How do you transport SCUBA gear???

[mfrycek]

Hello!

I'm pretty new to diving and will be taking my first 'travel' diving trip pretty soon - but I need advice about how to transport my gear through the airport and to the boat.

Do I pack everything in a large gear bag and check it at the airport or do I pack everything in a smaller bag that I can carry on? My main concern here is security - I'm worried that if I check my gear either all or part of it can easily be stolen.

Additionally, what's the 'best' way to transport gear onto a boat? Obviously space is limited so do you go with several small bags?

:06:

~ Helpless

 

[mike_s]

Most people carry their regulator, dive computer, and dive computer in their carry on and check the rest of the gear.

For your checked gear, get a large gear bag. I'd suggest one that has rollers as it's easier to pull through the airport. Other than that, get one based on your preference and what your needs are. Ask others what they like and why. I like the large roller bags with a huge internal pocket and maybe an external fin pocket. I don't care for the ones with the "regulator" pocket on the front as anything you put in that pocket will get smushed by other airport luggage..... Ask around some and you'll find why people like their gear bag for other reason.

Also don't get one with "Dive flags" or "dive logos" all over it. It "alerts" theives
of what is in the bag and increases chances of stolen gear (in theory).
Also lock the bag with a TSA approved lock and also a "zip tie" so you
can tell if the bag has been opened. (if they cut the tie, it's been opened).

People use this same bag to transport gear to the boat or they get a smaller
collaspeable "boat bag". These sometimes are mess as people like
to rinse their gear in a mesh bag.


Hope that helps some.

-mike

 

[Tamas]

Most people carry their regulator, dive computer, and dive computer in their carry on and check the rest of the gear.

For your checked gear, get a large gear bag. I'd suggest one that has rollers as it's easier to pull through the airport. Other than that, get one based on your preference and what your needs are. Ask others what they like and why. I like the large roller bags with a huge internal pocket and maybe an external fin pocket. I don't care for the ones with the "regulator" pocket on the front as anything you put in that pocket will get smushed by other airport luggage..... Ask around some and you'll find why people like their gear bag for other reason.

Also don't get one with "Dive flags" or "dive logos" all over it. It "alerts" theives
of what is in the bag and increases chances of stolen gear (in theory).
Also lock the bag with a TSA approved lock and also a "zip tie" so you
can tell if the bag has been opened. (if they cut the tie, it's been opened).

People use this same bag to transport gear to the boat or they get a smaller
collaspeable "boat bag". These sometimes are mess as people like
to rinse their gear in a mesh bag.


Hope that helps some.

-mike

Mike, you got that right on!

The only other thing I like to do on top of all the suggestions above is to have the bag wrapped in that plastic wrap that most airports have. That way you can limit the chance of someone messing with it even more, and it makes your bag easier to spot on the carousel when it arrives.

 

[gfisher4792]

Like suggested above, regs, computer and mask (prescription) carry on, everything else (no weights, though) go in roller bag for flight. I have an Akona Mesh backpack gear bag for the boat, and it suits me fine. I also like to keep a tarp in the rental car trunk, so the water from my gear bag after the dive doesn't soak through the trunk. Ok, I know it's a rental car, but the wife is happier when her shopping bags aren't all soaked after a day of cruising around.

 

[KPScuba]

Someone once said if there are things that could not easily be repaired, replaced or rented where you are going, or it would ruin your trip to have it damaged or lost it should be carried on. One thing I have done in the past is to split up our gear that is to be checked between several bags, that way it cannot all disappear if one bag is lost or stolen. We also zip-tie our bags. A person cannot just casually open a bag and look in it with a zip-tie on it, yet if authorities need to inspect a bag, they can easily cut it. American authorities, if they open your bags, usually put some sort of tie on it to mark it as having been opened. Hope some of this is helpful.

 

[theskull]

Good advice so far. Also, be sure to check with the airline as to size l x w x h limits and especially the weight limit per bag. You will incur large overweight fees if you do not come in under the max. Splitting up the gear between a couple bags helps with this.

theskull

 

[mike_s]

Good advice so far. Also, be sure to check with the airline as to size l x w x h limits and especially the weight limit per bag. You will incur large overweight fees if you do not come in under the max. Splitting up the gear between a couple bags helps with this.

theskull

Good advice.

On a dive trip a few years ago, the Barney-Fife-airport-security-guard for the airline that "pre searched" my bag stated he thought it weighed more than the allowed amount and went ot manually weigh it. Of course dive gear was still wet/damp from the previous days dive and that added weight.

I always include a large nylon duffle bag in my dive bag. This way I was easily able to transfer some of the "weight" to a 2nd bag, which they checked w/o problem.

(when he weighted the 3rd dive bag of our group. I was "smart enough" to "help" him put the bag on the scales and held the bag up on one side with my foot. Ironically that bag weight just under the "limit". He went hmmm... I would have sworn that bag weighed more. He never noticed my foot. We all got a good laugh out of that latter.

 

[RICHinNC]

I use a bp and wing that fits very easily in a carry on bag and it goes on with me. As does my regs in their reg case.

If you take a pony bottle ever, TSA rules say it can go either check in or carry on.....but dont waste time with carry on as every TSA rep I have come across says thats a no go. And, they have the ability to do opposite of the written rules.

I put my pony in my carry on with a copy of the TSA reg taped around it. NO problem. And, I have had no problem carrying on bp and wing.....I set off all the alarms....but as soon as they find out what it is...no problem.

Would recommend taking batteries out of ALL dive gear that takes batteries. And, def.....dont use a bag that yells steal me with all kinds of dive symbols on it.
rich

 

[fishoutawater]

Very important.
Make sure you put your knife in the checked baggage.
Not a good idea these days to have it in your carry on.

 

[miketsp]

..snip...
Would recommend taking batteries out of ALL dive gear that takes batteries. And, ..snip..

..excluding computers of course. Some types will initialise in fail-safe ie considering you have a high N2 loading and you need to wait 24 hours before you can do a decent dive.

Normally I leave the batteries in my dive-lights but I have some thin plastic disks that I put between batteries to guarantee isolation just in case they get turned on by accident.

I found that this avoids any risk of miscounting the number of cells I need. Nothing worse than getting to the dive site and finding you only packed 4 cells for a 5 cell dive-light.