Diving and backpacking

[Haiko]

(if this is already discussed somewhere on this board, please forgive me. I couldn't find it... :06: )

Within 10 months I will be setting foot on New Zealand soil (again) for some serious diving and ofcourse... backpacking!:fruit:
Are there more people who have backpacked with their own divegear( i.e. suit, mask and flippers)and want to share their secrets?

When I'm overthere I want to do some divecourses. Reading some stuff about LSD want to sell you gear, the odds are that I will buy me own gear too. But just wondering how to keep your gear in good shape (it has to last at least for one year).

I mean, it must be a hassle to drag your gear around, including the big stuffed backpack with all the other stuff you might need so survive :14: Not to mention the changes of damaging your stuff while traveling by bus, car or thumb.

Storing a wet wetsuit is not a good idea I'll guess, but leaving it out to dry in a youth-hostel while personally not present... ehm :icosm12: Does folding a divesuit wear it out quickly, or should it hold for 12 months? Moch much weight does a wetsuit add to a backpack?

I've been in OZ and NZ before, but that was backpacking without divegear...

Just wanna find out before the big trip...

 

[rmannix]

Be sure your backpack is minimalist in nature and streamlined to reduce both drag and the chance of entaglements while hiking. It should be black and have no pockets.

 

[PaulSmithTek]

Why Black And No Pockets?

 

[O2BBubbleFree]

These guys

Why Black And No Pockets?

I think he was taking a tounge-in-check jab at DIR diving.

HAiko, Here's a thread where someone was asking specifically about a BC for backpacking.

Storing a wetsuit folded for long periods of time will create creases where the neoprene gets crushed, reducing it's insulation value, but you probably don't need to worry about that. In your situation, I would just try to fold the wetsuit a little differently each time I packed it. I would wrap the wetsuit around any fragile items to protect them.

You're right that storing a wet wetsuit is bad, unless you like funky smells and don't want to make friends. With regard to drying it in a hostel, you may have to get creative, like running a bicycle cable lock through the sleeve and locking it to the bed frame. These guys make some interesting travel bags that are hard to break into.

You might want to give some more specifics, like what thickness of wetsuit you are planning on taking, and what dive gear purchases you feel are essential. For instance, what are you willing to rent? You will have to rent tanks, of course, so renting other gear should be an option.

 

[rmannix]

Why Black And No Pockets?

Nobody knows

 

[jiveturkey]

(if this is already discussed somewhere on this board, please forgive me. I couldn't find it... :06: )

Within 10 months I will be setting foot on New Zealand soil (again) for some serious diving and ofcourse... backpacking!:fruit:
Are there more people who have backpacked with their own divegear( i.e. suit, mask and flippers)and want to share their secrets?

When I'm overthere I want to do some divecourses. Reading some stuff about LSD want to sell you gear, the odds are that I will buy me own gear too. But just wondering how to keep your gear in good shape (it has to last at least for one year).

I mean, it must be a hassle to drag your gear around, including the big stuffed backpack with all the other stuff you might need so survive :14: Not to mention the changes of damaging your stuff while traveling by bus, car or thumb.

Storing a wet wetsuit is not a good idea I'll guess, but leaving it out to dry in a youth-hostel while personally not present... ehm :icosm12: Does folding a divesuit wear it out quickly, or should it hold for 12 months? Moch much weight does a wetsuit add to a backpack?

I've been in OZ and NZ before, but that was backpacking without divegear...

Just wanna find out before the big trip...

It sounds like you're travelling budget so I'd recommend just renting. It's a real hastle carrying your gear around and like you said, you increase the chance of it being stolen or lost. The stuff is heavy and awkward. I take my own gear on dive trips, but when I backpack I just rent.

 

[tangfish]

I'd prioritize if I were you, bring for sure: reg, mask, computer, small backup light, dive log Leave: fins, boots, gloves, snorkel, primary light

bcd and suit are a hard call, you either want the convenience of being able to up and leave if you want for any reason, but then again having your won bc and suit are nice, I say these two are hard because they take the longest to dry. Most dive ops have decent enough BCDs, the suits can be hard if you have an odd body shape. Fins are big and bulky so I'd leave em, you can usually rent them for very cheap and the worst fins in the world still work. If you bring your fins then I'd bring your snorkel so you can go snorkeling too. Its a slippery slope: if you bring one thing that takes a long time to dry then you might as well bring the rest. Depends on how light you want to travel and how flexible you want to be, it sure sucks to bring wet dive gear around but at the very least you can bring a light mesh bag so if you do have to travel with wet gear you can separate it from the rest.

