Mission Accomplished: Complete Dive Kit In Single Carry On Bag

[Centrals]

@uncfnp "And I could wear my computers. "

Don't turn them on..

Watch style computer will be fine!
A distinct advantage of using that kind of dive computer, a saving of about 200g! Reasonable saving(2.8%) if you only have 7kg max to play around.

 

[Centrals]

Here is all the same gear including wetsuit (but not the reel since you didn't mention that and it was 2 lbs) in the duffle I mentioned earlier. I have traveled with pretty much this same kit once on a commuter plane. But still weighs in at 10 kg. To get to 7 I would need a kydex or aluminum plate. And maybe lighter boots. Mine have the thicker sole. And I could wear my computers.

Its 23 x 13 x 7 which is under the 45 linear inches that Delta requires.

The best I could was just under 9kg and that was over 15yrs ago. But as I grew older and the wet suit got thicker, my check in bag come in around 12kg nowadays!
7kg is a tough target to achieve for full kit but as long as the airline is NOT enforcing the regulation, you should be alright with 10kg.
BTW, dump the reel and get couple of small spools.

 

[Bison Ravi]

I will be impressed if anyone can pack his/her full kit[bc, fins, mask, reg and thermal protection(optional)] within 7kg and size limit.

My ultimate goal would be to pack my full diving kit + full travel kit (clothes, toiletries etc) in a carry on bag + personnal bag, with the carry on being at 7kg.

 

[Lorenzoid]

The best I could was just under 9kg and that was over 15yrs ago. But as I grew older and the wet suit got thicker, my check in bag come in around 12kg nowadays!

I bring a 5 mm wetsuit when I dive in Cozumel, and that item alone won't fold up small enough to fit in a daypack.

I guess it would fit in a mid-sized backpack, which appears to be what some people are using as a "carry on."

 

[northernone]

With 3 regs in a 'personal item' my dive kit and travel necessities are under 7kg.

Anyone looking for light tech fins check out the voit full foot fins, the Viking etc. Thick sides for reverse, quite stiff, tiny. They won't replace a jet fin but at 1/6 the weight I've enjoyed them.


Feels like a hijack but for those interested, I was thrilled when I found a way to travel comfortably and just need tanks and weights upon arrivel.

Regards,
Cameron

 

[Boaty McBoatface]

I was on a similar mission, to create a recreational travel dive kit, and this is what I came up with:


Bag size.
The bag here is an Eagle Creek Load Warrior carry-on roller bag. (I have the prior generation, but it looks pretty much the same as the current model.) The bag is 22"x14"x9" (35.5x56x23cm). That's pretty much the lowest common denominator for carry-on allowances, but there are some airlines (especially smaller, non-US carriers) out there which are even more restrictive. There are a ton of carry-on bags out there with precisely those dimensions because it's about the closest thing to a standard -- just pick one that's lightweight. (Sometimes, if you book a foreign carrier via code sharing through a US carrier, you'll get the more generous US allowance for the whole itinerary.) This Load Warrior unzips to be about an inch (2.54cm) thicker (i.e. up to 10"/2.54cm thick), but I don't have the need to do that with the kit as shown.

