fppf
Contributor
Ok folks, face it, airfare is going UP. The airlines are taking out the comps first then the tickets will go up. You can't change it, just deal with it. You can send all the emails you want, only way you can do something is don't fly. This in my mind is not an option. So what can we do about it?????
Well we just got back from Grand Bahama. My wife and I carry more than average amount of gear and we where able to pack everything into 2 carryons and 1 checked bag each. All bags where within the airlines dimensions and weight limits. So I thought I would list what we do to make it fit and avoid the new $25 fee for a second bag.
First, the list of items we bring on a dive vacation...Sorry its long...
Personal items for each of us:
general cloths for each day, normally 6
One pair of dress cloths for a night out on the town
One pair of crocks and one pair of sneakers/boots
TRAVEL size hygiene items, soap, shampoo, tooth brush, exct. Now when I say travel size I MEAN TRAVEL SIZE PEOPLE!! Why pack that huge bottle of shampoo for 6 days? YOU DON"T NEED IT!!! Get out your kitchen scale and weigh how much that full bottle is and you will see what I mean.
Electronic Items:
Dell laptop
Nikon D100 DSLR camera
Canon A640 PS camera
Cell phones
Cables, chargers, memory stick readers
Dive Gear Items for each of us:
Regulators (delta 4 FDX10)
Pro Plus 2 dive computer
Atom 2.0 dive computer
BC's (Probe, Isla)
Fins (Oceanic V12)
Mask
Snorkel
wet suit, 5mm each
boots
gloves
3mm cap
Safety sausage
Knife
Scissors
10 ¼ nylon rope
Other dive items:
Save a dive kit
Oral rescue mask
Underwater signal strobe
Underwater camera gear:
Aluminum version of Ike housing for DSLR
Ike housing for the PS
DS125 substrobe and arms
So now for the packing, first thing is bag choice.
We like Akona bags, they have held up VERY well given the beating the airline monkeys give them. We have the older version of the roller duffel, the newer version has the same amount of space and is a little lighter still. The huge roller akona is a waste, its actually to big for airline dimensions and it weighs a lot more. Standard luggage bags are in the same boat, they weigh more. We also have 2 samsonite roller carryon bags that are at the maximum size limits. For our Personal Item we each carry a backpack that has a laptop slot in them.
For each of us, all our camera gear and underwater housings go into the roller carryon. We then pack as many cloths around them as we can without bulging out the bag. The laptop and all other electronic items, regulators, dive computers go in the backpacks. This leaves the rest of the dive gear and about half the cloths left to fit into the roller duffels we check.
Each roller duffel weighs 49.5 lbs, my carryon is 38 lbs, the Mrs. carryon is 28 lbs.
Going through the security checkpoint is a little bit of a pain because they open your bags and hand inspect your regulator and housings.
So there you go folks, it is possible, hope this helps.
Well we just got back from Grand Bahama. My wife and I carry more than average amount of gear and we where able to pack everything into 2 carryons and 1 checked bag each. All bags where within the airlines dimensions and weight limits. So I thought I would list what we do to make it fit and avoid the new $25 fee for a second bag.
First, the list of items we bring on a dive vacation...Sorry its long...
Personal items for each of us:
general cloths for each day, normally 6
One pair of dress cloths for a night out on the town
One pair of crocks and one pair of sneakers/boots
TRAVEL size hygiene items, soap, shampoo, tooth brush, exct. Now when I say travel size I MEAN TRAVEL SIZE PEOPLE!! Why pack that huge bottle of shampoo for 6 days? YOU DON"T NEED IT!!! Get out your kitchen scale and weigh how much that full bottle is and you will see what I mean.
Electronic Items:
Dell laptop
Nikon D100 DSLR camera
Canon A640 PS camera
Cell phones
Cables, chargers, memory stick readers
Dive Gear Items for each of us:
Regulators (delta 4 FDX10)
Pro Plus 2 dive computer
Atom 2.0 dive computer
BC's (Probe, Isla)
Fins (Oceanic V12)
Mask
Snorkel
wet suit, 5mm each
boots
gloves
3mm cap
Safety sausage
Knife
Scissors
10 ¼ nylon rope
Other dive items:
Save a dive kit
Oral rescue mask
Underwater signal strobe
Underwater camera gear:
Aluminum version of Ike housing for DSLR
Ike housing for the PS
DS125 substrobe and arms
So now for the packing, first thing is bag choice.
We like Akona bags, they have held up VERY well given the beating the airline monkeys give them. We have the older version of the roller duffel, the newer version has the same amount of space and is a little lighter still. The huge roller akona is a waste, its actually to big for airline dimensions and it weighs a lot more. Standard luggage bags are in the same boat, they weigh more. We also have 2 samsonite roller carryon bags that are at the maximum size limits. For our Personal Item we each carry a backpack that has a laptop slot in them.
For each of us, all our camera gear and underwater housings go into the roller carryon. We then pack as many cloths around them as we can without bulging out the bag. The laptop and all other electronic items, regulators, dive computers go in the backpacks. This leaves the rest of the dive gear and about half the cloths left to fit into the roller duffels we check.
Each roller duffel weighs 49.5 lbs, my carryon is 38 lbs, the Mrs. carryon is 28 lbs.
Going through the security checkpoint is a little bit of a pain because they open your bags and hand inspect your regulator and housings.
So there you go folks, it is possible, hope this helps.