How do you pack your gear for vacation?

Rooinater · Post by **Rooinater** » Thu Mar 29, 2012 11:45 am

Ok, so the last couple times I traveled with scuba gear it required throwing it in a sea bag and boarding a ship... I've never flew with a whole kit of gear beyond snorkel gear and renting the rest when I got there. I have some classes rescheduled from last year (due to my knee injury last year) to this June where I'll be flying with everything short of my doubles to Florida.

So my question is what are your opinions on packing a backplate, regs, fins, spools, drysuit (neoprene), and the rest of my gear for my trip to florida? I know there is a bunch of you that regularly travel there, along with some of you who just keep a second set of gear in florida. :p Should I just find a couple roller luggage bags and pack the gear in it? The main things I'm looking for is suggestions for packing the gear so it's not damaged, legally packed for flight, splitting the weight between bags and ready to go when I get there. I do know I need to carry on my 35 watt can light, and supposedly a 20ah lithium pack is ok to fly with. What else do you routinely put in the carry on? Thank you in advance.

CaptnJack · Post by **CaptnJack** » Thu Mar 29, 2012 11:49 am

Where are you going in FL?

I pack my drysuit, fins and (minimal) clothes in a checked bag which ends up being 49lbs. All my lights, regs, and accessories go in carry-on which ends up being about 75lbs.

eliseaboo · Post by **eliseaboo** » Thu Mar 29, 2012 12:02 pm

I don't let my (also neoprene) drysuit out of my sight when I go to CA! I have a duffel it fits in nicely with my camera, mask, light, and some clothes, and it's small enough to fit in any overhead bin. But most people I know check their drysuits, I am just extraordinarily protective of it!

I carry on my reg, computer, and logbook in my backpack, which also no one tries to gate check. A lot of times they want to gate check anything with wheels...everything else goes in another checked duffel bag and it's usually under 40lbs, but I dive a BCD. I also rarely have (or need) more than a few sets of clothing when I am going on a trip with dive gear.

Rooinater · Post by **Rooinater** » Thu Mar 29, 2012 12:08 pm

High Springs, FL for cavern through basic cave, and 3 days of guided dives at apprentice level, or continue on to apprentice if all is well. Hopefully I'll be doing a lot more skill oriented dives between now and june to finish all the little details of fine tuning...

CaptnJack · Post by **CaptnJack** » Thu Mar 29, 2012 12:16 pm

I have had to gate check my carry-on many times. Its always been fine. I am usually bringing 4 regs (2 backgas, 1 for deco gas and 1 for a stage) so that's one reason it ends up so heavy. I actually want to check my suit and fins, they are heavy, bulky and rentable at my destination if they end up awol.

LCF · Post by **LCF** » Thu Mar 29, 2012 3:03 pm

We buy roller duffles from Costco -- they're about $39. Two of them will hold all the gear for a cave diving trip and enough clothes to get by. Light heads, gauges, and camera stuff go in the carry-on. If we didn't take camera stuff, we could get more in the carry-on, and if we packed to the absolute limit, I think we could probably get stuff down to one bag. But in the grand scheme of what it costs to buy airfare to FL and rent a place to stay and a car and pay for a class and tank rental and fills . . . an extra bag charge really doesn't amount to much.

CaptnJack · Post by **CaptnJack** » Thu Mar 29, 2012 3:33 pm

Depending on the airline you're charged for the first bag now, at least domestically. MX its different.

raptor · Post by **raptor** » Thu Mar 29, 2012 3:33 pm

I am going to high springs next month. I will be putting high end in back pack and the rest in big rolling bag.

Jeff Pack · Post by **Jeff Pack** » Thu Mar 29, 2012 5:06 pm

I have a big Akona diving bag, biggest they make.

Downside, its considered by some airlines as too big, and they do weird crap with it, and you never know if it'l show on the escalator or not (if not, it goes into the penalty area). Sometimes they charge you for it's size as well.

scubnewb · Post by **scubnewb** » Thu Mar 29, 2012 5:43 pm

I think the best way is to just ship it UPS or Fedex ahead of you so you dont have to travel with it.

raptor · Post by **raptor** » Thu Mar 29, 2012 6:05 pm

I looked into shipping and it will not save you $ and you lose your gear for min of two weeks.

