TSA agents most dont know what it is so its kind of fun to mess with them in that way. I have never had a problem after i explain what the equipment is. I had one guy in ft lauderdale trying to figur out my mx-10 and ys-40a the agent at the other end was a diver so he let the person running the scanner mess with it for about five minutes before saying "Hey dummy its a dive camers" the other agent turned beet red. The scanners couldn't penetrate the camera because of all the rubber so it threw a flag on the scanner.