The Scotte vest will take it, It has a huge pocket in the back. You might walk funny though, and don't forget it's back there and decide to sit down quickly.

Steve

OK many thanks Steve I will check into them. I did just find this monster on the net - Khumbu Vest

I just packed my LowePro roller bag.
1-Complete Ikelite housing for the D-200 with ports for 60mm and 105MM, UCLS tray, 4 9" STIX arms and clamps, 2 Ikelite Ds-125 strobes and 2 Ikelite chargers, 3 Ikelite batteries and Ikelite dual and single strobe cord.
2-Complete Seatool housing for the D-300 complete with Seatool tray, 4 9" STIX arms and clamps and 2 INON Z-240 strobes. Ports for 60mm and 105mm
3-Complete Olympus housing for the e-330 with UCLS tray, Athena ttl converter plus Athena TTl converter and cord plus backup cord, UCLS arms (2) with stix floats and clamps and INON Z-240 strobe.
4-Various tools and housing cleaning stuff and multiple backup O rings plus an aluminum block and (2) Ikelite cords to convert Ikelite dual strobe setup for use with athena on the E-330 setup.

Everything is carefully packed and protected using the lowepro dividers and foam. I am off to Bali and Wakatobi in March with three complete camera setups. My wife and I have learned that a spare is necessary.

The only pieces of camera equipment I couldnt get in was the 8" Ikelite dome and the AA rechargable batteries and chargers. I still have room and am up to only 63 pounds so I can get another 7 pounds in the outside pocket.

Solution: Be an elite flyer on Continental or fly fitst class. What's the problem?.........Oh.......and find a scuba diving, picture taking wife that made lots of money and received a generous retirement. It's not so hard and she's pretty too.

Now you tell me Tom......,

Hey Redseadiver, that vest is big enough to put all your dive gear in too. I'd hate to see the look on the poor guys face sitting next to you. Good stuff.

Cheers,
Steve

Is the philippines the only country where they weigh the traveller with their carry on? My girlfriend is not a massive fan of this being generally much bigger than filipino girls and them shouting the weight out to some dude who writes it down. Never been charged for this but maybe its the way to go? Surely the weight of the person is just as important as the weight of the bag?

Olly

I also use a vest, multiple pocket pants and multple pocket coat. I never check anything that would compromise underwater photography, which is why I don´t like Cor´s or David´s plans. I had a Maumere - Sorong trip and Singapore airlines lost all of our (Luisa and I) check in but, thankfully, we had all the uwp gear with us along with a toothbrush and another guest had contact lens liquid...

I approach the counter looking like Santa Claus and, after checking in, I put everything back in a Lowepro computrekker and a thin but big bag (that was inside the lowe pro at the time of checking). Last Christmas I went all the way to Kaimana with no problem with two subtronic novas, two YS250pros, D300 hugyfot, flat and dome ports, arms, cords, chargers, lenses etc... around 30 kg carry on. Not comfortable at all but gives some peace of mind.

I would not mind very much paying for an extra check in but I just don´t trust handling companies and, the longer the trip, the worse the odds.

I reckon I can fit the housing in the big pocket on the lower right, 4" dome port and a lens in the lower left pocket, a couple of more lenses and the portable hard drives in the top pocket, and I've emailed them about a detachable pocket on the back for a 17 inch notebook - they emailed back and said it should be doable. I normally put two Inon Z240's in my cargo pants pockets, along with various other bits and pieces. The rest can go in a roller carry-on.

I can't figure out why the airlines have this stuff totally backwards. They should charge for carry-ons and allow checked luggage for free. It would free up overhead room and put most luggage in the luggage compartments and important, must-have items would be properly protected in the overhead. I'd much rather pay for my carry-ons than checked.

So after some thought. This is how I am traveling with my setup. Everything packed secure in a Pelican 1564 then inside a generic canvas bag. All insured of course. I could have fit everything in a carry on but dive travel is supposed to be fun... and going through customs/security is anything but fun with heavy camera equipment that has a chance of being forced into the belly of the plane anyways. I know being at your destination with no camera is no fun either, but thats a chance I am willing to take!

I try to plan my trips with a day or two pad from when I land in case of a delay in luggage. The Pelican is a bit smaller than a lot that I see people use but still has plenty of space for anything I might want to add and is great heavy duty storage at home.

