packing for dive trips

[diverrick]

I have a dilema. My wife and I have gotten into UW photography, but it is getting harder and harder to pack all our stuff safely. Right now we take our regs, dive computors, mask, change of clothes, our meds, dive camera W/strobes and lenses, in our carry on. This is very tough due to the size restrictions, and I cannot take another second carry on either. I did fudge it a bit though. I use a C-pap machine which must come along, so I stuff that bag full as well. We don't want to check all of this stuff, as it'll surely be stolen by the baggage handelers plus our checked baggage is already at the weight limit, so we can't really add to much more there.
How does everyone else do it?

 

[Peter Guy]

Well you do have a lot of stuff you are taking and I, for one, am a member of the group who really HATES people who bring too much carry-on with them and especially those who then don't put at least one bag under the seat in front of them. (BTW, I only hate OTHER people who don't do that -- I'm bring VERY important stuff and everybody else just has to deal with it. :- )

If you are having serious problems with space, you will have to look long and hard at what doesn't come along. Some ideas:

1. Masks -- yes they are necessary but perhaps because they are so bulky, you'll need to pack them -- OR, in the alternative, stuff them with other necessary equipment (underwear, computers)

2. Regs -- take them apart so you only bring the stages -- the hoses are packed in your bags but of course, make sure you have the tool needed (packed, not carryon) to replace and make sure you have the ends properly sealed

3. Wear a fishing vest each and carry ALL your lenses, etc., in your fishing vest. The vest is NOT considered part of carryon and you can put a whole lot of stuff in those numerous pockets. Just make sure the vest is put ON TOP of your bag in the overhead!

Just a few thoughts.

BTW, we bought two carryons from CostCo a couple of months ago that are "Backpack" type roll-ons that consist of a primary rollon and an attached backpack. This seems to be a great setup and was very useful on a recent (non-diving) trip. They were about $55/each and well worth the money.