TravelingWith Dive Gear: Tips And Tricks

If you are a hard-bitten diver, you are aware that your equipment is delicate and costly. Travelling with it calls for particular care and attention to make sure your gear arrives in one whole and to avoid ridiculous baggage charges. These pointers and ideas might be of use.

1. Don't stuff everything into one bag

Hardcore divers are aware that their love of diving comes with a cost: hauling about pricey, weighty, delicate equipment. Travelling with dive gear can be difficult, particularly in light of airlines' tougher baggage weight limits and size restrictions. Light travel helps you avoid some of the headaches. To save the additional baggage charges and probable damage in transit, bring a small neoprene wetsuit and think about leasing cylinders and weights at your location. Just pack the basics: your wetsuit, regulator, mask, scuba tank, and other required supplies. Rolling instead than folding your wetsuit will help you to save space; if necessary, place accessories in the fin pockets. A wise decision also is to leave DSMBs and line cutters at home and bring just dry batteries. Some masks have relatively low internal volume, hence you can even save room by carrying a spare. Also a fantastic tip is to clearly mark your bags with stickers and name the contents.

2. Pack Light

Particularly if your bag is overweight and liable to additional fees, travelling with scuba gear can be costly. Emphasise the basics instead of stuffing everything you can possibly need. To save room, think about taking the inflator hose off your BCD and carrying it separately. For a nominal charge most diving centres may do this. Useful tools to have also are a lightweight line-cutter, a set of medical shears, and a toolkit. It's also a smart idea to pack a tiny "save-a-dive" pack. This could include a mouthpiece, fin strap, backup mask strap, ear plugs and a tank o-ring repair kit. Most airlines offer somewhat substantial luggage allowances for diving equipment, however these are subject to occasional revision. Before you reserve your flight, be sure to review the airline policies. You can so pack appropriately and know what to expect. Investing in a luggage scale also helps you avoid being caught off guard about airline baggage fees.

3. Verify that it is dry

Travelling with dive gear that is not dry could cause issues and postpone your vacation. This is a fantastic incentive to have a gear specific carry-on bag that can hold all of your equipment and maintain separation. Furthermore, it's a good idea to arrange all of your stuff such that it's readily available for airport inspection. For regulators especially, masks and BCDs are especially true. Having all of your equipment in operating order is also a smart concept. See whether your O-rings, valves and hoses need patching or replacement by quickly running a check of them. Check your drysuit also to make sure the neoprene is creased free and that all the zippers are operating as they should. To keep your gear in perfect working order on your way to your diving location, you also need include a save-a-dive kit with items including a spare mask strap, fin strap, mouthpiece, zip ties, ear drops and silicone grease.

4. Maintain Safety

Careful packing of your equipment considerably lowers the possibility of damage in transit. A few pointers consist of: Keep things like masks isolated to prevent them collecting colours from other equipment (we have all had the experience of black gloves or blue pants creating markings on our beautiful clear silicone dive mask). You really should pack a little save-a-dive kit in your carry-on bag. It should comprise extras straps, snorkel bungs, zip ties, and a set of spare rubber o-rings. Always carry with you in case you need them your dive logs, certifications, travel insurance paperwork, aeroplane tickets. Also logical is to keep a duplicate of your scuba diving medical certificate handy for overseas emergency care. Before you reserve your flights, keep in mind to review the baggage weight and size restrictions of the airline. Since your last trip, they might have changed; the hefty allowance you used could now be a thing of the past!