Any advice on best way to pack all this stuff? Things to take? Thanks from an excited newbie.
Flygirl,
My dad gave me one of his heavy canvas OD Army duffle bags when I left for college in the mid '70's. I still own and use this now-tired-looking Army duffle. I can pack *all* of my scuba gear into this duffle, including a weight belt and folded-up lightweight nylon scuba gear bag--even when I'm traveling with my heavy (compressed neoprene) drysuit and thick undergarments. No tank or weights, of course.
When I'm packing for a trip which includes air travel, at first I pack all my scuba gear in this Army duffle and all my non-scuba stuff (clothes, toiletries, etc.) in a regular carry-on bag--to make sure everything fits. Then, for the actual flight, I switch things around, you know, move all but toiletries and essential clothes from the carry-on to the duffle, and move my mask, regulator (including AIR II), gauges, etc., to my carry-on.
Then, when traveling, I actually have with me the Army duffle (which I check), the carry-on, and a laptop. BTW, my small U/W camera (Nikonos V and 15 mm) travels in my carry-on, too.
A couple of years ago, I flew from MO to WA to attend a week-long conference. I had arranged to meet a scuba instructor on Bainbridge Island in Puget Sound for my first dive ever in the Pacific Northwest. When I stepped off the ferry from Seattle, the instructor at first didn't recognize that I was the diver he was waiting for. He couldn't believe all of my cold-water gear was in my single Army duffle! He had been waiting for someone with a "big plastic bin."
Hope this helps.
Safe diving,
rx7diver