Not allowing regs with dive computer in carry on bags on flight leaving DR

[cruiser]

... on the basis that it was big and heavy and you could hit someone with it.

I planned to carry on some solid lead weight for my next scuba trip. Now I'm wondering if it will be allowed. Anyone have experience with this?

 

[UnderwaterBumbleBee]

Kent-

Well hopefully you had a good trip otherwise and I had to laugh when I read this because of our return experience out of Santo Domingo in early August. We have never had as much hassle leaving any other country than we have in the D.R.

Ironically we have a separate carry on bag just for our regulators and dive computers and they had no problem with that bag at all. The first check point was your typical one, they scrutinized our computer/laptop backpack. Admittedly I packed a clear makeup bag with one tweezers and one nail clipper. When I pleaded with the two people looking at the bag, they decided to let me keep the tweezers (my favorite pair) but confiscated the nail clipper. I would have thought they would take the opposite but it seemed like she just made a split decision.

We thought everything was good to go until we started to board the plane, heading down the ramp they had another checkpoint. The guy made my husband take his laptop out and turn it on, then he looked at my pelican case which had my underwater camera perfectly packed and he manhandled some of the pieces and couldn't pack it back in correctly. My husband was about to blow his fuse and I had to remind him to shut his mouth. Everyone traveling at that point was tired and cranky from getting up early, taking a 2 hour bus ride and then preparing for 2 connections back. Seems to me that they just make stuff up as they go.

 

[DandyDon]

Security agents in other countries screening flights to the US are supposed to operate by TSA standards, but they are certainly not TSA trained or controlled. What they do is all to often up to them and what they want to take home with them, but a lot of it is just silly. I carry 2 regs and 2 computers in my roll-on always.

I planned to carry on some solid lead weight for my next scuba trip. Now I'm wondering if it will be allowed. Anyone have experience with this?

Gawd why? I think you'd be at risk of losing them to security anywhere, US or foreign. If you then tried to check them, they'd put your back overweight and cost more than replacement. I do take a couple of 1# soft weights for quick additions, but dive Ops generally have plenty of hard weights.

 

[cruiser]

Gawd why? I think you'd be at risk of losing them to security anywhere, US or foreign. If you then tried to check them, they'd put your back overweight and cost more than replacement. I do take a couple of 1# soft weights for quick additions, but dive Ops generally have plenty of hard weights.

Sometimes if you don't get to the weight counter as soon as you get to a resort, your desired weight combinations aren't available, and you have to make do with mixing and matching what's left over.

I know they're heavy, but I pack well under the weight limit. Between the checked baggage and carry on, I could distribute them between bags so I don't go over the limit on either piece of luggage. However, if "heavy and you could hurt someone with them" is TSA's logic, they might not be allowed in carry-on, because you could definitely hurt someone with a 5 pound weight.

 

[DandyDon]

Sometimes if you don't get to the weight counter as soon as you get to a resort, your desired weight combinations aren't available, and you have to make do with mixing and matching what's left over.

I know they're heavy, but I pack well under the weight limit. Between the checked baggage and carry on, I could distribute them between bags so I don't go over the limit on either piece of luggage. However, if "heavy and you could hurt someone with them" is TSA's logic, they might not be allowed in carry-on, because you could definitely hurt someone with a 5 pound weight.

I've had to fly in my own weight for a couple of liveaboards. I put them in checked bags and kept under limits, but I used to have larger limits. I would not attempt even a one pound hard weight in carry-on. Soft weights are harmless enough.

 

[KentFromPGH]

Look for a trip report soon. I promise....

 

[ScubaSteve]

Sometimes if you don't get to the weight counter as soon as you get to a resort, your desired weight combinations aren't available, and you have to make do with mixing and matching what's left over.

I know they're heavy, but I pack well under the weight limit. Between the checked baggage and carry on, I could distribute them between bags so I don't go over the limit on either piece of luggage. However, if "heavy and you could hurt someone with them" is TSA's logic, they might not be allowed in carry-on, because you could definitely hurt someone with a 5 pound weight.

Take up UW Photography and UW Video. That will surely eat up the rest of any available weight you have . I for one have never had an issue carrying on my regs/Cobra and would likely be very upset if I was ever told that I could not carry them on. The problem is, no matter what airport (even ConUS) or country you are in, you are entirely at the whim of the agent and their mood of the moment.

 

[jlevine]

I think this type of security issue may depend on the airports through which you travel and their familiarity with dive travel. I have never had a problem with taking a regulator and computer (mine is a Cobra as well) from the US to the Caribbean. I put it in an Eagle Creek Pack-it Cube which also fits inside my carry on. One time I had to turn on the computer but other than that have never been questioned. I agree with one of the above posters in that if I heard I could not carry on my reg and dive computer through a particular airport then I might not travel through it. I may switch to a wrist computer at some point but I really don't want to have to depend on rental gear.

 

[Rhone Man]

I must say, I have never had that problem flying out of Bayahibe before. You must have caught them on a bad day.

Airline security can be maddeningly inconsistent. I remember once having nail clippers taken off me (what, in case I threaten the pilot with a really bad manicure unless he diverts the aircraft...?) whilst my wife has made it on with 7" knitting needles.

I have a friend who is a pilot, and he once had tweezers taken off him at security. My friend (in uniform) asks the security guy if removing tweezers was really going to stop him if he decided to crash the plane which he was flying? To add insult to injury, he then bought a new set of tweezers in one of the shops after security and took it back to show the guy at security.

 

[DRsharky]

I guess because the airport in Santo Domingo is the biggest here, you never know who you bump into. So far I haven't had problems with my diving stuff. I had in Miami though, so it really depends on the person who is there at that moment