Travel gear

[mermaid_diver]

I will be travelling in a month to Roatan, Honduras for a week of diving and will be bringing my own gear with me. That being said, I dive with long/freedive fins and would prefer to have them with me for this trip. what bags do you use for travel for free diving fins and should I check the bag or carry them on board?

 

[scrane]

Maximum carry on is, what (?), 22 inches so that probably puts free dive fins out of the running in the cabin. You should not need the power of free dive fins in Roatan and their length might be annoying in tight places.
I regularly travel carry on to Roatan and Cozumel with all my personal and dive stuff distributed between the carry on bag and the personal item. But I carry short fins. And not a lot of stuff.

 

[Kimela]

The only fins we've ever gotten into a regular carry-on size bag are Force Fins or ScubaPro Jets. I dive with the Seawing Novas and they have to be in checked baggage. I can't imagine you being able to take free diving fins as carry on - but then I can't quite understand how folks bring guitars as carry on either (I've never seen anyone forced to gate check a musical instrument).

 

[Outbound]

I would buy a pair of regular paddle fins (or whatever style suits you) and skip the freediving fins for travel. I pack all my dive gear (BCD, 3mm full wetsuit, booties, mask, regs, dry bag, lights, GoPro and accessories, and a pair of boardshorts; my computer is a watch-size so I just wear it) in a 46L carry-on size backpack. Fins (Avanti Quattros) get strapped to the outside of the bag. If I'm totally dirtbagging it I can get away with stuffing a couple of t-shirts in that bag too. Otherwise, I check a small bag for clothes and misc. stuff and toss my toothbrush in my carry-on with my dive gear. I've never had a gate agent give it a second look. In some aircraft I can keep my fins strapped to my bag and still fit the whole shebang in overhead. In smaller aircraft I take my fins off and put them next to my bag in overhead.

It's not always the most comfortable way to travel, since I have to haul a backpack through connections. But I'm kinda paranoid about airlines losing or temporary misplacing my luggage since it has happened to me so many times. I just got back from a trip to Bonaire where two of our group had their dive gear arrive a day late. It wasn't the end of the world for them since they just rented gear for the first day of diving, but it's still annoying. And they were both cold because the dive operator only had shorties for rent.

Not to hijack the thread, but don't freediving fins get in the way when swimming close to coral or through tight spaces? Asking because I have never used a pair and don't really know. Seems like they are specialized equipment for getting down and back quickly, not for finning along the bottom at an efficient pace.

 

[DreadnoughtNH]

FWIW, I'd go with your fins (you obviously like diving with them), but check them in a bag. I have free diving fins as well, but don't travel with them often because of the length. The only gear I carry on is regulator bag, which also contains my prescription masks, dive computer, and oxygen analyzer. Fins, BCD, wetsuits, and all the other gear gets put under the plane.

 

[Damselfish]

I realize some people do like to dive with freediving fins, though I rarely if ever see someone doing this at a tropical dive resort. And I understand wanting to dive with fins you like/are used to/own/whatever. But you don't want or need to go fast/get down fast diving in Roatan (or most places in the Caribbean, for that matter.) And I share the same concern about freediving fins being a potential problem around reefs, and in any swim-through type spots should you do those.

What is your reason for diving with freediving fins? I believe in using the right tool for the job. Have you considered getting more standard dive fins you like for situations they might be a better choice? Looks like you've just started, but many divers wind up with multiple sets of fins. Just about everyone likes an excuse to buy more gear.

If you must travel with freediving fins, check them. I know people carry on all sorts of things that aren't within the rules, or try to, but personally I really hate when people do that - hogging overhead space so people following the rules don't have space for their stuff, and slowing down boarding. (In fact, I was just on a flight a few days ago where boarding was a giant cluster because of the carry on mess, and it wasn't even dive gear.) Will the fins not fit in your checked bag with your other big gear, or were you trying to carry on all your gear? I know some people try to do that, too...

 

[scubafied]

I've carried my freediving fins on before by just putting a bungee around them so they are 1 piece. If questioned you can try to show how flexible they are and that they can slide over the top of most bags in the overhead, even if it's full. That being said, on my one trip to Roatan, they were not lenient at all regarding size/weight allowances. Next time I fly with my long fins I'm getting a https://www.sportube.com/Series-2-Sportube-p/21bkswez.htm so I can check everything. Adjustable length wise and will keep everything protected by a hardcase.

 

[flyboy08]

Wear them as shoes....they can’t deny that

 

[Doc]

When I was young and strong- you bet I brought mine along. Always checked them through. Why carry anything?

If I wanted speed and power through current, nothing could be superior.

And that is just the counterargument AGAINST using free dive fins on Roatan. There is no real current, and the environment rewards the s-l-o-w diver.

You are also quite more likely to whack the reef, a mathematical certainty.

 

[MichaelMc]

I thought some of the Mako spearfishing/freediving fins had short enough and removable blades for carry on.

+1 on force fin. Their Hockey fins at 18" fit carry on, are powerful, and easy to flutter kick. (The Pros as well, but they aren't as powerful.) Force Fin Hockey Fin This Dan Volker's Hockey Fin Evaluation has a post making some comparisons of them to free diving fins, "If you want speed, they are very efficient, far more so then jet fins or conventional Scuba fins. I feel the Extra Force Fins or the Excellerating Force fins would have the edge on a high speed long distance endurance contest,", though the author had very strong legs.

Edit: to fix quote.