Click to view attachment

Very nicely done! Please let us know how it works out on the first trip. I'm curious how the security folks at LAX will react to the canvas bag covering a bunch of electronics. I'm still confused by the batteries. I've heard that some folks are getting to their location and finding the batteries have been removed. Did you consider putting them in your carry on?

Thanks for the picture and all the work to label your stuff!

Steve

Lithium batteries either have to be in the equipment or in carry-on. In some areas standard batteries must be OUTSIDE of the equipment, particulary flashlights because of the danger from fire if they inadvertently turn on. My solution is to pack all Ni-MH batteries in a plastic holder and pack all li batteries in carryon.

Yes. I have heard the same. Lithium batteries are check-in only or in the equipment. All my batteries are Eneloops, Ni-MH so just have them in a plastic holder in my checked pelican and assuming they will be fine...

We came into the US with about 60 checked NiMH batteries and did not end up quantanamo. We packed all batteries in 1 box, tightly packed in special packaging for AA batteries so they cant make contact.

http://www.sistemaplastics.com/#/details/2/4 are ideal for carrying 24 AAs

I have found that a backpack carry-on is less likely to be scrutinized than a wheeled carry-on. I recently switched from a Tamrac 692 (roller) to a Tamrac Adventure 8 (I believe). I can carry everything to shoot one lens w/ 2 strobes.



When catching Liat in San Juan, they weighed most carry-ons but did not look twice at my backpack....which was HEAVY!

Dave

Chalk one up for human nature. If you able to stand in line with a heavy pack slung on your shoulders without a pained expression on your face, they are likely going to assume (key word there) that it is not heavy. Note: It's even more convincing if you can do it with a smile

The Tamrac Adventure 8 is a bag not a backpack so I'm not sure which one you have. I've just ordered a LowePro Vertex 300 AW. What would be really handy to know is how thick (front to back) a backpack can you squeeze into the overhead bins - I might have to take a tape measure with me next time I fly.

It is a Tamrac CyberPack 8 (I knew it had an 8 in the name).

http://www.akona.com/product.php?product_id=270

This is an option as well.

I have put my Lowepro order on hold while I find out some more about this backpack - Tamrac Expedition 9x

I for one never use Pelicans as I think they are an invitation to robbery and just scream "expensive gear inside"! So I carry as much as I can with me, which is usually my camera, lenses, housing and ports. I used to carry them inside a regular plain Samsonite rolling carry-on bag, but a lot of airlines started weighing them (as Dave says a couple of posts above), and mine usually weighs 15kg, which is no good.

So, during my last trip to the Philippines with a photographer friend he had a back pack with about the same gear that I had PLUS his laptop. His backpack weighed like 3kg more than my carry-on, but because it was a backpack nobody in the airline counter even asked to weigh it, they just waved him by. I was not so lucky as they were weighing all rolling carry-ons and I had to check mine in. I am seriously considering getting a backpack with a laptop compartment for my next trip then.

The expedition 9x above looks good, but the Expedition 8x looks even better to me. It is slightly smaller, but has a laptop compartment.

I would look at the Think Tank Street Walker Hard Drive. Weighs 4lbs, lets you carry 1 extra lens or body. Holds more than my Lowepro Phototrekker. Then again, I don't carry on the housing and strobes, those go into checked luggage inside a Pelican, inside a battered 10 year old suitcase.

s.

For what it's worth, I suggest all of you men out there start carrying around a murse. Yes, I said it, a murse, aka: man purse.
My last couple of trips I've carried my dome port and (x2) strobes in my giant, trendy purse. Doesn't get weighed ; )

I used to carry a photo backpack, and it's true, if you have a backpack, hardly ever do the airlines make you weigh it.
But, my shoulders just can't take it after 24+ hours of travel anymore. So now I have a black roller bag with padded photo compartments and a large trendy purse.

If I really tried I think I could get a whole assembly into a giant purse. Might make the x-ray screeners nervous though . . .

Abi, you are my new hero. I am going to Target immediately for an inexpensive decoy purse. That could really save me on trips to Asia!!

We miss you at UPS/sushi/sake nights, by the way - you should come back for a visit

Allison

Hi Abi,
How about we call it a shoulder bag? I'm already carrying my wife's purse through the airport anyway. I think she takes her weights in it but I'm afraid to look.

I will take the "shoulder bag" idea under advisement. Does the Think Tank Urban Disguise count? Lord help us if Coach starts making gear bags.

By the way, I see the exalted title of Moderator under your name now. Very cool, congrats!

