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Every time I travel by plane with my freediving gear, I go through a process I’ve been perfecting over my years of traveling: I sit on my living room floor, carefully organizing and displaying all the freediving gear I need. My top priority: make sure all items are accounted for (I once packed my gear in my suitcase without actually bringing a bag to haul my gear in once I arrived) and that I haven’t forgotten anything important (like my lanyards or fins).
When it comes to traveling with gear, remember: it doesn’t all have to be in one place as you travel, as long as you are certain you have everything, what’s important is how secure it is in your bag. With that being said, keep all fragile gear in protective cases. The easiest way to be confident that you have everything you need is by doing the head-to-toe check. This is where you go through each piece of gear that you wear from your head to your toe to give your mind a visual of all the equipment you need.
My next step is essential for traveling by plane: ensure every piece of gear is in the right bag. After all, you don’t want to ditch diving knives at security because you forgot they were in your carry-on. Also, you definitely don’t want to re-live when I had to go through. When I had to trash other liquids to save my expensive bottle of reef-safe sunscreen because I didn’t realize I had thrown it in my carry-on.
If you haven’t gotten the idea yet, transporting freediving equipment can present plenty of packing conundrums and trouble to store awkwardly shaped gear, beyond what you’d expect from an average trip. So if you’re traveling with freediving gear, especially for the first time, these are the tips you need to ensure you make it through security and to your next diving site with all your stuff.
When it comes to freediving gear, there are some things that can be replaced if you lose them in your travels and some that can’t. For myself, I can’t help but keep some of my essential or custom gear in my carry on the duration of my trip. The top of my list is my wetsuit. Now, depending on your size and the thickness of your suit, this might be easier said than done. But I have heard other freedivers I know have their checked luggage lost by the airlines. For something like a customized wetsuit, I never want to risk it! I keep my 1.5mm suit rolled up and at the bottom of my carry-on for the entire journey.
The next thing on my list of carry-on gear is my Alchemy V330 carbon fiber fins. The best part about fins is that they are lightweight and are easy to handle in airports. Nearly every time I go through security, I’m asked to step to the side and have the bag examined, but this never takes more than a few minutes.
When you get to your gate with your fins, you can either have them gate-checked or bring them on board with you. Gate checking means they go in cargo but on top of the luggage to ensure they don’t get damaged. Then when you disembark you must pick them up as you leave the plane.
The second option (my preference) is to carry them with me on board, then ask the steward or stewardess to keep them in the coat closet (most all planes I’ve been on have this) or ask if there’s room in an overhead.
The final pieces of gear I often take with me in my carry-on are my dive watch, neck weight, and nose clip. My dive watch is easy, I wear it with me through the airport. The neck weight in the carry-on saves some weight in your checked bag and if you are happy with the neck weight you use, can avoid a big loss if anything were to happen to it. You can even wear it around your neck through the airport if you like! This is another piece of gear that customs agents don’t see much, so most of the time they’re going to ask what the heck it is. I explain or have a photo of me wearing it underwater on hand to keep things moving along.
The nose clip I keep simply because it’s lightweight and I have a lot of good ju ju in my favourite nose clip!
If you’re traveling by plane to freedive, there’s a good chance you’ll won’t have access to freedive specific stores or they won’t be easy to find. So anything spare gear, parts, or tools you’ll have to bring along. My essentials go as follows:
Powdered electrolytes or rehydration salts - these are essential for freedivers as we easily become dehydrated during sessions. Online you can get them for a great price.
Neoprene glue - essential to have on hand for sudden tears (I use Mcnett Black Witch glue) another one you can store easily in your carry-on if you wish.
Protective hat or hair band - keeping your head covered no matter where you go is essential if you’re in the outdoors. Keep this with you for before and after dives.
Reef-safe lube and sunscreen - if there’s a chance you are going to be in an open-lined wetsuit, bring with you a reef-safe lube to stay prepared.
Watch repair kit - in case something happens with your dive watch and there are no stores around that can help you, this is a great lightweight kit to have on hand.
When you get to your destination, find a space where you can hang all your gear to dry after your session. You’ll also want to track down a large container. Use this to soak your equipment so that it’s properly rinsed.
Lanyard care. When you travel, your lanyard will probably be stored wrapped in your bag. A great hack that I learned to keep your lanyard from kinking is to hang it when you get to your destination. Attach your lanyard carabiner to the hanger and at the bottom attach the neck weight to the velcro wrist strap. This will keep your lanyard nice and kink-free.
When it comes to packing, practice makes perfect. If you think you’ll be traveling regularly it’s great to keep your past traveling lists packed away for your next adventure!