7kg carry-on limit with Jetstar

Having heard and read horror stories about the mis-treatment and even theft of various peoples' camera equipment I have decided to play safe and transport my DSLR rig as carry-on when I fly with Jetstar Airlines to Australia and then Bali later this month.

I invested in a Lowepro Vertex 300 camera bag, which is a super bag, but it weighs 3kg when empty, leaving me with just 4kg to squeeze in a D200, Aquatica housing and ports, lenses etc in order to meet the stipulated maximum weight limit for carry-on which is 7kg....... Needless to say I 'squeezed' it all in and jumped on the scales at home only to find that I was sporting an extra 13kg on my back, and that was without my 2 Ikelite strobes!

This will be the first time that I have flown with my camera, and I must say that I don't know which is making me more apprehensive, my bag being weighed at check-in (Jetstar's website says that the 7kg limit is 'strictly enforced') or the look on my girlfriend's face when I ask her to carry-on an empty bag herself incase we have to consolidate our (my) equipment!

I have looked at ways round it and the options are: leave it at home or travel with no clothes, just our scuba gear and the Vertex bag full of metal, cables and chargers!

I would be interested to hear if anyone has faced my predicament, I'm sure some seasoned travellers have a few hints and tips......'put your lenses in your pockets'....or.....'hang the camera round your neck' etc. Does anyone have experience travelling around SE Asia with Jetstar? Do they weigh every bag?

I'm hoping for some comments to help me relax a little, I think I'll soon be having nightmares about this.....!?

Hmmm, I have found the Aussie airlines a bit stricter when it comes to baggage limits. But I've never seen a carry-on weighed unless it looked seriously overweight.

I always reckon it pays to be really nice with the check-in staff and carry the carry-on as though it's as light as a feather...... or use a cabin approved-sized wheelie bag which is easy to drag along whatever the weight.

Failing that a photography vest with loads of pockets works well.

I used to go with a medium day sack and have it casually slung over a shoulder like it was as light as a feather, but that was when I was toting a Sea & Sea compact and a couple of small strobes. It still weighed in at close to 15 kgs though...

Now I travel with a Ike and couple of INONs so I use a Samsonite semi soft carry-on sized wheelie. If weighed, I wouldn't stand a chance but I make sure everything is packed well enough to probably survive a trip in the hold if push came to shove...

i have always found size to be more of an issue for carry-on with regional carriers including jetstar - not sure about their bali flights??

Whatever airline my wife and I took to Taveuni, Fiji from Nadi weighed us with and without our carryons- I found it a bit bizarre but was warned that they would do this in advance by my travel agent. The only thing I felt that it did was somewhat control carryon weight and let me know how much weight I gained during my stay there. fortunately it was in Kg so the 3 that I gained didnt seem like much. Lately I did a trip to Patagonia where carry on weight was also strictly monitored, but if you were over you were allowed to transfer stuff to checked luggage- I had an idea of how much everything weighed and had a strategy in place if a problem arose. I also had an extra lightweight backpack in my one pice of checked luggage to transfer stuff into quickly if needed- then I would just check two pieces. Go with a plan and get info from a reliable agent on how strict they are.

Just got back from Bali, via Jetstar & Qantas. Our carryons were weighed by the ticketing agent in Auckland in an attempt to get us under the 20kg/person checked bag limit. I was allowed to hand carry my housing w/ camera inside as a camera. I carried my Lowepro Orion II loaded up to the 7kg limit. After the ticket agent in Auckland, no one weighed any of our bags in Syndey, Bali, or Melbourne. The backup plan was to pay whatever it took to keep the Lowepro and housing in the cabin.