Hope that helps.

For more on travel and gear tips check out my site below.

FS

(if this is already discussed somewhere on this board, please forgive me. I couldn't find it... :06: )

Within 10 months I will be setting foot on New Zealand soil (again) for some serious diving and ofcourse... backpacking!:fruit:
Are there more people who have backpacked with their own divegear( i.e. suit, mask and flippers)and want to share their secrets?

When I'm overthere I want to do some divecourses. Reading some stuff about LSD want to sell you gear, the odds are that I will buy me own gear too. But just wondering how to keep your gear in good shape (it has to last at least for one year).

I mean, it must be a hassle to drag your gear around, including the big stuffed backpack with all the other stuff you might need so survive :14: Not to mention the changes of damaging your stuff while traveling by bus, car or thumb.

Storing a wet wetsuit is not a good idea I'll guess, but leaving it out to dry in a youth-hostel while personally not present... ehm :icosm12: Does folding a divesuit wear it out quickly, or should it hold for 12 months? Moch much weight does a wetsuit add to a backpack?

I've been in OZ and NZ before, but that was backpacking without divegear...

Just wanna find out before the big trip...

 

[drbill]

I spent three months doing this in Europe years ago and then another three months in SE Asia-Australia/NZ-South Pacific. I did carry my own mask and fins, but left everything else at home and rented what I needed. In many of the places diving was so cheap including the rental gear that it really made no sense to me to carry it with. In fact, I should have left the fins at home and just carried the mask.

 

[ProfessorAronnax]

(if this is already discussed somewhere on this board, please forgive me. I couldn't find it... :06: )

Within 10 months I will be setting foot on New Zealand soil (again) for some serious diving and ofcourse... backpacking!:fruit:
Are there more people who have backpacked with their own divegear( i.e. suit, mask and flippers)and want to share their secrets?

When I'm overthere I want to do some divecourses. Reading some stuff about LSD want to sell you gear, the odds are that I will buy me own gear too. But just wondering how to keep your gear in good shape (it has to last at least for one year).

I mean, it must be a hassle to drag your gear around, including the big stuffed backpack with all the other stuff you might need so survive :14: Not to mention the changes of damaging your stuff while traveling by bus, car or thumb.

Storing a wet wetsuit is not a good idea I'll guess, but leaving it out to dry in a youth-hostel while personally not present... ehm :icosm12: Does folding a divesuit wear it out quickly, or should it hold for 12 months? Moch much weight does a wetsuit add to a backpack?

I've been in OZ and NZ before, but that was backpacking without divegear...

Just wanna find out before the big trip...

I know this is going to sound like a total plug but I've got to pipe in. For disclaimer purposes:
I am related to the designer of the RAPID DIVER, I’ve been testing the RAPID DIVER prototypes for a couple of years, my username is “RAPIDIVER”, the picture is me wearing a RAPID DIVER, and my store sells the RAPID DIVER so, you might say I’m pretty close to the product. So nobody buy anything based soley on my opinion.

With that said, you've gotta check this out and tell me what you think for Backpackingignore the store link) http://www.rapidiver.com

I've actually been thinking about bringing it up to some never scuba dived, clear mountain lake. It's lightweight and has a load bearing harness: I've actually worn it on long walks comfortably although when backpacking I don't think you would wear it. It's lightweight(around 20# filled). The one problem I forsee is extra gas. Each addtl. tank weighs around 10# and it would be nice to get more than a few dives after bringing everything up a mountain.

I'd be very interested to know what you think

 

[annie]

I backpacked for a year in Australia and Asia with all my gear except weights and tank. It wasn't difficult at all . . .I had a dive bag on wheels and just dragged it to the bus or car or whatever. Having said that, in Australia I did stay in places for extended periods.
In Asia I moved around but always just paid one of the local guys to carry it, they were queueing up, and I had one of those chain mail things on it so wasn't too worried about small things being taken out. In fact I never actually carried my dive bag in Asia Never had any hassle.
The dive bag also came in handy because I was able to use it to pack things in when I ran out of space in my rucksack. I was never charged extra weight or anything by the airlines.
If you do not want to do this, I would agree with prioritising reg and mask. Especially reg. I was very reassured by having my own reg, particularly when diving where rental is cheap. Who wants to rent a reg cheaply.