Travelling Tips

Having been to the Red Sea during the last month without my baggage (it spent most of the week in London) I learned a few things:

1) have distinctive bags! My aluminium box stood out a mile meaning the guys in London could see it while actually on the phone to me in Egypt. Yellow bags may not be cool, but will help the luggage guys spot them amongst the sea of black hold-alls.

2) double lable bags. plus put you perminent address on the inside too.

2) get all the contact numbers for the lost luggage offices at all the airports you will visit before you fly.

3) travel with your mobile/cell phone. It is very helpful to be able to get straight through to people without having to find a phone

4) Contrary to one of my earlier posts the reason my case containing my D100 and F100 housings didn't make the plane is that I put it down the fragile items luggage shute in the airport and it was never reunited with the other bags. So maybe it is best to send boxes down the main luggage shute?

I'm off to Cayman at the end of the week, I know my cameras are already there with the advance part of the family who flew out at the start of the month. Unfortunately with Heathrow in a mess it looks like I might be the one not too make it this time!

Alex

Having done 7 or 8 Transpacific flights with dive gear over the past 5 years, here's my suggestion, long haul transpacific flights have 2 x 70lb check-in bag allowances:

1) I avoid the big Pelican cases, they simply scream out as "I'm carrying something worth protecting, therefore, I'm carrying something expensive". However, even after all the security issues, you are allowed to lock you bags flying out of Vancouver and most Pacific departures. It's only flying out of the US do you have to go through the TSA.

2) I've been using the Rubbermaid Action Packer in various iterations, My last one did 5 trips since 2000. They've served as not only as baggage, but rinse tanks and seats (while waiting for the boats to pick us up). I travel with 1 action packer and 1 large beat up suit case with the Pelican 1520 inside (containing 1 Subal housing, 2 S&S YS 120's, Subal ports). The Peli takes up half the suitcase and I have room for clothing.

3) My way of packing the action packer: BC on the bottom, chargers, strobe arms, regs etc in a 12x8x6 Rubbermaid food container wrapped inside the BC cumberbund, regs, lights, clothing piled around the container, wetsuit and fins on top. Though for my November trip, my 10D housing will go into the Pelican and the film housing will be inside a padded soft cooler inside the rubbermaid.

4) In a Lowepro Phototrekker pack: 2 Canon SLR bodies, 5 lenses, film, Sony Vaio Laptop.

My 2 cents...

Stu

laptop allowances for men is not fair. Us females have to carry both the puters, cameras AND 6kg of waterproof makeup (that's what we have in the mystical purse, if you ever wondered)

For 10 days away... the backpack is self explanatory (hand carry 11kg) , the pelican is self explanatory (hold 15 kg), the large black bag is my dive gear (hold 14 kg) and the little black bag at the front is my clothes and toiletries for 10 days (handcarry if I do not get caught, 5kg) ..... thats the nice thing about uw photog - you save a fortune on clothes

Very cool! Thanks for posting the photos.

But what are all those little white cylinders in your hard case?????

Cheers

James

These are this strange memory cards... they have only place for approx 36 Pictures and can be used only once ;-)

Everyone gets the same personal item. Women can carry a laptop and men can carry a purse. I personally use a backpack as the world's largest laptop case and have never been challanged on it.

Disposable underwear!

Whitehead: I see your ports and stuff... but where is the housing body? Is it lower down in the hard case, or in your scuba gear bag?

Wonder if there is an option on getting "special attention and gentle care" if you pay extra, anyone heard of such?

Its in the ruksack below the camera bodies as you look at the photo - also the handles and arm tops are in the rucksack - purely because they have a combined weight of 2.2 Kg - if I was flying a shorterhaul I would have the housing in the Peli (where the torches are now). My D70 housing arrives on the 20th, the day I get back (typical!) so will have to restructure the packing again for the next trip.

Hi boys and girls,

I was linked to this board from www.digideep.com, where I was asking for information on cases. Being new to this board, I went through all the info in this thread, looking for the ultimate sollution for me. After I spent a lot more time in thinking and looking at the dimensions of the housing, that has not even arrived yet I think I found my sollution, and I want to share it with you in case it may be a sollution for other people as well:

I am going to buy several different sized plastic boxes (perhaps two or three), like these from curver (picture from www.curver.com):

Then I put some foam in there, which was cut according to the shape of the housing, flash, port, etc.

And all this I put in here (I just ordered it for 289€ from www.leder-shop24.de):

This case is is sized: 79x56x28 a huge case made of aluminium, weighing just below 5kg. I looked at a similar case at my local dealer, and they seem very rigid.

I think the advantages are:

- Protection: the equipment is protected by the suitcase, the plastic cases and the foam. I can even put some cloths between the suitcase and the plastic boxes. So there shouldn´t be a huge difference in protection, especially if you place the plasic boxes in the corners with one fin at the top and onther on the bottom. For even better protection you could put another foam between the suitcase and the plastic boxes.

Disadvantages may be:

What do you think?

Hi,

Thanks for sharing your ideas. Do you have photos of the foam and the different dividers that you use inside the case?

Thanks

James

James, I don´t have the case yet, I just ordered everything. I will post it when I am ready with everything. If I forget it would be kind if somebody could give me a reminder.

OK, now everything has arrived, and I allready did the clipping of the foam.

Here is the first picture:

I didn´t expect the suitcase being that big.

Since my dome port will not arrive until mid of september, I used a smaller plasticbox for storing strobe and flat port.

In the case: the two boxes with the camera gear, 2x1,5mm titanium wetsuits (which lay on top and at the bottom to protect the boxes), 2xfins, 2xmasks, 2xsnorkels, 2xneoprene boots, detached grip of the housing, strobe arm...

And guess what: the whole suitcase is weighing 21,5kg which is 47,4lbs, if I converted it right, and it is easy to close, without standing on it. This is just what every airline will allow. In the other suitcase will be the rest we need for the journey.

I have allready bought a bigger plastic box. Once the dome port has arrived, the masks, neoprene boots, snorkels, detached grip need to move into the other suitcase.

Interesting reading, I remember when I travelled from Jeddah to Manado in 1996 with 32 Kg of hand luggage :shock:

It really is getting tougher and I was interested in the use of Rubbermaid Action Packers as I use one for my local dives here in UAE and Oman as it prevents my vehicle gettting wet from the dive gear after a dive (the housings have their own towels and seat belts) - Lesson learnt from Jeddah when I rusted through the bottom of my Pajero :roll:

Normally I use a normal suitcase (Carlton or Samsonite) for my dive gear and clothes with the housing going in there too.

Cameras + lenses+ additional stuff in a Lowe-Pro rucksack - cabin baggage

Strobes+ dive computer and additional stuff in a UK yellow case - cabin baggage

I never use a dive bag with any advertising on it as it basically states this is full of dive gear - steal me

Additionally I have found that British Airways, Emirates and Singapore Airlines have been very generous to me with baggage allowance if I call them beforehand as there is an additional 10Kg allowance for sport equipment.

"p.p.s. The other trick is too be charming/flirty or friendly - You look down, they know you're lying and up, they know you don't know the truth. Don't use seven words when four will do. Don't shift your weight, look always at your mark but don't stare, be specific but not memorable, be funny but don't make him laugh. He's got to like you then forget you the moment you've left his side. And for God's sake, whatever you do, don't, under any circumstances"

thanks for the tips you use, i always find it more credible and useful to hear tips that someone is ACTUALLY using. Everybody has something to say, but its another thing entirely to actually put them to use, and quite frequently in your case I would assume too. Loved the Oceans 11 ref. too! made me laugh.

....

Quote

 

And for God's sake, whatever you do, don't, under any circumstances

 

You made me curious ;-)

Stare at her breasts?

Having done 7 or 8 Transpacific flights with dive gear over the past 5 years, here's my suggestion, long haul transpacific flights have 2 x 70lb check-in bag allowances:

 

1) I avoid the big Pelican cases, they simply scream out as "I'm carrying something worth protecting, therefore, I'm carrying something expensive". However, even after all the security issues, you are allowed to lock you bags flying out of Vancouver and most Pacific departures. It's only flying out of the US do you have to go through the TSA.

 

2) I've been using the Rubbermaid Action Packer in various iterations, My last one did 5 trips since 2000. They've served as not only as baggage, but rinse tanks and seats (while waiting for the boats to pick us up). I travel with 1 action packer and 1 large beat up suit case with the Pelican 1520 inside (containing 1 Subal housing, 2 S&S YS 120's, Subal ports). The Peli takes up half the suitcase and I have room for clothing.

 

3) My way of packing the action packer: BC on the bottom, chargers, strobe arms, regs etc in a 12x8x6 Rubbermaid food container wrapped inside the BC cumberbund, regs, lights, clothing piled around the container, wetsuit and fins on top. Though for my November trip, my 10D housing will go into the Pelican and the film housing will be inside a padded soft cooler inside the rubbermaid.

 

4) In a Lowepro Phototrekker pack: 2 Canon SLR bodies, 5 lenses, film, Sony Vaio Laptop.

 

 

My 2 cents...

 

Stu

Some suggestions from my experience:

1° don't mark your dive luggage as dive luggage, it is a invitation to steal it

2° TSA will open your luggage anyway and make a bad disorder inside

3° TSA will brake your lock if the can't open it "in time", they broke me 2 TSA approved padlocks

I have

- the housings in one huge Samsonite soft suitcase inside a Pelicase together with dive gear

- ports, strobes, cameras, lenses, hard disks, cellphones, laptop, chargers, spare parts, etc inside a photo backpack

- arms, trays, etc are wrapped in bubble foil and stuffed between the clothes and/or dive gear

Chris

As others have said, since the main purpose off the trip is photography it's better to have your gear with you on the plane. I carry a Storm case, a backpack (with dome wrapped in towels, laptop, misc connectors) and a photo vest. My vest can get pretty heavy loaded with lenses but has big pockets for strobe heads (minus battery pack in storm case).

That way if my dive gear doesn't make it in checked baggage I can still get by on rental gear.