I travel extensively and always take my own gear. Over the past 12 months I've flown to the Bahamas, Papua New Guinea, Galapagos, Bonaire, Socorro, and French Polynesia. Two of those trips were with a closed circuit rebreather and all included extensive camera gear (extra camera bodies, multiple lenses, multiple ports, strobes, etc). I also always take my laptop for digital imaging processing. Despite this, I've had no problems whatsoever. I fly with two checked bags (up to 50 lbs each), a carryon that has all of my camera housings, strobes, etc and a backpack that has my laptop and camera bodies. Like the other posters above, I feel it's best to have all of your own gear. The only snag I've had was having to pay overage fees on my inter-island flights in French Polynesia Where they only allow 25kg TOTAL for checked luggage which included my carryon since it was too large for the overhead bin. For me, paying the extra money was well worth having my own gear.
All of that being said, if I were to rank in order what equipment is "essential" from most important to least important I would say:
1. Mask -- if a rental mask doesn't fit, your diving is miserable
2. Buoyancy compensator -- you need to be very comfortable knowing where "everything is" and how to drop your weights in case of an emergency (if weight-integrated)
3. Wetsuit/Drysuit -- if cold water where fit is going to be especially important
4. Regulator
Most everything else could be rented if need be. By the way, I would always throw in my own dive computer!
Doug
All of that being said, if I were to rank in order what equipment is "essential" from most important to least important I would say:
1. Mask -- if a rental mask doesn't fit, your diving is miserable
2. Buoyancy compensator -- you need to be very comfortable knowing where "everything is" and how to drop your weights in case of an emergency (if weight-integrated)
3. Wetsuit/Drysuit -- if cold water where fit is going to be especially important
4. Regulator
Most everything else could be rented if need be. By the way, I would always throw in my own dive computer!
Doug