Cheers,
Steve

Hi Allison, I'm heading down that way at the end of this month, but I think I'm teaching the night of the SDUPS meeting, bummer. There is a chance I will be down in March again . . . I will let you know.

Steve, Ok, we can call it a shoulder bag.

I think the key is creating the illusion to the gate agent that the carry-on and murse, I mean shoulder bag, is light and we are not photographers.
Hawaiian air says on their website that the carryon shouldn't weigh more than 25 lbs., and that doesn't include a camera OR a "handbag or pocketbook". So, theoretically, if the urban disguise bag looks like a "handbag or pocketbook", but has some heavy lenses, or strobes crammed in, they may not weigh it. See where I'm going?

That's why I think all the men should get murses rather than bags that look like laptop bags that will be weighed.

They also say that a "foot rug" is not included in the carry on weight. So maybe we could just roll up all the gear into a rug and walk boldly up to the counter!

So I packed the Pelican 1564, decided to forgo the canvas outer bag, and checked it in with zip ties for extra security. I had a note to TSA inside with extra zip ties in case the wanted to open and check it. 6 Asia international flights and 10 days later I am back in LA and all the gear is safe and sound. Not one flight did the ties get cut or the case searched. I know this is all down to luck/which flights/destinations. But this is what I am sticking to!

Congrats, Hope you had a good trip.

Steve

Hi to all,

Is there anyone who tried the Tamrac Expedition 8 or 9?
I would like to know if I can pack the following:

- Aquatica housing D90
- nikon D90
- 8" dome
- macro port
- 2 x Ikelite DS 160
- 2 x Ikelite DS 160 spare battery
- Tokina 10-17mm
- Sigma 17-70mm
- Nikon 60mm
- MacBook Pro 15"
- miscellaneous stuff

Any picture of the bag packed would be appreciated.

Thank you for your feedback.

Damien

I have a Street Walker HD.. very light... tall sides (holds a pro body standing upright no worries)... packs more than my photo trekker or vertex ever did, and looks smaller to boot.

The Expedition 9 doesn't hold a laptop, and the depth of the 8x limits how many overhead lockers that it will fit in.

An addition to this topic has been given by my wife!

Wear your pocket weight belt thru the airport, and fill the pockets with lenses, chargers, or whatever!

Brilliant!

That is brilliant - I have an Apollo pocket weight belt that weighs a ton and the pockets hold their shape. Could probably fit spare camera batteries, teleconverter, 500D close up lens, and lots of other little bits. The buckle is metal though so I will have to take it off for the walk-thru metal detector.

With my vest, cargo pants and backpack I usually look like a suicide bomber, but add the weightbelt and they will start to think that Rambo has taken up photography!

CJ and I are flying out in a couple of weeks for a Red Sea safari.

The usual carrier from UK to Egypt is Thomsonfly who grant divers an additional 5kg baggage allowance making 25kgs each. Our two soft dive bags (Vango Cargo 90's) and small clothes bag (Vango Cargo 45) just come inside that 50 kg total but our two hard Samsonite camera cases have incurred a 20kg pre-booked surcharge of £100.00 (£25.00 per 5kgs).

Our shoulder bags (Scierra) just comply with carry-on size and weight regulations (5kgs) and my and CJ's cargo pants and Orvis Travel Vests are stuffed! I even strip our regulators and we carry a couple of first stages each in our pockets.

Alex Mustard's tip about putting your tickets and passport in the laptop case so it is not weighed with the carry-on works a treat. Thanks Alex ;-)

So what do you do, send the vest through x-ray and empty the pockets of the cargo pants and send them through? Sounds like a good idea, but does it work?

Is that tip on here somewhere? I can't seem to remember reading about it.

The trick is to put your laptop in a neoprene slip and keep your tickets and passport in the slip too. At check-in take the laptop out of your carry-on, put it on the counter top and take out your tickets and passports. When the clerk asks you to put your carry-on on to the scales, its weighed 'sans laptop' ;-) Nice one Alex!

I also have my custom sewn in pocket on the inside of my coat to put the lap top in just in case!

I just got thru check in and customs, in my 20k bag was 21k of all my dive equipment Strobe arms and a couple of vests and shorts. In my 7kg hand luggage was 8kg of housing batteryless strobes and 2 ports. I am wearing My half a kilo coat that went thru at 6 kilos with battery chargers batteries lenses etc and my cargo pants weghing about 3 kg with my camera and another lens round my neck....no problem!! I never wore my weight belt thru customs, looked too much like a suicide bomber! I packed a dry bag in one of my pockets and everything is in that now so I don't feel like a gucci Xmas tree! I never took my laptop I just took my vosonic photo back up drive....time for a beer!