Rooinater · Post by **Rooinater** » Thu Mar 29, 2012 6:11 pm

Yeah, from what I was being told it will be a lot more expensive to ship it and I'll be diving like a mad man from graduation till a couple days before leaving (just enough to get the suit dry). So if anyone is wanting to dive for a couple days straight working on skills let me know.

raptor · Post by **raptor** » Thu Mar 29, 2012 6:19 pm

Not sure what your schedule is but for the next two weeks I will be doing the same. I have been playing with reels a lot and skills ie s drill ,valve drill and a few other things.

Rooinater · Post by **Rooinater** » Thu Mar 29, 2012 7:13 pm

I'm diving Saturday in the lake for fun and maybe some skills, and next week I might be able to actually dive midweek once or twice since I supposedly start a credit/no credit clinical rotation so I should be able to squeeze a couple mid-week dives in. I'll send you my contact info, I don't have a scooter or anything though... yet...

coulterboy · Post by **coulterboy** » Thu Mar 29, 2012 7:22 pm

I think by now, you got a good feel of how you really wanna pack and haul your gear based on the very good advices. The question is, how much clothes do you really wanna take with you? That will dictate what gear you can, and can't take with you on your trip. Back in 1995, I hauled all my gear to the Philippines (including an A80 tank), and only had carry on for clothes. I bought clothes while I was there. I came home with all the gear, minus the tank, which I sold. But then again, back in the days, you were allowed two 50 lb. checked in luggages for an international flight, aside from the carry ons.

Off topic, I too am a Clinical Laboratory Scientist, 26 years and going. Any advices you need, give me a shoutout.

Enjoy your trip.

Jeff Pack · Post by **Jeff Pack** » Thu Mar 29, 2012 9:50 pm

raptor wrote:I looked into shipping and it will not save you $ and you lose your gear for min of two weeks.

How do you figure 2 weeks? UPS at 50 pounds is like 5 days.

Rooinater · Post by **Rooinater** » Thu Mar 29, 2012 9:59 pm

Thank you guys for the suggestions! I think I'll be meshing what CaptnJack and LCF mentioned. I'll get a Costco luggage or from Ross and check my drysuit and such. I'll get a proper sized carry-on and see what all I can cram in it. Hopefully I remember to remove my little knife off of the waist belt when I start stuffing the backplate and regulators in the carry-on. I didn't think I could get away with that heavy of a carry on!

The company I'm flying with allows a carry on and one checked bag to 60lbs. I also see your point LCF on the extra expense of the extra bag, An extra luggage bag is only fraction of the cost of the trip. But another $120 for fills, food and gear is always welcomed by not checking an extra bag! This trip is my graduation gift to myself.

Coulterboy, so you are a Clinical Laboratory Scientist? We should go dive sometime.

raptor · Post by **raptor** » Thu Mar 29, 2012 10:37 pm

It has to dry and you would not want to risk it being late then no gear for class so "two weeks no gear"

camerone · Post by **camerone** » Thu Mar 29, 2012 10:51 pm

A few other things you might find helpful:

