Packing gear for interisland travel?

[lonebrave]

Looking for suggestions on packing gear for interisland flights. We'll be traveling with a 1 year old, so carryon space will be limited due to her stuff. I should be able to get another carryon for essential dive gear and electronics (camera, laptop, etc). My plan was to pack mask, computer, regs, and maybe my wing in my carryon.

What about packing gear for checked baggage? Should I be concerned about theft/damage on interisland flights? I was thinking about using a non-diving duffel just to not identify it as dive gear. I'll have fins, BP/W, wetsuit, along with other clothes for two adults and a baby for 6 days.

 

[odblnt]

On our trip to Maui, I just packed that stuff in a regular suitcase and took along my mesh dive bag to put the stuff in once I got there.

(Regulator and computer were in my carry-on, though. TSA guy knew exactly what it was when he saw it on the x-ray.)

 

[Lumin]

Modify a backpack so you can mount it on the backplate, they seldom check the weight of the carry-on. Just remember to remove the knife

When I moved from Big Island to Oahu I put everything in a bag and it arrived without any apparent damage. I put the masks inside the foot pocket of my jetfins, and a cozy on the lighthead of my can light wrapping the suit around it. the rest of the gear should probably survive without trouble. Had my camera and housing in the carry-on.

 

[smellzlikefish]

I used to worry, but now I just throw my gear in a dive bag and check it with few preparations. The camera is the only part that comes with me in my carry-on.

 

[Gunrock]

I've flown inter-island a couple of times recently. Since my dive roller started falling apart since I moved out here (corroded zippers) I just picked up a large rolling duffel at Ross and have been cramming everything into it, with camera housing and strobes going into a checked Pelican box. No problems, however that duffel was 52lbs on my return trip this past weekend and it's getting hard to handle, so I'm going to start splitting stuff up. (And that was with almost nothing in the way of street clothes.)
Couple of notes for you and other readers, when I showed a millitary ID at check-in Go! waived my bag fees each way. My friend who flew Hawaiian had her fees waived as well. And it's best if you don't make it obvious that you're carrying dive gear, apparently Hawaiian will try to slap on an extra $25 charge for handling it, even if you don't go over any limits.

 

[lonebrave]

I ended up using a rolling duffle for everything except my regs and computer. My dive bag got inspected by TSA on the way there (my other checked bag got inspected on the way back...guess I was just 'lucky' this trip). I'll definitely do it again when flying Island Air out of the commuter terminal. Not sure I'll do it without worries flying Hawaiian out of the international terminal, though.