How Much Gear Do You Bring When You Travel?

[Todd Dicker]

I just got back from a wonderful dive trip to Hawaii. I brought everything with me except weights and tank. BC, reg, fins, mask, shorty wet suit, camera, computer. I bought a large roller bag off Craigslist for all my equipment (not a dive bag, but the largest permitted bag on the airlines and for $50 I got a five piece luggage set barely used).

I found that getting my dive gear to Hawaii was the biggest pain in the butt. The large bag was full and I still had to put some small stuff in my carry on. This meant I really had to skimp on everything else I might have brought for the vacation. Only one pair of shoes, one pair of pants, small selection of shirts.

Do you folks just pay for extra luggage? Does a dive gear bag really hold more dive gear than a large suitcase? Do you ship your gear by UPS to the local dive shop?

I'd like my next trip to be less of a pain....

 

[Kharon]

I don't need a wetsuit where I travel to dive. If I did, I would most likely rent one. I take everything else, including my pony rig, because I don't want to dive with unfamiliar equipment of unknown servicing.

 

[stuartv]

I have an Ogio roll-aboard suitcase. The largest allowable size for a carry-on. When I travel (e.g. Hawaii last April), I carry on almost all my dive gear except my fins. The roll-aboard holds my BP/W, masks, 3/2 wetsuit (size XXL), booties, gloves, SMB w/pocket reel, and lights. My "personal item" for carry-on is my backpack that holds my regs, dive computers, GoPro w/accessories, O2 analyzer, and miscellaneous travel stuff like my Android tablet and chargers.

In my checked bag, I put my fins, cutting devices, toiletries and clothes. I have a really big Ogio gear bag that I use for my checked bag and it has plenty of room for all that. It will get to the 50# mark before it gets full, even though all my heavy dive gear is in my carry-on.

 

[ShutterFinger]

I'm just like Kharon except if I need a light weight suit I'll bring my own. Rental wet suits gross me out. (;{)
My camera in a Pelican case takes up my carry-on and I put my reg in my wife's carry-on! Just love her to death! Computer in my personal bag. The rest gets checked. I don't need much clothes on a diving vacation.

 

[AlexL]

personally, not a big fan of 'dive gear bags'. huge logos that say 'HEY!! I've got lots of expensive stuff in here!!' dimensional limits are dimensional limits, but i find that weight limits are the bigger issue. we (wife and I) usually get a free checked back per person due to credit card perks, so we take advantage of that.

our current packing process consists of the following:

1. rollarboard carry on - 2x dive computers, 2x regsets, 4x swimwear, 2x primary masks, 2x dive logs, medication, few changes of cloths. no cases/regbags, as the clothes are packed in and around everything else. this stays at our side no matter what, as its the most important bag! all the other luggage could be lost and we'd still be able to go diving.
   
2. backpack (personal item) - camera rig, support electronics, chargers, snacks, hats, etc
3. Roller Duffel bag - save-a-dive kit bag, 2x pair fins, 2x skins, 2x pair boots, 2x pair gloves, and 2x the 'bail out bags' which has all our ocean gear (DR pocket with elastic containing DSMB, spools, collapsible snorkel, jon line, extra flashlights, etc). comes in around 40lbs all up.
4. standard large checked luggage - 2x BP/Ws, 2x backup masks, 4x flashlights, 2x wetsuits, CO tester, 100' paracord, first aid kit, weight belts (no weights), luggage scale, toiletries bag, and most of our clothing. 48lbs all up.

IME, the fins and non travel BCDs are the biggest issue, bulk/dimension wise. BP/Ws pack much smaller, in exchange for added weight. i've been able to cram two people's worth of gear into two rollarboards, backpack, and a single checked bag, but there wasn't any additional room/weight for the return trip. dirty laundry / moist skins/suits go into those super big ziplock bags, so they bulk up more, tetris down less, and weigh a bit more on the return trip.

If traveling light, solo, sans fins, could get away with a rollarboard and a backpack.

