Regulator, hand luggage or checked in luggage?

[Nudi-K]

hi

I am flying long haul and taking all my dive gear. usually i have put my reg in my hand luggage, but this time i do not have much room as i am taking my laptop too, so thought i might just put it in with my main checked in luggage.

It is in it's own reg bag and i have also put some clothes inside for additional padding, but just wanted some advice on whether it is a good idea to put my reg in checked or if you guys recommend hand luggage?

 

[marinediva]

I am planning a trip home next Friday,
two regulators in tow..both due for service +...one laptop...
all in my handluggage.

at $1000 each I will not take the chance.
the rest is easily replaced

 

[Cave Diver]

My regs, dive computer always go in my hand luggage. They would probably survive the trip in checked luggage ok, but I'm not willing to risk the $$ and they don't take up that much room.

If you do check it, try to avoid using a dive bag or something with lots of stickers, etc. that advertises it's full of expensive equipment.

 

[MarkUK]

I do on average 11-12 foreign diving trips a year, and have been doing so for the last 10 years. On each and every trip I have put my regs in my checked baggage, cushioned by my wetsuit and BCD, and I have not had any problems whatsoever.

Many airlines, particularly leaving the UK, are getting strict on cabin baggage weight limits, and in many cases actually weigh it. When you only have 5kg to play with, you have to work out what is going to go in your cabin baggage and what is going in your checked baggage.

I put my laptop, dive computer, camera body and lenses and camera housing in my cabin baggage (can just about squeeze in under 5-6kg, but luckily my bag looks smaller than it is and I can get away with being a kilo or two over), and all the rest goes into my checked baggage.

I agree about using a bag not emblazoned with dive logos I have a black Stahlsac bag which just looks like a standard wheeled holdall.

Mark

 

[dkktsunami]

I carry my entire rig, including steel plate, on board (fins are in checked luggage).

 

[Doc]

The resale value of dive gear once it has left the shop is nil in comparison to the other things that might be taken from your baggage.

No one is going to try to secrete hoses and heavy chunks of metal on their person to sneak them out of a secured area. Why? For 50 bucks? It makes no sense.

Pad it up a bit, but don't get too carried away- you can pound nails with regulators.

If you're flying from Miami to Cayman, do what you will, but when you are doing trips like MarkUK above, whatever you do not have to physically carry about several transit lounges on multiple stops across your trip- so much the better.

MarkUK is a real deal magazine editor, but I prefer to carry only multiple camera media cards- we'll download them into a computer at home later. Carrying a computer along (for us civilians) is a mark of someone who has not enough dive lights I also wrap my Olympus housing in wetsuit material and check it through.

Hand carry as little as possible, and please- do not cabin carry your Pelican cases. They are heavy and inefficient in terms of volume and are made to withstand check through baggage conditions. A soft sided camera case is 10x more useful.

 

[diveat4850]

I am currently sitting in the airport, waiting for a delayed flight, on my return trip from Florida. Made a two-tank dive with Dive Clearwater, the sun was warm and the sea flat, had a great time. The locals complained that the water was cold, I suggested they come dive with me in Monterrey. My trip to Florida was two part, Sacramento to Denver, conference in Denver, Denver to Florida. All of my dive equipment was packed into a Conteco trunk and traveled great. At check-in declare what you have in your luggage and ask for "Fragile" stickers (not that it makes a difference) and clearly state that you are not transporting any compressed gas cylinders. Returning I have added a new 13cf pony and Scuba Pro Reg that Mac's Scuba set up for me (Travis thanks for the long distance service). Weight being an big problem with United Airlines, if your bag is over 50 pounds United will bend you over your luggage and give you a big, hard, $125 extra fee. So the fins, wet suit, and mask went in to an extra bag my wife will check. Regs, BC and pony bottle went into the trunk. My worry is the transport of the pony bottle. I have drained the tank and removed the valve. The opening in the tank is covered with plastic wrap secured with a rubber band. I hope this works with out any problems. When I get back to Sacramento I will tell all, how it went.

Question for the experts out there:
Do I need to have a visual inspection of the tank before reinstalling the valve and filling?

The new pony bottle was Nitrox clean, does removing the valve disqualify the tank?

Not certified for Nitrox, I requested the tank filled with air, does this disqualify the tank for use with Nitrox?

 

[attygold]

Just so you will know, we had encountered several problems with airlines in the Philippines where they do not allow regulators to be in your carried-on luggage. It appears not to be in the airline regulation but you would not want to argue and ruin your day with airline security on whether or not a regulator is a peril on board a flight, would you? And since Philippines is composed of 7100 islands, we have to travel and fly locally to dive from one place to another. We had been checking in our regulators together with the rest of our diving gears. We just made sure it's properly cushioned and protected so that no damage is done on the regulator. So far, no harm is done on any of our regulators...

 

[Doc]

I have drained the tank and removed the valve. The opening in the tank is covered with plastic wrap secured with a rubber band. I hope this works with out any problems.

The regulations specify it as "open", so do this at your own peril.

Question for the experts out there:
Do I need to have a visual inspection of the tank before reinstalling the valve and filling?

This is what the VIP "rules" state. They appear nowhere else.

But consider this scenario: If one were headed for paradise, your tank was chilled to -40° for a few hours at 25,000 feet. Then it was dropped into the tropical heat and waited for you to rescue it. I have seen people at the luggage pickup, furiously digging through their bags and with great relief, screwing the valve into their little ponies. Maybe let the pony stay buried in the bag for 12 hours and allow it to slowly assume ambient temp (and humidity?). Or was it better to hold that dripping moist with condensation and freezing cold bottle right there at the airport?

I see that you were buying the gear in FL and bringing them back home for other needs. I often wonder why people bring their ponies to paradise, most notably the 6 & 13 cu ft models.

...in the Philippines where they do not allow regulators to be in your carried-on luggage. It appears not to be in the airline regulation...

They view them as a potential "restraint device" because of the rubber tubing. Possibly, they are also seen as a "swinging weapon"... let's face it, their citizens make great knives and crossbows out of Jeep springs.

The Philippines are viewed as a gateway city transit point for terrorism. Long before our 9-11, they thwarted a real plot to knock down many aircraft in a spectacular coordinated strike by Al Queda. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bojinka_plot

That aside, I have (inadvertantly) made it all the way through the five layers of security at the Manilla airport with a razor knife on my person.

They don't like tape, either.

 

[diveat4850]

I made it home from from Florida with everything but but the, TSA approved, lock on my trunk. TSA either took, lost or destroyed the lock on my trunk. Although it was a cheese-ass lock, it served the purpose of keeping stupid people honest and as a secondary latch to secure the lid.

Traveling from Sacramento to Denver the lock was mangled. I attributed this to the hasp being to narrow for the holes drilled and it was stepped on or such. In Denver I took a pocket knife to the trunk and modified the holes so the lock hasp fit freely. Denver to Tampa no problems. TSA never left their inspection calling card traveling from Sacramento to Denver or Denver to Tampa. Returning home Tampa to Sacramento, with a two hour connection in Denver, TSA tagged my trunk and the lock was gone when I received my luggage in Sacramento.

What scares me, is not the possibility of theft, but the apathy and decay of air carrier service. If kicked, hard enough, the latches on the trunk may open. I worry that no one would take time to pick up the spilled contents and close the lid. Maybe United will offer yet another fee of $50 and we will not break your luggage, in addition to the, $15 for the 1st bag and $25 for the 2nd bag.

Has anybody investigated the cost difference of UPS or FedEx .v. an overweight (>50 lbs.) checked airline bag?