What to do about the carry on crackdown

[TostitoBandito]

I always have my camera backpack as a personal item. It's heavy but I rarely get hassled because it fits under a seat, and it contains 5 figures worth of camera gear which is not going in the hold. Many international carriers (the kind with stricter carryon weight limits) have specific callouts in their baggage policy allowing fragile high value items like cameras/lenses to bypass weight rules, so all you have to do is tell them what it is and they're usually cool with it.

Then I bring a carryon roller bag with all my clothes, toiletries, mask, computer, and other miscellaneous items. All other dive gear and all my camera housing stuff gets checked. I'll sometimes carry on regs, but usually only if I'm needing to cut weight from checked bags, not because I really want to carry them on. If checked bags are lost I at least have clothes, and with my mask and computer I can rent basically everything else I'd need to dive if it came down to it. Thankfully I've never had that happen.

Domestic airlines don't really ever care about carryon weight, at least that I've seen. Just dimensions. I see people lifting what look to be 40+ lb bags into the overhead bins on every flight I'm on. Although I don't fly budget airlines like Spirit or Southwest, so your mileage may vary.

 

[Russjstewart]

Expensive to replace if lost and insurance won’t cover it. And the ick factor of breathing a rental. Granted, a rental wetsuit is icky, too, but it’s easier to not think about.

I would sooner take my chances with a hired reg that has hard surfaces and can be easily cleaned and sanitised with a tap than a wet suit that has had litres of urine in it and washed in a communal tub

 

[The Chairman]

So, just asking... what's a wetsuit???

 

[TostitoBandito]

Lol yeah I'd just dive without a wetsuit until I got my bags. I only really wear one for sting/sun protection. Well, unless it was a trip to the Galapagos or something, I probably couldn't deal with that.

 

[The Chairman]

As a caveat, I check the whole enchilada, including one of my PDCs.

 

[Capt Jim Wyatt]

the ick factor of breathing a rental.

For sure.

 

[Capt Jim Wyatt]

So, just asking... what's a wetsuit???

Manatees don't need one.

 

[The Chairman]

Manatees don't need one.

Nope, they certainly don't.