 

[Hoag]

Every trip I do, when I am packing I inevitably run into an "Oh crap that isn't going to fit there". moment and have to switch some stuff around. Having said that, My packing is usually some variation of this:
Carry-on:

• Travel BCD,
• Mask
• Reg Bag (regs & Computer)
• 3mm vest (non hooded)
• camera & lenses
• bathing suit
• shorts
• a couple t shirts
• Meds & toiletries

"Personal Bag" (the "other" carry-on):

• Camera Housing
• Strobes (and Fiber-optic cables)
• Dome Port (I tend to not shoot macro so I normally only have a Dome Port. If I want to shoot Macro, I will typically settle for close focus wide angle)
• iPad

Checked Luggage:

• Camera Tray & Arms
• Fins
• Wetsuit
• clothes
• mesh dive boat bag
• batteries, chargers and power bar
• Save a dive kit and assorted tools(I have found that one of the best containers for this is one of the cheap insulated zip up lunch boxes from Walmart)
• Travel luggage scale

When I pack, I assume that the airline will lose my checked luggage, and I try to not pack anything in it that I can not live without. This is especially true if I will be on a LOB and I am flying to my destination the same day as the boat sets sail.

 

[tbone1004]

Carryon
Doubles reg set *always bring an extra first stage, just in case*
small tool kit-allen keys, adjustable wrench, small screwdriver
computer
SS bp/w
Gopro
nav slate
smb with reel

Checked
fins-mask in one fin pocket, wrist slate in the other
exposure protection
snorkel if necessary *usually is for freediving
z-knife

personal items get moved around wherever they fit, but it's not that big. If I didn't have enormous feet, I can get everything in a rollaboard *fins are too long* and that includes a 5mm wetsuit and hooded vest. If I am cave diving there is more stuff to bring and that requires a checked bag, but for recreational diving, everything except my fins can fit in a rollaboard.

 

[The Chairman]

On my last trip, I fit all my clothes and dive gear into my large bag. 52 pounds. No camera. No wet suit. Deep 6 Regulator, ExpressTech BC, Deep 6 XXL fins, two hog lights with Dive Rite soft handles (kind of like a glove), mask, dive boots, dive socks, large dive bag and my Shearwater on one side. On the other side, I had one pair of comfy shorts, flip flops, 5 pair of undies, half a dozen shirts, two swimsuits and my dive T. I did bring a carry on which was pretty empty. I had my cpap, power outlet, laptop, Elena's laptop and my tablet in that one.

 

[Trailboss123]

Between the 2 carry-on bag allowances:
Dive computer, mask, regs, sea life camera, some of my clothing and my laptop

Checked:
Fins, BC, booties, minimal tools to put reg hoses back on, knife, toiletries, wetsuit and hooded vest, dive light, slate, collapsible Akona dive bag for the boat and any other remaining clothes for the trip. Total weight with checked bag comes in at 48-49lbs and I have a somewhat heavy roller bag that is not a "dive bag". My fins only fit because my warm water fins have detachable spring straps.

When I go on a dive vacation, I am there to dive and take minimal clothes: Bathing suit, a couple of shorts, super light weight Ex-Oficio pants which can be dressed up or down. A couple of t-shirts, Thai fisherman pants and 1 nicer collared short sleeve shirt. As for footwear, I only bring my Chaco sandals and I am wearing them on the plane.

I have done a trip to Cozumel where I checked absolutely nothing and everything mentioned above, except the dive knife was carried on. I used my Whites Dry suit bag as my large carry on. It has shoulder straps and can be carried like a back pack, which I did while boarding, so as to draw less attention to it. It totally fits in the overhead, but it is definitely not "overhead dimensions". My smaller carry on was larger than a small carry on should have been. Would not have fit under the seat. I pulled it off, but have since gone to the above process.

 

[Lorenzoid]

BC, reg, fins, mask, shorty wet suit, camera, computer.... The large bag was full ....

I assume that for security reasons your camera and computer went in your carry-on, not the "large bag" that you checked. A BC, reg set, wet suit, etc., should not take up nearly all the room in a large dive bag. I have a large roller bag in which I can pack my backplate/wing, fins, reg set, and wetsuit/booties, with plenty of room to spare. I stuff a few clothing items, such as t-shirts, as padding around the regs in that checked bag, but take most of my clothing in my carry-on. I no longer take a "personal item" in addition to my carry-on--too much to juggle--but when I first started dive traveling, I took a regulator bag as my personal item. Nowadays, rather than trying to outsmart the airlines with clever packing strategies, I just figure I will rent whatever I need at my destination in the unlikely event something gets lost or stolen.

Granted, I generally travel to warm places where diving is all I am going to be doing, and nobody cares what they wear. So I don't need socks, a pair of long pants, or many shirts. For a 1-week trip, two pairs of shorts, some t-shirts, one "nice" shirt for going out to dinner, underwear, a pair of flip-flops, toiletries, etc., fit in a medium-sized backpack that I carry on. If I were traveling somewhere to do more than just diving, or if I had photo gear, I might need more space. I can see how Hawaii might be such a destination.