Bag Weight.
The bag alone weighs 4.8 pounds (2.2kg), and fully loaded with everything in the picture the bag weighs 27.9 pounds (12.66kg). The only stuff that I'd characterize as "missing" are my blunt EMT shears (which I put in my checked bag in case the Blue Gloves were having a bad day), a backup light (if you're night diving), a save-a-dive kit (arguably checkable, by definition, anyway), a waterproof stuff sack (forgot it when I took the photos), and a few travel essentials for the outbound leg (e.g. medicines, swimsuit, underwear, etc. in case the checked bag didn't arrive or was late) -- there's plenty of room to tuck in all of those without expanding the bag, and even more if you do. Also not included is my preferred large mesh dive bag, which I could fit if mine weren't as robust as it is or if I expanded the zipper on the Load Warrior (or, I could just plan to resort to a pillow case, or I could swap out the mesh bag for the hood, gloves, and snorkel I might really not need anyway, or I could simply add a less robust mesh laundry bag that fits in the kit just as it is -- lots of options). Many air carriers don't restrict the weight of your carry-on, and those that do are typically lax about checking (especially if your bag is not bulky and you don't look like you're struggling), but there are a number of airlines that theoretically restrict your carry-on weight to 10kg/22 pounds (for that matter, there are even some that cap you at only 5 or 6kg/11-13 pounds). I don't think I've ever had a carry-on that weighed less than 10kg, mainly because I'm a photography buff and glass is heavy. I've only been dinged for excess weight once, and I've been to three dozen countries. (My observation is that the more restrictive the baggage allowance, the cheaper it usually is to buy excess -- the tighter restrictions really aren't about discouraging you from taking stuff, they're about getting more money out of you while advertising a more competitive list price.) YMMV

Packing List.
Zeagle Covert BCD (shown/weighed with 2 trim weight pouches you may not need, a mounted sheath for EMT shears but without the actual shears, and a double-ender snap bolt that I should have left out to minimize weight)
Zeagle Octo-Z integrated Bcd inflator/backup regulator (i.e. Zeagle's version of the Safe Second)
Zeagle F8 first stage and one second stage regulator on a longer, yellow hose
Zeagle DSMB and spool (in mesh deployment bag with another double-ender snap bolt)
Whistle
Shearwater Perdix AI dive computer (plus case)
Shearwater Perdix AI transmitter
DGX600 dive light with soft handle
3mm full wetsuit (XL, but I'm working on it)
5mm boots (size 12)
5mm hood
1.5mm gloves (size large; but not bragging)
Mask (in hard case)
Snorkel
Fins (Tusa Hyperflex - size 12)

One note about the packing list -- the fins are Tusa Hyperflex. They break down for travel, and that's both cool and --yes-- a point of failure. They (dis)assemble via a 3mm allen wrench. You may have that confiscated from your carry-on. (I was relieved of one in China once, and I've read of other people having such problems, too.) You can't use the fins without one, so if your checked bag doesn't arrive with this kit you'd either need to track down a 3mm allen or borrow/rent fins at your destination. I plan to cut a spare allen wrench (or two) way the heck down, place it strategically in the bag and see how that goes. If you're going somewhere warm enough, some short full-foot fins might work even better -- and let you leave the booties behind.

Don't forget that you also get to take a(n unweighed) "personal item" (small bag, purse, etc.). The regulator, computer and dive light weigh 5.2 pounds, so if you aren't loaded down with camera gear in your personal item like I am its pretty easy to relocate those and get this carry-on under 10kg (check/ditch the snorkel, hood, gloves, and one of the bolt snaps, and you're already there).

There it is -- everything I need to have arrive with me to dive, all in one legit (ahem, OK, just don't weigh it -- on certain airlines ) carry-on bag -- mission accomplished!

 

[KeithG]

I was on a similar mission, to create a recreational travel dive kit, and this is what I came up with:


Bag size.
The bag here is an Eagle Creek Load Warrior carry-on roller bag. (I have the prior generation, but it looks pretty much the same as the current model.) The bag is 22"x14"x9" (35.5x56x23cm). That's pretty much the lowest common denominator for carry-on allowances, but there are some airlines (especially smaller, non-US carriers) out there which are even more restrictive. There are a ton of carry-on bags out there with precisely those dimensions because it's about the closest thing to a standard -- just pick one that's lightweight. (Sometimes, if you book a foreign carrier via code sharing through a US carrier, you'll get the more generous US allowance for the whole itinerary.) This Load Warrior unzips to be about an inch (2.54cm) thicker (i.e. up to 10"/2.54cm thick), but I don't have the need to do that with the kit as shown.

