Gear to take or rent?

[Cherry]

What gear do you take on a dive trip and what do you rent, Secondly how do you pack it and what do you carry on?

[Louie]

If it's a dive trip, I like to take my own equipment (except for a drysuit in cold water, which I rent).

And I also need to rent (if not included in price) tanks and weights.

I like to pack everything into a dive wheelie bag. If I'm a bit over the weight allowance, I take the regulator separately (get a friend to watch it if you have to have the carry-on weighed).

[miked]

Hi cherry,

When I travel, I take all my gear, except for tanks and weights.
I put the regulator/computer/console, and camera stuff in the carry-on, along with a wetsuit, if it fits. Everything else goes into a big wheeled suitcase- an ordinary looking suitcase, which doesn't advertise" dive gear-steal me".
Good luck,
Mike

[PK]

I agree, take everything except your tanks and weights. It's a lot more convenient to rent those. Depending on where you're traveling, you may not need your wet suit (or dry suit). I also carry on my regulator and not put it in a checked-in bag.

All my stuff fit into a basic Samsonite hardcover suitcase. It definately did not scream "take me I'm filled with expensive valuable scuba gear just perfect for you to make lots of cash on the black market!"

:shout:

[scorpionfish]

Hi, Cherry!

There are two of us--my wife and I--and we take everything save wts. and tanks, too. For years we stowed our regs in our carry-on, but with the acquistion of lots and lots of camera gear, that was no longer possible. So, for the past couple of years we have put our regs in our checked baggage. So far, so good.

However, if we really wanted to, we could put our consols in our carry-ons because they are equiped with quick disconnects. We haven't and, as I wrote earlier, so far so good.

A couple of personal notes are probably in order. We chose, from early on, to buy and take all our own gear. Two major reasons:

(1) It fits correctly,

and

(2) we know it is properly maintained.

There is another less delicate reason, too:

We do not have to worry about its cleanliness. Having seen how some dive shops clean gear after a dive, we want nothing to do with putting a strange mouthpiece in! But you could always put your own on or dip the rental one in a weak bleach solution--surrepticiously, of course!

Hope this helps,

Scorpionfish