Help me get my travel weight down

[Schwob]

I won't touch another man's equipment choices. I will suggest you can drop 6lbs by going to a lightweight duffle bag.

I'll second the idea of sidemount. My complete SM dive gear is carry on, this summer I managed to include a DSLR and housing but using a 'personal item' full of regs and hardware along with my carry on duffle bag.

Regards,
Cameron

Yep, ditching the rollers gets you into 2 to 3.5 lbs for a duffel, unless it's an extra heavy version of some sort. Rollers are nice, but only you know how necessary they are to you.

 

[diversteve]

Oceanic took over production of the Acel when they re-absorbed Aeris but you can still find them.
Amazon.com : Oceanic Accel Open Heel Fin : Sports & Outdoors
3.5 lbs, they have a simplistic buckle and I believe they fit into a standard 22" long carry-on - except I think some airline cut that down a couple years ago also - or tried to.

Check the weight on some of these - there's one that's 3lbs+ The material looks a little flimsy compared to some of the others though. https://www.ebags.com/search/z/x-large?term=rolling+duffle+bag&origin=left_nav

Mine is more like a 4lb version of this one: https://www.ebags.com/product/ecko-...-rolling-duffel-bag/338694?productid=10545192 - that big pocket holds my XL Tusa splitfins but it's a real tight fit - I keep expecting to see the zipper ripped open at the baggage claim.

Someone told me my bag is actually a tennis bag but IDK.

 

[Schwob]

They

Oceanic took over production of the Acel when they re-absorbed Aeris but you can still find them.
Amazon.com : Oceanic Accel Open Heel Fin : Sports & Outdoors
3.5 lbs, they have a simplistic buckle and I believe they fit into a standard 22" long carry-on - except I think some airline cut that down a couple years ago also - or tried to.

They do fit indeed at least in sizes M and XS.
We have a weird thing going on with those so. My wife lost a fin. So I bought another set for her. She tried it in the pool and hates it.
Reason: it is incredibly stiffer than the first set she had (and still has one fin off) and the set that my daughter has, as well as my set. We all loved them, but that stiff set is garbage.
Worse, Leisurepro did not want to take it back and advised to call Oceanic. Did not find opportunity to do that yet during business hours. Not sure I care to. Learned a lesson there.

Edit: I did call Oceanic (Huish) and they were very friendly and issued an RMA for exchange. I guess I pay for shipping and see what happens...

 

[scubadada]

Hey everybody,

I prefer to bring my own equipment when I travel, but my camera equipment/underwater housing take up a small suitcase and backpack (carryon + personal item) so I am trying to get my dive gear and clothes into one sub-50lb bag. On my most recent trip, I checked 2 bags and as you can imagine that gets expensive. Looking for some help on getting the weight of my dive gear down as much as possible.

Here's my gear breakdown:

• Aqua Lung Traveler 850 Roller Duffle Bag
• Cressi Big Eyes Evolution Mask/Case
• HOG stainless steal backplate
• HOG 23lb wing
• Edge fins
• 3mm or 5mm wetsuit
• Mares Cruise Mesh bag (for boat)
• Atomic Aquatics Z3 reg, first stage and Aqualung transmitter
• Atomic Aquatics SS1
• 5mm dive boots
• Snorkel
• Smb

All-in-all everything comes out to 42lbs. I think the most obvious place for weight reduction are with my BP/W and fins. Any suggestions on alternatives for my BC (I'd like to stay bp/w or back inflate) or fins? Or any other areas I could potentially reduce weight?

Thanks in advance!

PS. I'm sure some folks are going to want to comment on my decision to use the SS1, but it's a decision I've already made and am extremely comfortable/practiced with so we can skip those.

Hi @rgilkes

I have been traveling by myself or with may family (3 others) for many years. We use a very lightweight roller suitcase for the majority of out gear and other items and take a carry-on and a personal item (backpack) for everything else. We have never had a problem staying under the weight limit. Some flights (Grand Cayman to Cayman Brac or Little Cayman) have additional restrictions, which are not difficult to comply with if you plan ahead.