View attachment 414308


Bag Weight.
The bag alone weighs 4.8 pounds (2.2kg), and fully loaded with everything in the picture the bag weighs 27.9 pounds (12.66kg). The only stuff that I'd characterize as "missing" are my blunt EMT shears (which I put in my checked bag in case the Blue Gloves were having a bad day), a backup light (if you're night diving), a save-a-dive kit (arguably checkable, by definition, anyway), a waterproof stuff sack (forgot it when I took the photos), and a few travel essentials for the outbound leg (e.g. medicines, swimsuit, underwear, etc. in case the checked bag didn't arrive or was late) -- there's plenty of room to tuck in all of those without expanding the bag, and even more if you do. Also not included is my preferred large mesh dive bag, which I could fit if mine weren't as robust as it is or if I expanded the zipper on the Load Warrior (or, I could just plan to resort to a pillow case, or I could swap out the mesh bag for the hood, gloves, and snorkel I might really not need anyway, or I could simply add a less robust mesh laundry bag that fits in the kit just as it is -- lots of options). Many air carriers don't restrict the weight of your carry-on, and those that do are typically lax about checking (especially if your bag is not bulky and you don't look like you're struggling), but there are a number of airlines that theoretically restrict your carry-on weight to 10kg/22 pounds (for that matter, there are even some that cap you at only 5 or 6kg/11-13 pounds). I don't think I've ever had a carry-on that weighed less than 10kg, mainly because I'm a photography buff and glass is heavy. I've only been dinged for excess weight once, and I've been to three dozen countries. (My observation is that the more restrictive the baggage allowance, the cheaper it usually is to buy excess -- the tighter restrictions really aren't about discouraging you from taking stuff, they're about getting more money out of you while advertising a more competitive list price.) YMMV

View attachment 414309


Packing List.
Zeagle Covert BCD (shown/weighed with 2 trim weight pouches you may not need, a mounted sheath for EMT shears but without the actual shears, and a double-ender snap bolt that I should have left out to minimize weight)
Zeagle Octo-Z integrated Bcd inflator/backup regulator (i.e. Zeagle's version of the Safe Second)
Zeagle F8 first stage and one second stage regulator on a longer, yellow hose
Zeagle DSMB and spool (in mesh deployment bag with another double-ender snap bolt)
Whistle
Shearwater Perdix AI dive computer (plus case)
Shearwater Perdix AI transmitter
DGX600 dive light with soft handle
3mm full wetsuit (XL, but I'm working on it)
5mm boots (size 12)
5mm hood
1.5mm gloves (size large; but not bragging)
Mask (in hard case)
Snorkel
Fins (Tusa Hyperflex - size 12)

One note about the packing list -- the fins are Tusa Hyperflex. They break down for travel, and that's both cool and --yes-- a point of failure. They (dis)assemble via a 3mm allen wrench. You may have that confiscated from your carry-on. (I was relieved of one in China once, and I've read of other people having such problems, too.) You can't use the fins without one, so if your checked bag doesn't arrive with this kit you'd either need to track down a 3mm allen or borrow/rent fins at your destination. I plan to cut a spare allen wrench (or two) way the heck down, place it strategically in the bag and see how that goes. If you're going somewhere warm enough, some short full-foot fins might work even better -- and let you leave the booties behind.

View attachment 414311

Don't forget that you also get to take a(n unweighed) "personal item" (small bag, purse, etc.). The regulator, computer and dive light weigh 5.2 pounds, so if you aren't loaded down with camera gear in your personal item like I am its pretty easy to relocate those and get this carry-on under 10kg (check/ditch the snorkel, hood, gloves, and one of the bolt snaps, and you're already there).

There it is -- everything I need to have arrive with me to dive, all in one legit (ahem, OK, just don't weigh it -- on certain airlines ) carry-on bag -- mission accomplished!

And it all depends upon your ticket. Beware of "Basic Economy".

American Airlines is banning carry-on bags and overhead bin use for basic-economy passengers

From United's current rules:
If you are traveling on a Basic Economy ticket, your personal item will be the only item you can bring on board.

From American Airlines current rules:
Basic Economy customers are only allowed 1 personal item. All other bags must be checked.