What bags are a must when you own your own equipment??

[Scotty]

I have been diving for several years now but have never owned my own equipment other than mask, snorkel, wet suit and fins. I have now purchased reg, computer, etc. What bags are a must have when traveling with all this equipment. Airlines can cause much damage to bags and I need to know what everyone else uses. Last year they crushed my bag (it got driven over they said) but it only had my clothes in. Why would a mesh bag be important? What would be a good airline bag for my equipment. I think I would like to be able to put it in a carry on if possible for safety reasons. At least my computer and reg as they cost well over 1200 bucks. Please give me some insight on this. What works best for you? Thanks for your help.

 

[cyklon_300]

in an American Tourister carryon suitcase. Takes the worry out of having baggage gorillas abuse/steal/misplace anything.

 

[gfisher4792]

If you check the gear bag section you'll find a lot of info, or if you do a search with "travel" as the keyword. Basically, carrying your regs and computer on your carryon is a must, as they are typically the most expensive, and the pieces of equipment that you'd least like to lose. Some people manage to bring on their mask (esp. if prescription), BC and sometimes their entire kit! I tend to pack by BC, fins and other non-carryon stuff into my mesh boat bag, and stuff the whole thing into a run of the mill roller bag, and I've had no trouble so far. Some people like to pack in Samsonite gear, and some buy the plastic rubbermaid bins that can fit in a duffle bag and pack it that way.

With a mesh bag or other soft bag that can fit most if not all your gear, that's for hauling your gear when on charter boats, so that you can gear up on board, then stuff the bag under your seat or some place out of the way. With mesh, it also has the benefit of draining extra water when hauling your stuff off the boat, and possibly keep the stank from developing that can happen in completely closed off bags. Hope that helps to start. You'll find lots of advice.

 

[Rick Inman]

Last year on our trip to Mexico (and will again this year to Kona) I took my computer & reg. in a carry-on, and packed the rest of my gear by placing it between our clothes in our regular luggage. This protects the equipment as was as not advertising that the bags hold expensive dive gear. I even took my own weights by dropping a couple of shot bags in each suitcase. This year I'll even take a pony this way (valve removed).

 

[mech]

I suppliment my main dive bag with stuff bags to help organize things like gloves and booties and protect my BC.
Makes it easier for me anyway.

 

[Scuby Dooby]

I've made about 20 flights for diving getaways over the last few years. I have always used a couple of cheap Dunlop brand duffle / roller bags that I bought on sale for about $10 - 15 each. I pack all my dive gear, except for my computer, in this bag and so far I've had no problems with breakage, theft, etc. Like others, I like to use the non scuba bags because it makes the bag indistinguishable from any other ‘normal’ luggage. I also have really come to appreciate having a roller bag at the airport, makes life a lot easier compared to a backpack.

Here is how I pack the bag:

- Fins on bottom to give a bit more protection on the bottom of the bag.
- Masks inside the foot pockets of the fins, glass pointing up
- BC goes next, tank bands facing down, with the bottom (waist) side facing toward the end of the bag without rollers (will be upright when bag is rolled). BC is put inside with the sides splayed out over the edges of the bag at this point.
- Inside the BC goes my regs - 1st / 2nd stages, spg all at the same point where the waist will fold over them and protect them.
- Next goes my dry bag with 1st aid kit, gloves, repair stuff, etc into the bottom side of the bag (end with rollers)
- I then place my 3mil full suit rolled loosely one side of the bag and my shortyon the other side to help cushion the sides of the bag.
- I put my flashlights in my booties and stuff them in between the dry bag and the regs.
- On the top I put enough clothes, to cushion and fill up the bag.

I then cinch it up a bit tight so it won't shift around too much and put a small padlock on the zippers to help keep people from nosing around in my stuff. Finally, I make sure to put fragile stickers around the bag.

So far I haven’t had a problem with anything going missing or being broken. I worry a lot more about how my gear gets handled once I’m at the dive site. I’ve had my 2nd stage casing broken by a dropped 2K weight, stopped someone dragging my gear across the concrete (as a favor to get it out of the way!), had my computer mysteriously end up in someone else’s dive bag (oops, didn’t see your name sticker . . .) and seen lots of other bizarre happenings and thefts occur once everything is out of the bag.

I suppose things would be more secure if I were to buy a big Pelican case but I’d rather take the small chance and spend the same amount of $$ for a dive trip!

 

[simbrooks]

I then cinch it up a bit tight so it won't shift around too much and put a small padlock on the zippers to help keep people from nosing around in my stuff. Finally, I make sure to put fragile stickers around the bag.

Nice packing order, i was talking to a guy about dive bags today, and think i would go for the unmarked variety - have yet to travel (by plane) with dive gear, but many other times on planes. The one piece of advice i am not sure is possible (over here anymore) is the padlocking, nowadays they are breaking those padlocks to search bags - you get left a notice i believe, so its not going to help your gear from being snooped and might make it more likely to get checked. At least this is what i have heard from a girl in our congregation who works at the local international airport checking baggage (Orlando International), that may not be a problem in other parts of the world, but post 9/11 they have been trying to move on some things over here.

 

[MaresMan1]

We have been using the Armor travel/dive bags for the last few years and have been very lucky so far. These are plain black bags with no labels on them. The new ones have labels, but you can just black them out.

We carry all of the regs, computers, masks, compass' etc. in a carry-on bag. The wetsuits, fins, BCs, etc. go in the rolling backpack bag. I have also painted big white initials on all of the bags to help us ID them right away (they almost look like FBI bags ).

We also keep the bags locked for the entire airport process, going on vacation. Coming back we leave the bags unlocked until after they are inspected, then we lock'em up.

Whatever you decide, best of luck.

Dive Smart; Dive Safe
Enjoy the ride
:cool1:

 

[Scuby Dooby]

. . . The one piece of advice i am not sure is possible (over here anymore) is the padlocking, nowadays they are breaking those padlocks to search bags - you get left a notice i believe, so its not going to help your gear from being snooped and might make it more likely to get checked. . .

That's true for a lot of the airports I go through also. If I can't put on a lock then I will just put on a zip tie that can be easily cut off. If I do have to put on some type of tie I usually try to get the airline to use one of their numbered ones (or ask my wife for an extra - she's a flight attendant). It seems that they are less inclined to actually open my bags when I do this though it could also just be luck.

 

[MaresMan1]

Scuby,

It depends on the airport that you are leaving from. We use Kennedy or Newark here in the NYC area. Both airports have the new big scanning machines, so you can lock your luggage before hand. Although, you do have to wait for your luggage to clear the machine.

If they have any questions, you may have to open it. A lot of the major airports around the country are installing the new scanners and adopting this new policy. You should check with the airport to see if they have installed the new hardware.

Dive Smart;Dive Safe
Enjoy the ride
:cool1: