Luggage vest recommendation

[mulla]

Hi All,

Wondering if people here have tried those vests with larger pockets to save weight with airline carry on? I've been looking around online for some that does apper to look the airline in the face and say "hey look I've got another 10kg in my pockets". I found some of the scottevest range intersting but they don't appear to be able to fit 4 sets of regulators (with miflex hose) in it, which is what I'm aiming to be able to "wear" onto the aircraft.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

 

[Shasta_man]

Seems like a big hassle to save a few bucks on luggage fees you may not be charged.

 

[agilis]

One of those clown coats with giant pockets should do it. When I was a kid I saw a clown take a live chicken out of just one pocket.

 

[Damselfish]

I've never seen a travel vest intended to carry anything like 4 regs with hoses. Even if you figured something out, I suspect you might get extra attention from security, or someone will declare it a carry-on even though you're "wearing" it. I know carry-on limits are low there - just check the regs and be done with it.

 

[Hawkwood]

Gee, what is the cost of an extra bag as a percent of the overall cost of the dive trip?

 

[Stoo]

Gee, what is the cost of an extra bag as a percent of the overall cost of the dive trip?

Using a vest like this is quite common with we photography types. It isn't that we care about the $50 check fee, it's that we don't want to check a case with $18,000 worth of crap in it... especially when we have three flights to get someplace, and the entire point of the trip is the photography.

A friend of mine used his vest just a few days ago. The Counter Nazi was weighing everyone's carry-on, so he stepped out of line, loaded his gear into his vest, checked in, then reloaded his case in the security line.

My camera gear, in it's roll-on Pelican case weighs "more" than the allowable 20 lbs. I've only been challenged once, and was allowed a free gate-check, but vest it is now, under a shell, even though I look a LOT like a suicide bomber in it.

 

[Hawkwood]

Stoo,

I understand completely about the photography vest and that type of gear, but the OP was not talking about photo gear.

 

[mulla]

Stoo, may I ask what type of vest you are using if you have a link I might take a look at it.

My regs are not "full" regs. It's basically 2 sidemount regs and 2 deco regs. So they would only have 1 first stage and 1 spg each, with miflex hoses they roll up pretty small but just weight a tonne, I'd be pretty close to hand carry limit with just the 4 regs. Personally I prefer to hand carry the regs.

 

[WOODMAN]

My regs (and other necessities) go into a backpack with my laptop, and this is the 'personal item' part of my carryon. My Pelican roller case with my camera gear is the other part, and I have never had trouble except for the asian airlines. They don't want anything heavy in their overhead bins, and I have always been given a free gatecheck for that camera case. Don't particularly like having that case go through the cargohold, though, so now I try to fly US carriers to asia when possible. Gonna try Delta to the Phillippines this March, and we will see how that works out...

 

[Hawkwood]

Air Tahiti Nui weighed all carry-on going "east". A lot of stuff had to be checked, including ours.

Sometimes it is a crap-shoot.