Airline travel with scuba gear

[Jorgy]

We are a family of four and bring most of our own gear when diving. Here is our system.

As we are four we have 4 carry-on bags and 4 checked bags each checked is a large Wal-Mart style duffel roller that you by for $25-30 they typically last 3 to 4 trip then they fall apart. Absolutely no way to tell it is full of expensive dive gear. We do pack lightweight mesh scuba boat bags in them to have once we get to the site.

We then look at each piece if gear and ask the following questions Do you love it? Could you dive without it? Could you rent it if lost?

For all those items that meet the criteria (this depends on where and what time of year we are diving) we pack them in the carry-ons. That typically means mask, reg and dive computer for sure (booties go in for sanitary reasons). We also take see-me tubes, whistles and small lights in our carry-ons. My wife and daughter adore their yellow SP twin jets (no leg cramps) so those go in to. The rest is up for grabs for example depending on time of year and location my wife's 5-mil Henderson may make the carry-on cut or not.

Once the critical dive gear is in then we add clothes, swimsuits, etc to the bags. That way we are ready first day of vacation no matter what.

Then we fill the checked luggage and we do it by mixing gear, what I mean by that is that not all one persons gear in is one bag the logic is that if one bag is lost then one of us might only loose their BC instead of all the gear. We also split the rest of the clothes into four piles so each bag has some clothing for everyone.

I typically e-mail or call the dive shop we will be diving with and get a sense of what they have for rentals, this helps streamline the amount we bring. For example we dove with Scuba Shack in Maui and then have outstanding new rental gear (included in the charter price) so we did not bring BCs and regs with us to Hawaii.

I will say that while having your own gear on vacation is great, it is also nice to get rental gear so you don't have to dry, pack and haul your stuff around the world. Also, I think that airlines are starting to look at carry-ons much more closely (both size and weight), the days of the massive carry-on may soon be over

Hope this helps.....M

 

[NudeDiver]

I carried my reg on board with me, and the folks at Kansas City freaked out about it... took it out, examined it, x-rayed it about 4 different times... I was like "dudes, it's a scuba regulator, hasn't anybody here ever seen one?" Eventually they passed it.

Dude, it's Kansas. What do you expect?

 

[scubapro50]

Remember not to pack your dive knife or Spare Air in your bag. Both items are not alowed and you may have to miss your flight while explaning why you were trying to bring them on the plane. The Air Police don't like those little CO2 bottles we use to inflate stuff either so leave them home also.

 

[marinediva]

I am a chef and regularly carry knives in my luggage, not hand luggage tho.
Four days ago I had a no problem leaving Australia with four spear guns, one a RAZ30 which looks like a 357 Magnam, one pony bottle which I had to show was empty and twelve chefs knives in my luggage. I had it secutity checked and put it through the oversized baggage section.

On arrival into PNG no problem. They are more concerned about if I sell them here and must leave the country with them, as they have been noted on my visa unless they are stolen and I supply a police report.

If ever sending these items it is best to call them
spearfishing equipment, or kitchen utensils,
avoid at all costs the word gun or knife.
dive knife becomes.......entanglement correction tool


I did however have problems in Vanuatu entering the country with a speargun someyears ago.
Took a lot of explaining before they finally understood what it was for. I have been told by a number of people, a number of times, it all depends on the airline.

 

[gypsyjim]

Some really great ideas all! Got me rethinking my own proceedures.

After all my daughter's gear was lost returning from PR last year, and with only 4 weeks before our trip to Bonaire we have lived through the panic of losing vital dive gear just when you need it most! Do not ever want to go through that again!!

After reading some of the above posts I will be going to go back through my gear again tonight, and moving my prescription mask and boots into the back pack with the regs, cameras and computers that I always carry on. Can rent BCD, fins, etc, if I have to, and never really have need exposure protect in Bonaire.

 

[mksmith713]

The least expensive and easiest route is to buy an Ice Hockey gear bag.
I did and fit 2 1/2 set of equipment in it.
2 jacket BC's,1- travel BC, 2- dive skins,2- 3mm suits, 2- sets split fins,3- sets regs,4- masks, 4- dive lights, camera case and a bunch of other misc stuff.
And the weight was still within limits.

Just an idea.

 

[gypsyjim]

My daughter replaced her lost bag with one of those ice hockey roller duffels. Works very well as an incognito dive gear bag, except now her gear keeps ariving late because the airline often consider it "oversize"! Sometimes oversize bags get routed differently and miss the flight!

 

[diver 85]

Just use regular luggage--the ugliest and lightest weight you can get. And put everything you value most in your carryons. pack clothes around and in dive gear. You can leave home some of the cases you use at home.

Exactly......use 1 medium to large hard suitcase each(we-wife & I- use the old hard Samsonite's) and all your gear and clothes will fit easily--pack all dive gear ie 2 BC's, masks, snorkels, skins, shorties, booties, fins, etc in 1 & your personal clothes in the other......IMO, some try to complicate this but it's really very simple......Each suitcase should come in well below(48 or less) 50 pounds....and, carryons get the regs, camera, dive computer, etc.....good luck & just use your head in this matter.....

 

[slackercruster]

Remember not to pack your dive knife or Spare Air in your bag. Both items are not alowed and you may have to miss your flight while explaning why you were trying to bring them on the plane. The Air Police don't like those little CO2 bottles we use to inflate stuff either so leave them home also.

What do you use to replace the co2 bottle with? I have some snorkel vests that need em or they will let in water?

 

[Damselfish]

I suggest not planning on stuffing 2 sets of gear in one bag. It will be hard to stay within weight limitations. There's nothing that says a bag has to contain only gear. We each pack our own checked bag with gear and clothes/other stuff, using the clothes to pad as needed. (And we carry on regs, masks, computers like most people.)