Packing BP&W for travel

[ScubaDoo83]

I am about to embark on my first dive trip with the new BP&W rig I've put together. I initially wanted to get ALL of my gear to fit into two carry on bags but I was just shy of making that goal. Regardless, I wanted to come up with a repeatable, quick and safe way to breakdown and store my gear for travel. My biggest concern is the wing and making sure it is not pinched or poked in transit. This is what I have come up with so far:

What I ended up doing was rolling my wing up then rolling that inside my wetsuit. I then put that bundle in the middle of my backplate on one side and my STA on the other side. I then finish it off with a bungie around the whole thing to keep it nice and together. As you can see I have it all pretty small and compact as the width is about the same length of my bootie and the length is roughly the same size as my fin. With the wing rolled up in the wetsuit there should really be nothing that can pinch or poke it.

Any suggestions would be welcome. I'm loving the low profile and "stealthness" of this new rig already!

Edit: Also, I welcome tips on what to do with the STA hardware, currently the most logical option is to keep it in place on the STA so I don't have to go hunting for it when I want to assemble everything. Right now I only have nuts and wing bolts, should I have washers? Will locking washers allow me to assemble, disassemble on the fly?

 

[rongoodman]

If you can, just put the wing in your carryon.

 

[stuartv]

If you can, just put the wing in your carryon.

He said he's trying to fit it all in 2 carry-ons....

ScubaDoo83,

I normally carry all my stuff in 1 carry-on (I have an Ogio rollaboard this is exactly the TSA size limit) except for my fins and cutting devices.

That means I fit my BP/W, full 3/2 wetsuit, masks, and booties in the rollboard. I stuff my regs and computers in the backpack I also carry on. My fins are too long to fit in a TSA-sized thing, so I check a bag, regardless. But that's fine with me as I would always want to take my cutting devices, too, which have to be checked.

I don't use an STA, but if I did, first, I would consider getting the OMS Soft STA ($15 - OMS Soft STA Stabilizing Adapter | Dive Gear Express®) and using that. But, if your BP doesn't have slots or something, then that's not an option. In which, I think I would turn it upside down and put it over the spine of the BP to make the two things as compact as possible.

I really don't think you need to worry so much about your wing. They're pretty tough. I think you would be VERY unlikely to get any damage to it in your luggage. Especially if you're carrying it on. And ESPECIALLY if it's rolled up inside a wetsuit. I always just put some soft stuff (like socks or whatever) in my suitcase first then put my BP on top of that stuff, then put my wing in, either flat or just folded in half longways, then wetsuit on top of that, then the rest.

I would use washers with wing nuts. But, even better (I think) is what I actually use. These $5 Delrin thumbwheels:

DGX 5/16-18 Delrin Thumbwheel Nuts, Set of TWO | Dive Gear Express®

 

[rongoodman]

I meant just the wing, maybe the regulator, mask and compass for sure. The BP, fins, and wetsuit aren't going to be damaged in checked luggage.