Too much to carry on

[rmorgan]

After years of hoisting 15-20k rolling bags into overhead compartments I decided my lumbar spine was worth the cost of an SKB hard case with Think Tank inserts (model 2015-10). Housing with viewfinder in place fits in one end, and lenses, ports, lights, etc fit nicely. It usually weighs around 50 lbs (the case isn’t light). It's obvious from the condition of the exterior that the bag doesn't get favorable handling from ground crews, but the equipment has always been intact over about a dozen trips.

 

[WS007]

Since I have extensive UW-photo equipment to carry (first MFT, now FF) there is (almost) no more space for scuba equipment in the carry on luggage (camera rucksack plus a camera bag)...


Scuba equipment that goes in carry-on: TCs and compass.

Only part of the photo equipment goes in carry-on: camera, lenses with zoomgears, flashes, Li+ batteries (!), optical viewfinder for UW-housing, macroport, close-up diopter for macro and laptop. In addition traveling documents and something to read while on the plane...

The rest of scuba gear and photo-gear (including housing, domeports and WACP-C in padded travel bags) goes into two hard-suit cases for check-in and is stuffed/enveloped by clothings etc. as good as it is possible (not much weight left for luxury accessories as clothing, toilet articles etc...)...

In addition I wear a big fishing vest when travelling, so that I could stuff from the carry-on in the vest, in case there would be a complaint by the airline personal (so far never was required, but carry-on was weighted already several times)...


Wolfgang

 

[TostitoBandito]

All my housings/ports/strobes along with some spare parts and tools are in a big pelican case that gets checked. My camera and lenses are carried on in a camera backpack (personal item) that fits under the seat. All my other dive gear goes and various other things like strobe arms go in my other checked bag, and clothes, mask, computer, and whatnot in my carryon. That's been my strategy for almost 20 years now.

All my camera gear including the housings/strobes is insured, so I don't have an issue checking it. The pelican case is basically indestructible, stuff inside is tight in foam, and I carry on the truly fragile things like lenses/cameras in my backpack.

 

[living4experiences]

In addition to a roller carryon, I have a TravelPro backpack, which holds a lot of stuff and doesn't look too bulky to the gate agents' eyes. I do the fishing vest idea often. You can stuff all the pockets with lots of things. My next trip, I may have to wear the fishing vest AND the BCD onto the plane. And you can stuff your BCD pockets too.