If you go with a "scuba" bag, remove the gaudy scuba logos or paint over them. Less of a target on the ramp or luggage claim carousel for sticky fingers.
Neoprene drysuits are heavy. If you can afford it, a even a used trilam is much better for both caving and traveling. The neoprene will never dry out in Florida, which means you need a few spare pounds of capacity for the water that will still be in the suit when you travel home. Weigh your suit after the dive and when it's dry to estimate how much you'll need in "spare" capacity to get home. The other issue: in a trilam, with an AL plate, I can dive with between 0-6 lbs of lead (OC steels for 0, 6 for the more buoyant rebreather.) You'll probably need lead with the neoprene.
Depending on your drysuit, consider putting a fresh set of wrist seals on before you go. I use dry gloves up here, but bare hands there. My wrist seals were stretched out by the usual rings on the suit, and leaked the whole time I was in Florida. Yuck. Lesson learned.
Cave country dive shops rent pretty good gear, unlike recreational dive shops in the rest of the world, which usually have crap I wouldn't trust my life to. Plates, wings, stage regs, etc, can all be obtained for cheap down there. If you find yourself close to weight limits, consider renting gear down there for some stuff.
Buy yourself a small digital luggage scale like this: http://www.amazon.com/Mitaki-ELSCLUG-Mi ... B004079ZVE and use it when packing. It'll save you grief at the airport.
Be prepared to be swabbed at the airport during the TSA section. Can light batteries look a lot like bombs, unfortunately. Sometimes you get cool TSA folks who actually know something and "get it", but don't count on it. Pack expecting to have to pull the light out.
If you pack a knife on your goodman handle - the Tekna mini tucked into a goodman handle is a standard item for caving - remember to take it out before security and check it. Don't ask why I've gone through a few of these.
If you skimp on anything, skimp on clothes. High Springs haute couture involves flip flops, a T-shirt, and swim/board shorts.
Pack two extra little squeeze bottles in your luggage - http://www.amazon.com/Wilton-6-Ounce-Me ... B0000VMBF6 or the like. One is for vinegar/water to wash out your pee valve. The other is for a 50/50 mix of dilute boric acid and isopropyl alcohol for your ears after every dive in the springs. Use both bottles religiously to stay happy.
Finally, Rubbermaid makes some really nice plastic tubs that are strong and light. They're not as good as pelican cases, but they weigh a lot less. I pack one with the rebreather and one with other dive gear, and it's worked out pretty well for me . I think the line is "Roughneck" or something like that, but it's worth looking into if you prefer something more substantial than a roller duffel.

Most importantly - have FUN! Northern Florida is one of the highlights of the diving I've done!

Oh yeah - avoid the crappy Chinese buffet in High Springs. They'd deep fry the ice water if they could figure out how to. You'll regret every moment after you eat there for a week

scubnewb · Post by **scubnewb** » Fri Mar 30, 2012 3:30 pm

Shipping can be a little spendy but for me its well worth it and you can get it shipped overnight if you want but its all about what you are willing to spend.

For me I prefer shipping as I travel alot and have expensive gear I have to take with me. I like the fact that I can insure my package and if something happens I can get everything replaced. I do not trust the airport or the employess to take great care of my things as I have lost things with them in the past. there $500 coverage that they will give for lost luggage is not worth crap.

raptor wrote:I looked into shipping and it will not save you $ and you lose your gear for min of two weeks.

CaptnJack · Post by **CaptnJack** » Fri Mar 30, 2012 4:06 pm

Ground shipping to FL takes about 8-10 business days. I would budget 10 minimum.

Kelvininin · Post by **Kelvininin** » Mon Apr 02, 2012 2:13 pm

My fiance and I just did a trip the Keys for some amazing wreck diving and general shenanigans. We packed everything but our regs and computers into checked bags. Due to work travel I am fortunate enough to be able to check two bags a head, my gear alone without cloths came to 47 pounds, but I was also packing into standard luggage, ect.

Regs, computers, and a camera was put into carry on. I took a 5 mil wet suit, warm water gloves, fins, mask, snorkel, and a gear bag, I ended up buying a bigger gear back to accommodate my BC, which is also big (Zeagle Tech). I am giving very serious thought of buying a travel BC for the next trip.

CaptnJack · Post by **CaptnJack** » Mon Apr 02, 2012 2:48 pm

an aluminum plate with wing works quite well in warm water since my destinations always have free lead anyway

Rooinater · Post by **Rooinater** » Sat Jun 16, 2012 4:51 am

Thank you guys for the advice. I wound up putting my drysuit, fins and clothes in checked luggage which came to 35lbs leaving me room for a wet drysuit on the way back. And backplate and everything else in my carry on. I even got the nice TSA lady at the scanner that got all excited about the 20amp/hr battery attached to the light saying how awesome it was... Certainly not the reaction I was expecting! We'll see about Florida's TSA next Sunday.

Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk 2

Dive Monkey · Post by **Dive Monkey** » Sat Jun 16, 2012 9:57 am

Have fun and stay safe my friend.

Northwest Dive Club