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

[Scuby Dooby]

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:

There is a much wider range of practice here in Asia, I generally put the lock on and if they question me at checkin I'll switch to a zip tie, otherwise the lock stays on and I've never had anyone cut one off. Happily, I'm not travelling to the states very much anymore and don't have to deal with all of the new practices (paranoia??)

 

[yak]

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

Money Bags! You'll start upgrading everything in a year or so!

 

[Cudabait]

There is a much wider range of practice here in Asia, I generally put the lock on and if they question me at checkin I'll switch to a zip tie, otherwise the lock stays on and I've never had anyone cut one off. Happily, I'm not travelling to the states very much anymore and don't have to deal with all of the new practices (paranoia??)

Best bet is to use zip ties. TSA will cut them, leave a note inside your bag and replace the zip ties. Best to cover any bag containing dive equipment with an additional all-over cover.

Scuby Dooby...You been out of the states for over 9 years....it's not paranoia, in case you didn't hear we have had some serious problems here at home involving the deaths of may innocent people. Paranoia? I think not.

 

[Scuby Dooby]

I've been living outside the states for about 12 years now and I have a wife and many friends who 'fly' for a living. Security precautions are great, ideally they keep my family, friends and I safe. Window dressing and practices to make people feel secure without having a major impact on safety - thats another thing . . . paranoia?? I think often

 

[BradJ]

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.

It's always my dive bag that has the inspection notice post flying. I don't think any of our other bags have ever been searched. Dive bags must look suspicious?

 

[gemdiver]

The TSA has now approved certain locks that they can open but they won't have to cut off, I've included to link to the ones that they have at Brookstone but they have them cheeper elsewhere.

http://www.brookstone.com/shop/prod...=496&quickshop_code=0&search_type=subcategory

Sorry, I haven't figured out how to link yet.

Also, I agree that you should not get a marked bag. My bf went out and got a brand new Akona bag with a huge frog on it, it's a beautiful bag with a lot of nice storage features but it's also an easy target. He's since started using a plain suitcase for his gear. He regrets buying the really nice Akona one.

 

[gfisher4792]

I believe you can also request that your check-in bags can be hand checked by TSA before placed on the conveyor belt. I haven't tried this yet, and I don't know if this changes their policies on locks, but it might keep your stuff from being checked/ruffled through when you're not around.

 

[DEEPLOU]

Locks vs. zip ties: Aside from TSA if someone wants to get into your luggage, no luggage lock is going to stop them. Most luggage locks have simple mechanisms that the "shady" could unlock and relock and you wouldn't know until you unpack and find something missing. A high quality luggage lock is like a zip tie, they can break it, but you will immediately notice it when the bag is picked up.
TSA will leave a note inside and put a special zip tie on the zipper of inspected luggage.
I think every time I have gone through security w/ reg in carryon I have been stopped and given the "3rd degree" inspection. It seems there is something about that large chunk of metal they see on the Xray.

Back to the original: I pack in a "Dive Bag" it is not marked except the mfg: "Akona". However, I also pack a mesh bag to use on the boats when I reach my destination.

 

[Rick Inman]

This year I'll even take a pony this way (valve removed).

I just got PM'd, saying you can't take pony bottles any more - even empty with the valve off. Augh! Maybe I'll pre-ship it to Hawaii.

 

[MaresMan1]

The TSA has now approved certain locks that they can open but they won't have to cut off, I've included to link to the ones that they have at Brookstone but they have them cheeper elsewhere.

http://www.brookstone.com/shop/prod...=496&quickshop_code=0&search_type=subcategory

Sorry, I haven't figured out how to link yet.

Also, I agree that you should not get a marked bag. My bf went out and got a brand new Akona bag with a huge frog on it, it's a beautiful bag with a lot of nice storage features but it's also an easy target. He's since started using a plain suitcase for his gear. He regrets buying the really nice Akona one.

Gem,

Be very careful about these new locks as we have heard that the bad guys already have keys for these locks. As DeepLou stated, if they really want to get your bag, they will, this is just a deterant. So far we have been lucky with the Master locks that we use. We just wait for the TSA to scan the bags. If they have no questions, we are good to go.

Don't throw that Akona bag away. Time to get out the BIG BLACK PERMANANT MARKER, and practice your tracing skills. I did this on my bags and blocked out the neon signs. I also painted my initials over the labels, with white reflective paint. I can spot the bags a mile away. Hope that helps.

Dive Smart; Dive Safe
Enjoy the ride
:cool1: