Dive caddy - airline carry on solution

[Jasonmh]

My backpack fits nicely under the seat according to FAA and airline standards. My roller bag is to FAA and airline dimensions.

The width and height of the dive caddy is not the issue, its the length. Its to long to fit in the overhead depth wise, so it needs to fit sideways.

Sorry to hear so many stories of damaged, stolen, and permanently lost bags. Guess myself and family are just lucky? I will knock on wood just in case. But like I said in the past, everything in my bag is documented and insured with its own rider. If the air monkeys destroy, break, or loose it, I get new stuff. Yeah, I will be pissed for that trip, but I get new stuff.

Use TSA approved locks and they wont get cut off. Locks only keep honest people honest and scream "hey I have valuables in this bag".

I hear what you are saying, but:
1- multiple people on here who own the bag said that they have fit it in the overhead depth-wise.
2- You are talking about the size of your bags, I am talking about the number of bags
3- they were TSA locks that I was using, and they were locks that I have used for 2 years. (it was not the TSA that removed them)

You must be pretty lucky to not have any kind of baggage problem at all when you travel, or you don't travel very often. Either way I wish I had your luck

 

[jd950]

I looked at the Dive Caddy site and watched their videos. I am intrigued but two issues prevent me from trying it

1. My fins are way too long. There is no way they would fit in one of those measuring bins and if I am going to have my carry-on taken away at the gate, then there is little point. I could just pack the fins in a bag and put everything else in the Dive Caddy, but that leads to the second problem.

2. I already carry my camera, underwater housing, strobes, etc., on board. There is not room in the dive caddy for these, and they would be very appealing targets for theft, so I pack those and my computer, reg and mask in a carry on and everything else gets checked. Unless someone else has a better idea, I don't see how this would work with a Dive Caddy.


I, too had a TSA lock "broken" off and a bag gone through, and probably not by TSA. We commonly find evidence our bags have been gone through and only rarely find a TSA notice in the bag. We pack nothing of value in the bags except fins, BCD, wetsuit, etc., and I doubt these are desirable theft targets.

To minimize the risk of loss or delay of bags I do two things. First, I try to always arrive early at airport, hoping that will make it more likely my bag will end up on the right plane. Secondly, I always allow for long connection times at the next airport. I mean like 3-4 hours. It adds a lot of airport time, but so far, my bags have gotten to a dive location at the same time I have, even when a flight has been delayed, while I have seen plenty of people waiting in vain for their bags to come down that carousel.

Oh, and I also try to avoid flying through San Juan.

 

[fppf]

We typically take 2 trips a year.

 

[redball]

My Fins are Oceanic V16 size large. Unless you have freedive fins they should fit without to much of a problem. I packed my mask and camera in the turtle pack. The strobe went with the laptop in the computer bag (personal item). Give it a try I am sure you will not be disapointed.

 

[scuba_sirhc]

My Fins are Oceanic V16 size large. Unless you have freedive fins they should fit without to much of a problem. I packed my mask and camera in the turtle pack. The strobe went with the laptop in the computer bag (personal item). Give it a try I am sure you will not be disapointed.

Hi redball,
Do you know if SP Jets may fit into the DiveCaddy? Im not too concern about the length but rather the thickness of the Jets...they can be quite thick when stacked together..any problems you foresee with the compression if the Jets are stacked together?

 

[Shark Bait!]

Yes Jets can most definetly fit. I use Hollis F1 fins and they fit just fine and they are longer then Jets.

 

[redball]

The V-16 and SP Jets are very similar in thickness as they are both fairly bulky fins. They should fit with out any problems. One thing I did was offset the fins instead of packing them foot pocket to foot pocket.

 

[redball]

Ok so as you have all seen in the previous post not everyone appreciates the Dive Caddy. However if you value your equipment and want to make sure it goes where you go and the dishonest airport personell do not go shopping with your luggage get a Dive Caddy. As for insurance on the gear yes I too have insurance with DAN however I do not plan to ever have to use it while traveling on a dive trip because the luggage was lost or sticky hands got ahold of it. I have also seen the multi carry ons and way way way oversized carry ons go on the plane without anyone saying anything. The Caddy if you really think about it is nothing more than a really well put together dive gear back pack.

For those that have already purchased and traveled with a Dive Caddy fully understand what I am talking about. For those who have lost dive gear due to lost bags or stolen items should make the investment before the next trip. Having to replace even a cheep 1st & 2nd Stage can justify the purchase price of the Dive Caddy.

Another note worth mentioning was the post above in regards to the airlines weight restrictions being lowered to 50lbs. If I could go to 75lbs I may not have purchased the Dive Caddy but now that I have and traveled with it I will never go back to conventional luggage for my dive gear.

 

[bbdm120]

[/url][/IMG]

Here is a photo of my recent airplane ride from Curacao to Miami. I had no problem loading the DiveCaddy in the over head with the Turtle pack attached. I had my BC, Wetsuit, mask, fins, regulator and more in the bag.

If anyone is interested in purchasing a DiveCaddy please contact me for the best price.

Safe Diving,
Brad

 

[drbellezzo]

Quick question. I'm very interested in this system and my current roller bag is so large that I easily overweight the 50lb restriction. I WANT to like this bag and I appreciate efficiency and cool gear.

I think most of us travel with expensive gear. Many travel with a laptop and electronics. personally I always take my dSLR and lenses, typically in my backpack. If I use the caddy, I'd have to also purchase a roller bag that could carry this stuff as my "personal item".

Finally, what do you do with stuff that the TSA considers weaponly? ie Dive Knife? Aren't you then obliged to check in these items? if so, why not just reach your 50lb limit with the checked bag by putting the heavy non-breakables (ie wetsuit, BCD, etc) in it? If you do that, doesn't that leave you with your regs, computers and camera gear? if so, you now have 3 bags. Isn't this less efficient?