packing your bp/w

[Rick Inman]

I don't disassemble mine. I just lay it out flat in the bottom of my largest bag where it rests nice and open. Then I pack soft clothes all around it for protection (actually, a layer of clothes underneath, too). I like leaving on all the stuff - lights, knife, lift bag, spool, etc. This makes it easy for the TSA agents to see what it is and just toss the protective clothes right back.

 

[cool_hardware52]

Wings, all wings, are subject to damage from being pinched against something thin and hard, like a backplate. In my experience the leading cause of wing punctures is a backplate being dropped on the lower corner of a wing. Another common cause is damage in transport.

I always remove my wing from my plate and pack it with my other "fragiles" like my mask, gauges etc. My Back plate goes in with the fins, weight belt etc.

This is one of key reasons we make our rigs quick and easy to tear down.


Regards,


Tobin

 

[double80s]

I agree with Tobin and the others, take your rig apart for air travel. I usually leave mine together when I'm home because I use it every couple days and it lies flat. During air travel, it all gets packed in my Storm Case. My wetsuit usually covers all the gear and the wing goes on top of the wetsuit, or I'll pack the wing in another piece of luggage.

I've only ever put one hole in a wing and I'm sure it was due to the STA bolt pushing into the wing when it was poorly packed. Even then, it was small and quickly patched with Aquaseal.

 

[TSandM]

I have Tobin's wing, and it takes less than 30 seconds to disassemble things. It's convenient to be able to pack the BP and wing separately.

 

[teknitroxdiver]

I keep it assembled and put it plate-down on top of my fins. that way the wing can't easily get pinched, and I can stuff other stuff between the plate and wing to help some more. Never had a problem with it.

Speaking of TSA checks, do you guys find that your plates draw attention? I haven't flown on a commercial flight since I got mine, so I don't really know. (Not that it really matters....*shrug*...they can look all they want I suppose)

 

[MSilvia]

Speaking of TSA checks, do you guys find that your plates draw attention? I haven't flown on a commercial flight since I got mine, so I don't really know. (Not that it really matters....*shrug*...they can look all they want I suppose)

Nope... they've wondered about the small bag of NiMh batteries I had, and once gave my knife a sideways glance, but never even looked at the plate... at least not while I was watching.

 

[Captain CaveMan]

I take it apart but i make sure nothing that is heavy is on my wing and bp. because i have a al for travel and im worryed about bending it.

 

[mayastig]

i dont suppose if you roll up the wing this will cause any sort of permanent creasing on the shell or bladder?

 

[cool_hardware52]

i dont suppose if you roll up the wing this will cause any sort of permanent creasing on the shell or bladder?

I would not be concerned about creasing the shell or bladder, or in the case of single bladder wings, the fabric. It might not be a good idea to store the wings rolled up long term, but for transport it's not a problem.


Tobin

 

[piikki]

Speaking of TSA checks, do you guys find that your plates draw attention? I haven't flown on a commercial flight since I got mine, so I don't really know. (Not that it really matters....*shrug*...they can look all they want I suppose)

I certainly found out that TSA was interested in my scuba stuff on my first scuba trip... I tried to pack all metal and 'suspicious' stuff in one bag like I usually do, so only one would be opened - with not much luck. Or it was just one of those trips that you got targeted.

One thing that hasn't been mentioned, and I was curious about was corrugated hoses. Since I am newbie maybe I have been unnecessarily warned... but I did unscrew my corrugated hose from my wing for the trip. I was told that someone had it twice butchered off a wing because TSA could not 'figure out how to peacefully open it for drug check. Is this happening to people? Am I paranoid for no reason? Not that it's a big issue to do it - I'd rather not arrive on holiday with split hose and possibly torn wing because someone could not figure out how to unscrew the hose... (guess they do not use scans everywhere to check if the cavity is hollow first...)

Maybe disassembled BP/W looks more suspect than jacket in general? I admit doing a little bit of what Rick described... grouping things to help even the slower guy figure out what the odd save-a-dive-kit bits etc were about...