Travelling with Tek gear - i wasn't ready for the weight!

[Lorenzoid]

Pay for a second checked bag.

 

[chillyinCanada]

Sounds like you havent flown though Brisbane, Oz, then?

Or South America

 

[SelfDiver]

Pay for a second checked bag.

I would pay out the nose for a second bag if the gear would get to where I am going without harm.
You can even take a rebreather on the plane Lost baggage peace of mind can be had for a $25 Bluetooth tracker like Tile Is there a way to pay for an extra Carry-on bag? Because that would be great.

 

[Lorenzoid]

I would pay out the nose for a second bag if the gear would get to where I am going without harm.
You can even take a rebreather on the plane Lost baggage peace of mind can be had for a $25 Bluetooth tracker like Tile. Is there a way to pay for an extra Carry-on bag? Because that would be great.

I hope you're being facetious. The carry-on/overheard compartment mayhem we have now is the result of airlines charging for checked bags. Sure, they should eliminate checked baggage entirely, and we should all sit on our bags in the passenger compartment so we can be sure the airline won't lose them. Ha ha.

I think the airlines do a reasonably good job. Despite the anecdotes we hear and the occasional personal experience, the odds of losing a checked bag remain low, considering how much air travel has grown in recent decades. With AirTags and other trackers, the odds of recovering a lost bag are greater. As I see it, taking the risk of a lost bag every few hundred flights (I completely made up that average) is the price of having so many flight options at such a relatively reasonable cost. There was a time that the middle class could hardly afford flying at all. Now, we essentially have Greyhound In The Sky--globally! Traveling purely for a leisure activity, we do have it pretty good, and I try to keep that perspective when stuff goes wrong.

There's no getting around the fact that tech diving and other gear-intensive specializations (e.g., photography) add expense. My thinking is build an extra day into your itinerary for bags to catch up, check and pay for an extra bag if you have to, take in your carry-on those things you can't easily replace or that are fragile, and relax.

 

[PfcAJ]

I hope you're being facetious. The carry-on/overheard compartment mayhem we have now is the result of airlines charging for checked bags. Sure, they should eliminate checked baggage entirely, and we should all sit on our bags in the passenger compartment so we can be sure the airline won't lose them. Ha ha.

I think the airlines do a reasonably good job. Despite the anecdotes we hear and the occasional personal experience, the odds of losing a checked bag remain low, considering how much air travel has grown in recent decades. With AirTags and other trackers, the odds of recovering a lost bag are greater. As I see it, taking the risk of a lost bag every few hundred flights (I completely made up that average) is the price of having so many flight options at such a relatively reasonable cost. There was a time that the middle class could hardly afford flying at all. Now, we essentially have Greyhound In The Sky--globally! Traveling purely for a leisure activity, we do have it pretty good, and I try to keep that perspective when stuff goes wrong.

There's no getting around the fact that tech diving and other gear-intensive specializations (e.g., photography) add expense. My thinking is build an extra day into your itinerary for bags to catch up, check and pay for an extra bag if you have to, take in your carry-on those things you can't easily replace or that are fragile, and relax.

“Oops days” take all the stress and concern out of everything.

Source? Currently en route to PDX with no oops days built in. Am concerned.

 

[divezonescuba]

I have not had any difficulty with the plate and harness / duffle bag system. TSA does not question it. The duffle bag mounted on the plate is actually within carryon limitations. When the gate people see the roller bag, it is so short I have not had problems with that either. I have been using that system for a number of years now to cart all my technical diving equipment with me. One time on the way back from Bonaire another diver recognized the system from watching the video.

On occasion I have been alerted to the 7 KG limitation, that seems to mostly apply to luggage with wheels like the small roller bag. In cases where I think that might actually be an issue, I use the load bearing vest described in the video below to make the wheeled luggage lighter. I have not had any problems with TSA with the vest. However, I have once in four trips to Egypt, by the Egyptian police been told that I would have to check the vest. The key to avoiding that situation is to wear a windbreaker over the vest or carry it in a shopping bag thru ticketing. Apparently, in some parts of the world, they don't like you dressing like that. Nowadays, I have a red versus coyote tan colored first aid molle pouch on the front to make it look less tactical.

