check or not to check

JillGadget · Feb 28, 2007

Im getting ready to buy a gear bag for travel. Confused over the type. Do most people check their baggage (and in the case of Spirit Air pay the addition xtra bag fee) or carry on.

There are pro's and cons on both sides, like not having your dive gear show up in California while you are going to the keys.

Getting your opinions before I put out some $$
Thanks,
Jill :popcorn:

DiverLS · Feb 28, 2007

I'd get a rolling gear bag and make sure it's easy to roll - but with no scuba diving logo on it and check it. I carry my prescripton mask & regulator in my carryon. When I dive in real cold water (Puget Sound in January) and my drysuit, hood, undergarment, fins, b/c & rockboots weighed 40 lbs. That's 10 lbs less than the max.

I've checked that bag as far as the Galapagos islands and no damage to the stuff inside, just one grommet lost in the drain holes. I also can use it as a back pack when I need to schlep gear to a lake.

H2Andy · Feb 28, 2007

that's what i do.

rolling, hardened bag for all my gear except my computer which travels with me
(i don't know why ... i just can't stand the thought of being away from my computer)

then i check the bag

JillGadget · Feb 28, 2007

aren't you afraid of it going west when you go east. Air travel seems to be having some difficult times lately:light:

H2Andy · Feb 28, 2007

nah, i can rent all that stuff at the destination if worst comes to worst

so far (knock wood) my bags have gotten there just fine

nereas · Feb 28, 2007

I formerly would carry-on as much as I could. But those days are past. Today you need to check-in as much as you can. You are lucky these days if your carry-on bag is small enough to fit into the airline's size box. These are not uniform around the world, and very small in some locations for connecting or return flights.

In my carry-on, I put my camera, dive computer & backup (bottom timer), compass, and film.

Everything else goes into a hard rolling suitcase and gets checked-in.

If you are worried about your luggage getting lost, then what you need to do is simply not check it "through" to your destination. Go to the baggage claim at each airport stop, and go pick it up, then go to passenger check in again to resume your travel. It is a painful process, but this is what I have done for international flights. There is a big plus to non-stop flights these days, which take you right to your final destination. The odds of your losing your luggage are virtually impossible on a direct nonstop flight. The odds of your losing your luggage with connecting flights and checked-through luggage are probably as high as 25%.

Your back up plan, as another person has said, is renting gear at your diving destination.

CompuDude · Feb 28, 2007

nereas:
I formerly would carry-on as much as I could. But those days are past. Today you need to check-in as much as you can. You are lucky these days if your carry-on bag is small enough to fit into the airline's size box. These are not uniform around the world, and very small in some locations for connecting or return flights.

In my carry-on, I put my camera, dive computer & backup (bottom timer), compass, and film.

Everything else goes into a hard rolling suitcase and gets checked-in.

If you are worried about your luggage getting lost, then what you need to do is simply not check it "through" to your destination. Go to the baggage claim at each airport stop, and go pick it up, then go to passenger check in again to resume your travel. It is a painful process, but this is what I have done for international flights. There is a big plus to non-stop flights these days, which take you right to your final destination. The odds of your losing your luggage are virtually impossible on a direct nonstop flight. The odds of your losing your luggage with connecting flights and checked-through luggage are probably as high as 25%.

Your back up plan, as another person has said, is renting gear at your diving destination.

I split the difference. Cold water diving gear is heavy enough that it's even tough to check without going over weight limits. So I carry on my essential personal gear (computer and regs, camera and prescription mask), check my fins and bp/w (both easy enough to replace on the other end if baggage is lost), and rent a drysuit. (plus you don't have to pack a heavy, and wet, suit on the way home!)

Tropical destinations I even leave behind the bp/w and suffer through a rental vest BC, at least until I can afford a Kydex plate (read: dedicated tropical rig)... but I won't trust my life to rental regs unless there's no other option.

check or not to check

Please register or login

JillGadget

Guest

DiverLS

Contributor

H2Andy

Contributor

JillGadget

Guest

H2Andy

Contributor

nereas

Contributor

CompuDude

Contributor

Similar threads