 

[2airishuman]

Good advice upthread

Ditch the roller bag and get a lightweight inexpensive zipper duffel. They are not as convenient but much lighter.

Switching to a lightweight backplate is an easy move, you can get lead at your destination. @tobin could perhaps give you a weight for the DSS kydex plate. I would imagine it weighs slightly more on land than an aluminum plate with cutouts.

You can replace all the metal fittings on your backplate harness with plastic ones, including the cambands, and save a couple pounds.

I don't travel with a case for my mask. I use a lined mesh bag, which is slightly lighter. Mine came from DGX.

You could pick up a little by using full-foot fins and neoprene socks rather than open-heel fins and boots, with obvious tradeoffs.

Hey everybody,

I prefer to bring my own equipment when I travel, but my camera equipment/underwater housing take up a small suitcase and backpack (carryon + personal item) so I am trying to get my dive gear and clothes into one sub-50lb bag. On my most recent trip, I checked 2 bags and as you can imagine that gets expensive. Looking for some help on getting the weight of my dive gear down as much as possible.

Here's my gear breakdown:

• Aqua Lung Traveler 850 Roller Duffle Bag
• Cressi Big Eyes Evolution Mask/Case
• HOG stainless steal backplate
• HOG 23lb wing
• Edge fins
• 3mm or 5mm wetsuit
• Mares Cruise Mesh bag (for boat)
• Atomic Aquatics Z3 reg, first stage and Aqualung transmitter
• Atomic Aquatics SS1
• 5mm dive boots
• Snorkel
• Smb

All-in-all everything comes out to 42lbs. I think the most obvious place for weight reduction are with my BP/W and fins. Any suggestions on alternatives for my BC (I'd like to stay bp/w or back inflate) or fins? Or any other areas I could potentially reduce weight?

Thanks in advance!

PS. I'm sure some folks are going to want to comment on my decision to use the SS1, but it's a decision I've already made and am extremely comfortable/practiced with so we can skip those.

 

[scubadada]

I had one mask broken in a mesh bag, I'll stick with the mask box, doesn't weight much

 

[rgilkes]

Thanks everyone. Definitely have some places I can trim fat. I'll report back with my updated gear config and weight before my next couple of trips in the coming weeks.

I will suggest you can drop 6lbs by going to a lightweight duffle bag.

As much as I hate the idea of lugging around another heavy bag, I may have to end up doing this to save the few pounds.

The key is to dive in warm locations where you don't need more than t-shirts, shorts and flip-flops

Funny thing is, usually from Florida the warm locations I fly to via Southwest (2 bags free) and I can get my few tanks and flip-flops under the weight. It's the other trips when I'm going to places with not-so-warm or diverse conditions (Cali daytime vs nighttime) that I have to fly airlines like Delta and pay for bags.

Oceanic took over production of the Acel when they re-absorbed Aeris but you can still find them.

Seems like most threads I've read on good fins for travel recommend either the Acel, Jetfins or Force Fins. Gonna try all three and see what I like best.

 

[Lorenzoid]

. . .
Funny thing is, usually from Florida the warm locations I fly to via Southwest (2 bags free) and I can get my few tanks and flip-flops under the weight. It's the other trips when I'm going to places with not-so-warm or diverse conditions (Cali daytime vs nighttime) that I have to fly airlines like Delta and pay for bags. . . .

I hear ya. We have a Red Sea trip with a stopover in Europe planned for December, so we have to pack something warm for the days in Europe. It will be a serious challenge. I think on this trip we're prepared to pay the extra bag fee; there just doesn't seem to be any way around it.

 

[Kharon]

I switched from a BC to this: OxyCheq Ultralite Travel Backpack
both for reduced weight and volume.

 

[WarrenZ]

In my quest for smaller and lighter for travel I have gone from back-plate to soft-plate to sidemount. I can now carry on all of my gear in a small backpack and a reg bag.