My previous iteration was a plain safari vest, but I couldn't carry as much weight in that.

 

[FishWatcher747]

But - how does that work with airlines? I'm flying business with EVA to bangkok in 12 days for example, i called them and was told i was allowed "7 kilo in cabin" - no way that would work - then they told me i was allowed to check in 32 kg of sporting good in a 277 cm container.

Good luck with EVA air. They completely flipped out in Jakarta because I was checking an empty 19 cu ft Tank with no valve. Kind of like this.

 

[SelfDiver]

I hope you're being facetious. The carry-on/overheard compartment mayhem we have now is the result of airlines charging for checked bags. Sure, they should eliminate checked baggage entirely, and we should all sit on our bags in the passenger compartment so we can be sure the airline won't lose them. Ha ha.

I think the airlines do a reasonably good job. Despite the anecdotes we hear and the occasional personal experience, the odds of losing a checked bag remain low, considering how much air travel has grown in recent decades. With AirTags and other trackers, the odds of recovering a lost bag are greater. As I see it, taking the risk of a lost bag every few hundred flights (I completely made up that average) is the price of having so many flight options at such a relatively reasonable cost. There was a time that the middle class could hardly afford flying at all. Now, we essentially have Greyhound In The Sky--globally! Traveling purely for a leisure activity, we do have it pretty good, and I try to keep that perspective when stuff goes wrong.

There's no getting around the fact that tech diving and other gear-intensive specializations (e.g., photography) add expense. My thinking is build an extra day into your itinerary for bags to catch up, check and pay for an extra bag if you have to, take in your carry-on those things you can't easily replace or that are fragile, and relax.

I want to disagree with you, but you are right.
("facetious." I had to look that up and then look in the mirror. Yup)
I don't want the airlines to charge us for evey Kilo, but it is coming. They will charge for toilet paper if they thought they could get away with it.

There is a reflexive dislike of commercial airlines even when they do a reasonably good job. The mistrust comes from from historical and extraordinary events.
Delays and "oops" days are an expected part of traveling with gear, even if you carry everything on you.
We all have anecdotal bonfire stories about a crushed regulator or a flooded scooter...etc, on the first dive of the week. that is not the airline's fault.

There must be a balanced way to think of it.
Anything requiring Helium is going to need a CCR or a proper gas supply and a base of operations.
For Air and O2 combinations:
- when you are traveling in a technical diving friendly location: rental gear
- in a place that has no real technical diving shop, you can make do with a couple of computers and long hose.

Tangent: Expedition style dives do require additional planning (Expense) for oops days and baggage delays. But, those are not even considered a challenge for those kind of dives.
If you want to go down a rabbit hole for a couple of hours:
- Expedition Bjurälven - Cave diving exploration of Swedens longest underwater cave system in the freezing mountains of Jämtland They do a good job of reporting on the logistics of diving remote locations.
- Cave diving / Dominican Republic Speleological Society This is Patrick Widmans team. The Madagascar videos show some off-grid exploration
- Underground Adventures In Spain – Tresviso Caves Project Chris Jewell on diving Trevisio

I think the packing tips are good fun and I learn a lot from these discussions. Chris likes the big backpack and small roller, I like the big roller and smaller backpack. The "Mesh carrier" is a new one for me and I learned something new.

 

[shamufish]

Good luck with EVA air. They completely flipped out in Jakarta because I was checking an empty 19 cu ft Tank with no valve. Kind of like this.

can confirm there's not a snowball chance in hell to bring more than 7kg in cabin. Zero chance. Not even a thread of a chance.
as for british airways, even in business they asked me to check in my 'slightly larger than normal' bag. And of course it wasn't preped to be checked in. because of course it wasnt'.

Video is accurate.

 

[BoltSnap]

british airways

Probably the worst airlines in the Western Hemisphere.