Need help with packing gear

[Diver Dennis]

Wow. I would never check $2600 worth of regulators and canister lights. You are braver than me.

It's all insured and if you pack carefully, it will survive with no problems. I've traveled over 100,000 miles in the last year and a half and had not have any bags even delayed. Of course if it is a trip of a lifetime, I can see your point.

 

[scubamickey]

1. Call the airline to confirm the allowable size of checked and carryon luggage for those specific flights/planes.

2. When packing your carryon stuff, have a smaller bag or pack inside with just your truly essential items. This is so that you can remove an carry on those key items even if you are forced to gate check / planeside check your carryon.

For you truly, truly essential bag, I suggest not much more than passports, credit card, cert cards, itinerary, and a bathing suit.

Very good generic traveling suggestions. I did check with the airlines and the allowable size is the standard. That's not the problem I have.

I am looking for a bag or 2 that will fit all of my gear as carryon. Gate checking is not a problem. It's the trained gorillas in baggage handling that give me the headaches.

 

[scubamickey]

It's all insured and if you pack carefully, it will survive with no problems. I've traveled over 100,000 miles in the last year and a half and had not have any bags even delayed. Of course if it is a trip of a lifetime, I can see your point.

Nah, not the trip of a lifetime. Just the annual, semi annual trip. I still think your braver .

 

[BIGG_BUDD]

He had a good point about hard sided suitcases. Those suckas are rugged...

 

[scubamickey]

Oh, I always have a Photographer's vest in my camera back pack for the rare cases where they weigh it and find it is over 40 lbs, I can wear my strobes and whatever else I need to meet the limit. The agents get quite a kick out of it...

This method could be used for almost any type of small heavy gear.

You know...I actually have one of those. It has like a million pockets. I used when we went to Cuba a few years back and the weight allowance was non-existent. I jammed all sorts of things in there while waiting in line in Miami to check in. I did such a good job that I lost our passports in one of the pockets. I ended up having to step aside and "search" all the pockets. 10 minutes later I found them!

I wonder if my can light would fit in there.....

 

[diver 85]

I'm an experienced traveler and always try to pack light. That's getting very hard to do with all the gear I've acquired recently. How do you all pack the following items for carry-on? My concern is that the American Eagle flight between Miami and the caribbean islands is an ATR72 jet. I'm not sure how big the overhead bins and under seat space are.
I need to check the following:

2 regulators with long hose configurations
2 Diverite canister lights-slimlines
1 Sony camcorder HC5
1 Ikelite housing for camcorder
1 still camera
1 still camera housing
1 flash

I have an Armour regulator bag where I have been fitting the 2 regs, and 1 can light. My husband is sure he can fit a second light in that bag. it's pretty big. The still setup has been traveling in a backpack inside a padded bag. Both the camera/housing/flash fit in a small bag (it's not an expensive setup).

So I need to find a home for the new video setup and the still camera/flash (not big, they both fit. But I was hoping for ideas on how I can consolidate the cameras into one bag. That way we only have 1 carryon per person. Plus the laptop.

Maybe a rolling carry on? Maybe I can fit my light in the same bag so hubby can carry the regs and his light and not have to carry my light as well. Any ideas?

My selections here are limited. I would benefit from make and model recommendations from divers who have the same list of equipment as I do.

9/11 screwed alot of us, didn't it......btw, added 5 years on to my work life......

 

[Diver Dennis]

You know...I actually have one of those. It has like a million pockets. I used when we went to Cuba a few years back and the weight allowance was non-existent. I jammed all sorts of things in there while waiting in line in Miami to check in. I did such a good job that I lost our passports in one of the pockets. I ended up having to step aside and "search" all the pockets. 10 minutes later I found them!

I wonder if my can light would fit in there.....

Actually it might fit in the pocket in the back. You can just take it off before you sit down.

 

[Diver Dennis]

He had a good point about hard sided suitcases. Those suckas are rugged...

And pretty cheap. I use these...http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=4809770 Well, 2 of the large size but same type.

 

[diver 85]

It's all insured and if you pack carefully, it will survive with no problems. I've traveled over 100,000 miles in the last year and a half and had not have any bags even delayed. Of course if it is a trip of a lifetime, I can see your point.

Don't go to Italy or Ireland anytime in the near future...........you'll be on pins & needles for a few days...........

 

[EvaL]

Oh, I always have a Photographer's vest in my camera back pack for the rare cases where they weigh it and find it is over 40 lbs, I can wear my strobes and whatever else I need to meet the limit. The agents get quite a kick out of it...

This method could be used for almost any type of small heavy gear.

Excellent idea, Diver Dennis. i will do this on my next trip.

Back to original post.
It does look like a difficult task "jamming" these all into your carry-ons. Also, there's always a possibility they may gate-check your carry-on pullman - sometimes they tell you you're flying on a bigger jet but switch to a smaller one at the last moment (due to delay/maintenance), so you should always be prepared to part with your bigger carry-on luggage on any flight (particularly short haul ones) these days. I believe the handlers are more careful with gate-checked carry-ons than to checked-in luggage, so the regs, housings and lights can go in the pullman (I usually carry a change of clothes and wrap them around my reg 2nd stage to better protect them), and I'd bring a small backpack to carry my most precious items - the video and still cameras. That way, even if you have to give up your pullman carry-ons, you can still carry the small backpack with your cameras. (Note: the backpack has to be small enough to fit under the seat or else it can't go aboard).
If you can't really fit them in carry-ons, checking them in is the only other option (unless you'd rather ship them beforehand) put your gear in a Pelican case with shock-absorbing foam in it and put it in a hard or semi-hard case on the outside (better still, wrap a wetsuit around the Pelican and tie it around the case securely). This should make your check-in gear almost indestructible.
Have a good & safe trip.