Question Traveling with Weight Integrated STA

[Ryan Neely]

I am prepared for the onslaught of opinions, but this seems a fair enough question that it warranted more than my personal observations.

My wife is planning a month-long trip to Bonaire for November. We both dive Halcyon Eclipse 30s with weight-integrated single tank adapters. That's all we have own right now for BCD options. I've seen plenty of advice her on traveling with a backplate, but what about that STA?

What would you do?

Pack it in checked luggage?
Buy a non-integrated STA and rent weights on the island? (This still requires hauling the STA along.)
Forego hauling our own equipment and rent some random BCD from the dive shop?

The backplates themselves have slots for cam bands, but the wings (our wings at least) do not, so buying cam bands and just cinching the thank to the wing (as is done with some other systems) isn't an option.

I thought I'd hear from the masses all the opinions.

Thanks so much!

 

[rongoodman]

Just put it in the checked bag. If bag weight is an issue you can remove the weight from the STA, replace the cam bands, and put a couple of trim weight pouches on them. If you do that you’ll need to buy bolts for the STA, SS 5/16" NC, 1" and 1 1/4" long. Or, bolt-kit-for-single-tank-adapter. (It's a bit of a struggle getting the grip pads on the cam bands through those narrow slots, but doable.)

 

[Lorenzoid]

I’m surprised you need any significant weight for Bonaire diving. A steel plate plus two pounds in pockets on the cambands is sufficient for me. I suppose I’m advocating getting a non-weighted STA.

 

[Ryan Neely]

Thanks for these responses.

@Lorenzoid the last time we were there was when we took Fundies right before the shutdown in 2020. At that time, we were each in a steel backplate, the weighted STA, and 2 pounds in a trim pocket on the cam band.

I'm very interested in better understanding the physics of dive weighting. There is so much that goes into it. Body make-up (how much floaty fat vs sinky muscle tissue), lung volume, comfort in water, etc. This is an area I'm still struggling with. I spoke with a diver the other day who has noticably more body fat but who claims to have a very low lung capacity. He wears nothing more than the steel plate, too, but he's also been diving for thirty years (versus my three).

 

[rongoodman]

The exposure protection she'll be wearing is a big variable too.

 

[Lorenzoid]

The exposure protection she'll be wearing is a big variable too.

Absolutely. I would guess most Bonaire divers use at most a 3mm full suit. But as @Ryan Neely alludes to, when we’re talking just a pound more or a pound less, there may be more variables. The bottom line is that each of us needs whatever weight we need. If I had a weighted STA that I felt achieved proper weighting and comfort for me, I think I would figure out a way to take it as baggage.

 

[GF99/99]

I am prepared for the onslaught of opinions, but this seems a fair enough question that it warranted more than my personal observations.

My wife is planning a month-long trip to Bonaire for November. We both dive Halcyon Eclipse 30s with weight-integrated single tank adapters. That's all we have own right now for BCD options. I've seen plenty of advice her on traveling with a backplate, but what about that STA?

What would you do?

Pack it in checked luggage?
Buy a non-integrated STA and rent weights on the island? (This still requires hauling the STA along.)
Forego hauling our own equipment and rent some random BCD from the dive shop?

The backplates themselves have slots for cam bands, but the wings (our wings at least) do not, so buying cam bands and just cinching the thank to the wing (as is done with some other systems) isn't an option.

I thought I'd hear from the masses all the opinions.

Thanks so much!

Just out of curiosity how much does your STA weigh??

 

[rongoodman]

6 pounds. The removable lead insert weighs 4 pounds.

 

[Esprise Me]

I have the same setup. I've removed the weight for two trips, and once traveled with it in. For the latter, I carried my whole BP/W assembled in a large backpack so it didn't count toward my checked bag weight. Confused the hell out of the TSA agent who saw all that steel and lead on the X-ray, but once I pulled it all out and explained, she was very friendly about it.

 

[DanBMW]

I travel with about 14 pounds of lead in 2 pound pouches that I use for skydiving. I simply wear them in my skydiving weight belt to the plane. It goes through TSA and there is rarely a raised eyebrow. Put yours in your backpack. Many times I also put my parachute in a general backpack and wear it up to the airplane and then place it in the overhead compartment.