How much dive gear do you take on vacation?

[Scubaroo]

Jumped on the scales last night with my dive gear for a weekend in Florida - came up with 37 pounds of gear. Planning 2 afternoon dives and a night dive (3 tank trip).

- SS backplate, 36lb wing, SS buckle cam bands, ACB20 weight pockets (renting weights)
- yoke regulator with long hose/bungee backup
- HID canister, backup light, strobe, spool, SMB, shears
- hood, gloves, boots, fins, mask (renting 3mm suit)
- compass, computer

There's nothing here that I don't want to leave behind for the boat and night dives I'm doing. I'm not concerned about the weight on this particular vacation, but might buy an aluminum plate and some cam bands with plastic buckles for future trips, and maybe ditch the HID for a smaller light if no night dives were planned.

How much gear do you take on your vacations?

 

[metridium]

Everything except tanks*, weights, and primary light.

Unless it's trans-pac. Then all bets are off.



*Sometimes I ship my tanks ahead.

 

[peterjmaerz]

Hi There,

I bring it all, minus tanks and weights. I carry on reg, mask, cyalumes, logboks, computer in reg bag which goes in turn into a backpack. The backpack also holds my laptop and a change of clothes. I also carry on a fairly small Pelican camera case.
I check my giant rolling duffel with everything else, often including 5 mil and hood, fins, booties, snorkel, spare mask, two dive lights, BC, etc. Though it has weighed as much as 50 pounds and has outside dimensions beyond those usually permitted, I've never had a problem nor paid an overage, even though I've flown in some tiny island hoppers. Off to Fiji with this rig in two weeks. I'll report how it went.
Happy packing.

 

[RICHinNC]

I take everything but main tanks...I do take my pony bottle....and I no longer use a pelican case or any case marked in any manner to indicate dive gear.

 

[cyklon_300]

but lead and cylinders....

 

[seadog]

and there is any chance of diving, we bring it all - tanks included.
If we fly, we rent.

 

[nickjb]

For warm water diving (ie on holiday) I can easily get by without a big light on night dives. I usually take:

Alu backplate
Small wing
Regs
computer/dive timer
small torch
Fins/mask/snorkel (for snorkelling )

I rent weights, tank and suit.

I'm thinking of buying a holiday wetsuit, though.

 

[FredT]

2 plate rigs with regs,
2 back up sets of Std poodle jackets with at least one spare reg assy
Up to 20something tanks, depending on what's ready to use, the dive plans, and what I want to empty for vis/preventitive maintenance/repair.
3 or 4 spearguns and 4' long fish box
Speargun maintenance kit with shafts, tips and bands & 3 good fillet knives with stones.
Equipment repair kit with enough parts to rebuild ALL air delivery equipment I'm bringing along, twice.
Body repair kit (This is several steps above a first aid kit, including sutures and support equip, splints, complete antibiotic courses and some serious pain killers.) Contents may vary by destination.
O2 kit with several hours worth of O2 for two victims.
Personal gear sets, plus a spare set for spares.

The above list is for a week's diving. Day trips can be less gear overall with the repair kit contents functioning as "ready spares" instead of carrying complete backup equipment. Most of my dive gear can be field repaired in a half hour or less with the parts and tools in the kits. Rebuilds take longer.

FT

 

[leadweight]

FredT once bubbled...
2 plate rigs with regs,
2 back up sets of Std poodle jackets with at least one spare reg assy
Up to 20something tanks, depending on what's ready to use, the dive plans, and what I want to empty for vis/preventitive maintenance/repair.
3 or 4 spearguns and 4' long fish box
Speargun maintenance kit with shafts, tips and bands & 3 good fillet knives with stones.
Equipment repair kit with enough parts to rebuild ALL air delivery equipment I'm bringing along, twice.
Body repair kit (This is several steps above a first aid kit, including sutures and support equip, splints, complete antibiotic courses and some serious pain killers.) Contents may vary by destination.
O2 kit with several hours worth of O2 for two victims.
Personal gear sets, plus a spare set for spares.

The above list is for a week's diving. Day trips can be less gear overall with the repair kit contents functioning as "ready spares" instead of carrying complete backup equipment. Most of my dive gear can be field repaired in a half hour or less with the parts and tools in the kits. Rebuilds take longer.

FT

Fred, I know you don't take this stuff down to Little Cayman Island where they charge $1.25 for each pound over 55. How big a truck does this take and where do you tend to go? My guess is some heavy duty pickup like an F350 with Florida as a destination.

By the way, I just take the basics. No tanks and not much in the way of backup gear. Everything fits into a medium size bag, plus a carry on, including a week's worth of clothing (which is not a lot of clothes). Total weight is about 55 pounds. However, I keep my c-card taped to my passport.

 

[Amanda]

Same here. I only take the basics (i.e. reg, mask, BCD, wetsuit, fins, knife, torch) and I rent tank (and weights if needed.)