Travel for DIVING!
- Mario Previti
- Dec 1, 2021
- 5 min read
With all of our travels between myself, my team, and fellow divers of all experience levels we like to add a bit of insight on what we have done and where we have traveled.
Traveling with Dive Equipment
Diving is a very individualized sport when it comes to gear, what you are used to and competence with that gear. Scuba equipment is fairly similar but who really wants to use rental gear when you can use your own. The benefit of traveling with your own gear is you know how to use it, and that its been properly maintained to avoid accidents. In most parts of the world where you will rent gear they SHOULD have stringent requirements to maintain their equipment but you should always make sure to look throughly through each piece so there are no potential failures.
PROBLEM SOLVED!
Travel with your own gear! Most divers purchase a dedicated travel bag to use as their checked luggage. This will allow you to bring more gear then less depending on if your a gadgets diver or a bare minimum. Remember unless you have a credit card or status with an airline you may have to pay for this bag. Any luggage that fits your equpiment will do however with "diving" luggage you may be granted other luxuries like a dedicated padded regulator pocket, different compartments or straps to synch down that equipment nice and tight. However you have to remember two basic rules of checking this gear.
Your checked gear will be subject to other luggage on top of it in carrying amounts of weight and pressure. You don't want to arrive to your destination only to find your regulator broken. You can alleviate this by getting a carry on specifically for your regulator.
If you have connecting flights, there is a major potential of your luggage getting lost, arriving late, and potentially ruining the time you have there dealing with this hassle. Depending on how remote of a destination or how many connecting flights you may have this can vary.
Carry on ONLY. It can be done
If your anything like me and don't want to chance lost luggage, extra fees or damaged equipment this section may be for you. Im going to walk you through how I travel with my dive gear setup.
NOT every piece of equipment is carry on friendly or compact enough. If you currently don't own any gear and your particular to travel you may want to gather ideas on what to buy for scuba travel. This setup will vary from person to destination but it generally works for what I need. Some gear I do have to disassemble to travel. Take personal caution when disassembling your dive gear, and make sure you have appropriate knowledge doing so and at your own risk.
BCD- For my travel BCD I personally use an Aqua Lung Zuma. This is light weight, very foldable, and easy to take apart. Another great low cost option is IST- Mutineer. This has attached tropical weight slots so there are no pockets to loose. There are other back wing TEC setups with soft backplates that also make travel easy.
Fins- Traveling with fins can be the Achilles heal of packing. They are long and awkward to pack and you need to find the right bag. Three options I have reviewed for your ease of searching are the Mares- Volo Racer, Aqua Lung- Storm and the Scuba Pro Go Travel. Each has a benefit and negative but its based on personal preference
Mares- Volo Racer: These fins are a wonderful full foot design they hold the foot well with a soft feel and only take a couple dives to break them in. They are a bare foot design so not having to travel with boots is a plus. The length of this fin allows for great propulsion however this does hinder some of your packing ability.
Aqua Lung- Storm: With an open heal concept much like the booted fin designs this has a rubber backing to pull over your heel. This allows for a wider variety of foot sizing and wearing skin socks. These have a gripped texture on the fin touching the bottom of your foot so they don't slide doing your kicks. These work well with a frog kick style. These fins have good propulsion as they are made sturdy and have a very packable length. Some people may find they feel like they kick just a little more since they are shorter but are very easy to get used too.
Scuba Pro- Go Travel: These are an open heel concept as well. They come with a pre-angled fin and a good with the frog kick style of diving. The downside to the preset angle is this takes up more room in your carryon. Scuba Pro combats this with making the fins somewhat stackable. They are a good price point, and length for carryon if you want a stiffer fin.
Mask: Your perferance to masks is the same as clothing. What fits you and your comfortable with. The biggest point to this section is to make sure you have a protective case to put your mask in incase you pack a little too tight. you don't want that mask to crack, or tear a seam.
Regulator and Dive Computer: I use my standard regulator that I use for cold water or tropical. I take extra care because I have an air transmitter attached at the first stage. These can break if you don't pack correctly. Some people will remove before travel to no damage and others use a small 6" hose to allow flexibility from that moving joint.
Snorkel: I know what your thinking SNORKEL?!? Im a scuba diver why do I want that thing. I always pack a foldable snorkel because surface intervals can be quite exciting depending on where you are so I keep one with me just incase because you never know what's learning beneath.
Odds and ends: I travel with my dive light (because night diving is AMAZING) safety sausage, dive reel, whistle, extra clips, and rubber holders just incase. There will always be something that you wish you had but its a great idea to scope out your dive destination just incase for dive shops, service facilities if something happens.
Garmin InReach MINI: This is a personal preference for me. It is a portable GPS that can be kept in a water tight housing. This allows you so signal for SOS communications with a subscription. The hope is to never have to use this however in the event of any great emergency its better to have a backup.
Dive Bag: I have had many different dive bags over the years. I picked up an IST collapsable dive bag for travel. On the way to the destination it packs into itself and is quite small. With only having a carryon this is perfect because when your at your destination you don't want to lug your gear piece by piece after taking it out of your tiny carryon.
Carry on luggage: I use two pieces. One for my "carryon" and one for my "personal item". Each airline has their own regulations so I encourage you to look at the requirements you must meet prior to arriving at the airport.
Carry on: I use a Mono Xl Suitcase
Comments