Cost of Shipping Equipment vs Renting It

[victor]

Like you I am a warm water diver and photographer with most of my diving now done in Asia but I am UK based.
Take hand luggage, Camera, housing, lenses, ports, and a small laptop (Ultrabook), dive computer, kindle.
Take hold luggage, travel wing, Regs, 2 x dive skins, mask, shears, chargers, batteries, pack light on clothes.
If my wife is on the plane then 2nd camera and regs go in her hand luggage.
Planning to switch to diving configured for Solo and not sure where and how the pony bottle will travel/rent.
Always rent tanks, weights, fins.
I have had 2 trips spoiled by poorly maintained hire gear, in particular regs that breath wet in salt water, very unpleasent particularly for a photographer with some of the contortions we do.
Have fun

 

[Mustard Dave]

I use Easyjet quite a lot. Their cabin bagage policy is great - as long as it is within the specified dimensions and you can lift it into the overhead locker, there is no weight limit on what you can take as hand luggage. They offer a discounted rate for sports equipment, which gives you an additional 12kg at a reasonable weight, so if you take a 20kg suitcase, plus the sports allowance, you have 32kg of luggage and whatever you can squeeze in your hand luggage. Last year I took the following with those limits:

• Fins
• Full 5mm wetsuit
• Boots
• Canister torch
• Two back-up torches
• Open circuit regs
• Mask
• Knife (in hold luggage of course)
• Rebreather
• Camera
• DSMB & spools
• Normal holiday luggage

The harness, wing and counterlungs came off the rebreather and went in the hold luggage with the fins, wetsuit, boots, mask, knife and camera housing. The cylinders came out of the rebreather housing and stayed at home. The regs, and torches were shoved in the spaces normally taken up by the cylinders and I wrapped it in foam rubber with the lifting handle poking out. The camera is just a normal compact, so that went in my pocket.

One of the blokes from my club always manages to get his kit in one 20kg bag, but he takes as few clothes as possible and a 3mm shortie wetsuit.

Kit-wise, it seems you only need a BCD/wing, regs and fins. There are a few 'travel' BCDs on the market, but beware of the flimsy flimsy ones. The Aqualung Zuma looks quite good and has the bonus of being a back-inflate type. Personally I would get an aluminium backplate, one piece harness and an Apeks WTX3 wing, which is comfortable, as light as any BCD and very sturdy.

Have a look at the Apeks DS4 and ATX40 regs. They are great quality, value for money, and will work in cold water when somebody convinces you to dive in the UK!

Fins are a very personal thing. Some manufacturers sell lightweight fins intended for travel, but beware of compromise. Would you want a set of fins that are easy to carry for a few hours, but have poor propulsion and leave you tired and constantly suffering from cramp all week? I get my Scubapro Jets in with no problems.

You'll easily get all your kit in a normal tourist baggage allowance and still have room for a reasonable amount of clothes.

P.S. You're missing out big-time only diving in warm water!

 

[Oldbear]

I usually take my own gear with me. Most checked in, but my regs, computer, mask and camera gear are all carry-ons. Even if I go not take my whole kit (where diving is not my priority for the trip), I always take my "Carry-on" gear and then rent the rest.

 

[Colliam7]

I read the new diver "what equipment should I buy" debate each time it comes up. I appreciate that if you do a lot of local diving, it makes sense to own your own equipment. But for people like me out there who are holiday divers, don't you pay more in excess baggage and servicing than you do to rent? I am not a big person and the idea of lugging around a dive equipment bag with a BCD / fins / regs just seems like a major hassle. And lost luggage could be a nightmare!

It appears that you are asking two questions: 1. Given that I dive a couple of times a year, does it make sense to buy my own equipment, and 2. Is traveling with my own gear challenging / awkward / difficult?

I think you see the consensus among the responses regarding travelling with gear - it really isn't a big deal. I travel to the Caribbean a couple of times a year, take my own gear (regs, BP/W, weight belt, wetsuit, boots, fins, camera, small Save-A--Dive kit with tools, camera, etc. - essentially everything minus cylinders / weights) and I have never had to pay any extra baggage fees, nor have I ever had to rent gear locally because of lost luggage.

Therefore I would encourage you to NOT base a decision about purchasing gear on potential hassles of traveling with it. The cost of annual (or biennial, for a lot of gear now) service is a consideration, but not an imposing one. You apparently don't plan to dive locally (cold water), but you seem to dive with some intensity, albeit episodically. Decide if you are comfortable with rental gear or not.

 

[fjpatrum]

I am, effectively, a vacation diver. In 4 years I will have accumulated about 50 dives, maybe a little more with maybe 12-15 of those local and the rest over half a dozen different trips around the US. I always carry my gear and have never once had any excess baggage fees. If you're checking luggage anyway (some folks don't) then you just pack a little bit lighter with your other stuff and it's not a problem. Jacket BCs are bulky so that can be a consideration but you can always split your gear between checked bags and carry-on as others have indicated.

I travel with anything from tropical gear to full drysuit/booties/hood and I always have at least 1 4/3 full wetsuit as well. I've never gone over my weight limits.

 

[maat1976]

Thanks for all the great responses. We'll probably do 3-4 trips a year to warm climes.

I can see why in more remote locations, having your own gear would be preferable over "well loved" rental stuff.

The real reason I ask is every time I see a dive gear bag it makes me cringe from the awkwardness of carrying it. I travel with a small suitcase (carry on size) and I spent years travelling through Asia with a smallish backpack. I'm surprised that no one had the excess baggage charges, but clearly that's reality as shown by the responses.

My husband completely went the other way with gear. He bought basic but decent gear as soon as he was going to do his DM course, but it now sits in his mother's attic, unserviced and lonely. He tried to give it away and no one wanted it, so into the attic it went.

Sidenote on the photo rig so early in diving... yes I am going to take it easy so early in my diving experience. The husband was interested in photography so I wanted to encourage him on something we could share, but couldn't bring myself to buy something that couldn't shoot RAW.

 

[KeithG]

You arrived at Pearson Airport in winter in shorts, etc. for your flight to the tropics? If not, where were your warmer clothes when you got to N.J.?

Yep. Big city kid. We got taxis with heaters in them! I had 2 ten foot walks to make outside. Shorts and sandals worked fine for that. After that I was inside.

 

[TMHeimer]

Nobody's mentioned wearing a jacket BC onto the plane as clothes yet (it has come up before). Of course it does look suspiciously like a ................can't say anything TSA may be monitoring.

 

[Frosty]

Ive had a bit of a change of heart on this subject. next trip overseas im going to do the regs,mask,fins,thermal vest beach feet for boots deal.
That means rental tank,weights and BCD -if it gets cooler Ill use a rental shorty.

 

[dfx]

Nobody's mentioned wearing a jacket BC onto the plane as clothes yet (it has come up before). Of course it does look suspiciously like a ................can't say anything TSA may be monitoring.

Haven't done a BCD yet, but I was wearing two sets of regs as "clothes" once. Bundled up and hidden inside a jacket that is, in order to avoid the ridiculous carry-on weight limit of a particular airline. Once past the check-in/bag drop, the regs were then moved into the carry-on.