TSA, traveling with lead weights

[wetb4igetinthewater]

When traveling outside the US, not meaning to sound like I am that seasoned, but there are several give aways that identify someone as American (USA America). One of them is cargo shorts. Another is our seeming fetish with sneakers and athletic shoes and another is baseball hats. And, one more, tee shirts with all sorts of gibberish, brand advertisement, stupid and moronic and ironic sayings. Oh, and mostly obese.

I got hopelessly lost in the airport in Munich and could not find the gate for the flight back home. Then thank goodness, there it was, I found it . My kinda peeps, chubby folks with comfortable sneakers, stupid saying tee shirts and ball caps and cargo shorts, yep, that is the flight home .

I went home and burned my cargo shorts . But I kept the cargo pants that zip off into shorts, I mean, like, they are just so multi-functional .

And traveling with weights!

I only wear them when traveling for diving locations, as bags (including carryon) can be an issue. It is my way of circumventing that.

However, when I travel otherwise, I dress like locals as much as possible. I've had little old ladies asking me for help in Russian in Kyiv. I've had Parisians look at me twice as I was wearing jeans in 30 degree weather (never ran into a rude French person in Paris, even with my broken French).

In general, dressing like locals is the way to go. And to speak some basics. Made a Frenchman smile in Cannes when I was dropping off the car rental, thanking him and wishing him a good day. I do plan on learning some Hawaiian through Duolingo before I head to Maui next time. A little effort to show respect is always well received.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

I once had TSA confiscate two one pound shot weights on the way home from San Antonio, Texas. They didn't like the way they showed up on the X-ray and even with other dive gear, they were a no-no that day. There's no need to fly with lead.

 

[Marie13]

Cargo shorts! The man's purse! (Just not as fashionable according to my wife LOL)

Murse

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

There's no need to fly with lead.

Agreed in that with SS BP & STA, 5 mil and Deep 6 Eddy fins, I trim out nicely with no additional weight.

I found renting weights for shore diving in Maui to be a bit of a PITA ( if they happened to have classes going on where I couldn't get the exact weight I wanted but wound up with a little more). Now that I travel with SS BP instead of To, all is good.

Though I don't think traveling with 4 lbs of weight is a big deal. Just have to lay it out separately for the TSA, be polite, and hope they are having a good day

 

[Nemrod]

Now that I travel with SS BP instead of To, all is good.

So you are still carrying your weights just happens they are shaped like a plate . Sooner or later somebody is going to disallow that plate, maybe not. But I did have an allen wrench set taken that had traveled many times until----.

I was teasing about the American uniform, I can spot Euros, they always have a nylon fanny pack! That is also a tease, maybe one European does not have a nylon fanny pack !

I had some wonderful cutomer/students from Spain. Super nice! I gave them some company logo swag including a nifty fanny pack, they tossed most of it aside and immediately strapped on those fanny packs for the duration. They liked them so much I gave them a whole box to hand out back home .

 

[waterone]

I took a few travelers to Coz this year. One of my older customers asked me to help him remove his bag in the overhead bin. I couldn’t lift it up. He had 26 lbs of soft weights in it! He said that he preferred to use his own weights when he traveled.

Traveling with 26lbs is insane. Using 26lbs for Coz, that's nuts.
I like soft weights but hard will do!

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

So you are still carrying your weights just happens they are shaped like a plate . Sooner or later somebody is going to disallow that plate, maybe not. But I did have an allen wrench set taken that had traveled many times until----.

So far, so good, but yeah that could wind up being an issue. So far I haven't had any trouble with TSA. I basically empty my carryon (except for fins) and spread everything out to make their job easier. I think that has earned me some leeway, but that doesn't mean I'll always receive it.

I was teasing about the American uniform, I can spot Euros, they always have a nylon fanny pack! That is also a tease, maybe one European does not have a nylon fanny pack !

Depends on the country/heat. I find northern Europeans in southern Europe in peak summer often dressed in a European version of American tourists: European baseball hats, flip-flops, tank tops, and shorts (but not cargo)

I had some wonderful cutomer/students from Spain. Super nice! I gave them some company logo swag including a nifty fanny pack, they tossed most of it aside and immediately strapped on those fanny packs for the duration. They liked them so much I gave them a whole box to hand out back home .

LoL!

 

[boat sju]

I couldn't figure out why TSA kept leaving me notes that they'd gone through my luggage when no one else had that happen.

I liked to take an ankle weight in my luggage to put up on my tank valve.

 

[Tigerpaw]

Thank you everyone for your replies, they have been helpful. I will use weights for my local dives only. Thanks again for your help and patience!