I just got thru check in and customs, in my 20k bag was 21k of all my dive equipment Strobe arms and a couple of vests and shorts. In my 7kg hand luggage was 8kg of housing batteryless strobes and 2 ports. I am wearing My half a kilo coat that went thru at 6 kilos with battery chargers batteries lenses etc and my cargo pants weghing about 3 kg with my camera and another lens round my neck....no problem!! I never wore my weight belt thru customs, looked too much like a suicide bomber! I packed a dry bag in one of my pockets and everything is in that now so I don't feel like a gucci Xmas tree! I never took my laptop I just took my vosonic photo back up drive....time for a beer!

A quick note on batteries in carry-on luggage, it may not affect any of you but I think it is worth mentioning. I was out in Dubai just before Christmas (sadly shooting above the waterline) and when I came to the hand luggage X-Ray, i got pulled, (as per usual) and my gear was inspected, (again, as per usual). I am fearful that one of these days they will ask me into a private booth.. but that is another story.... I digress.
I had 3 sets of four AA batteries, (in small plastic containers), that I use in my 580ex and was told that I would not be able to take any more batteries through and that 12 was the limit. I must admit that I have not encountered this before as I usually take a at least 4 sets of rechargeable with me on a normal trip. Anyway guys just a heads up.
Next time I will be taking the batteries out of the rucksack and putting them in with my computer and belt etc so that they can go straight into my pockets before my bag gets frisked.
PS good tip Alex re: laptop removal, I have been using that one for a while. The other one I have used many times is to put my girlfriend's hand luggage on the scale twice,keep both rucksacks below the counter, and putt the "light one" on first time back plate up and the second time backplate down, (my GF always seem to have less carry on than me - maybe its the G9 in OEM housing LOL) It has worked so far every time, I have even had a couple of comments from check in staff that is was great that we had packed the same weight in our rucksacks, right on weight limit. I just thank them, smile and walk away quickly

Many thanks for the heads up on this - to get to the Red Sea I normally have to go via Dubai so it is good information to know.


This is the best one that I have heard yet! Nice one! I'm not sure how we will go with that here as they wrap a "Cabin Baggage OK" sticker around the handle while it is still on the scales, but in the past we have checked in seperately (having already done online check-in to select side by side seats), she checks in and then I transfer a fair bit of my stuff to her bag and then I go up and check in.

I wore my ankle weights when flying between Melbourne and Tasmania. I new low for me. Worked, though.

Alex

Priceless-free leg workout at the same time!

Adam

LAMO. that is too good Alex. Virgin Blue and Jetstar are not great with weight limits etc..
I was getting worried when Virgin Atlantic said they were considering weighing the passengers and charging accordingly, let's hope that one doesn't come in

For an upcoming trip to Indonesia I just purchased a Samsonite 28" Flite upright, $116 shipped to my door. At David Haas' suggestion I bought the Pelican 1625 foam set that is designed for the 1620 case (~ $150 from B&H) It looks like it will work VERY well. (Thanks, David!) Luggage dimensions are 28" H x 20" W x 11.5" D, and weight is under 11 lbs. With the pelican dividers I can put an Ikelite housing, two Ikelite DS-160 strobes vertically, an 8" Ikelite dome upright (!), with loads of room for lens, ports, cables, flashlights, tray, handles, arms, clamps, and chargers for everything, mask, and a keeper box for o-rings etc., still well under 50 lbs. It rolls well, looks very ordinary (in a good way), and is very stable when upright. I'll post a photo with text indicating what fits where. I bought it from this place, which shipped very quickly (but out of stock as I type this). Really, I can't think of anything significant that I would change on it. Maybe another handle? The great thing is that it is deep enough to put so many things on end, using the full height/depth of the Pelican foam set. There is enough room outside the dividers to put all the really dense tough stuff (tray, handles, arms, flashlight & batteries) at the end that is on the bottom when turned upright, which makes it very stable and easy to roll when upright.

I've got a rolling duffle (5 lbs empty) for fins, wetsuit, booties, BC, regulator and clothes. I'm using a Lowe backpack (CompuDayPack?) for carryon, with laptop, camera & 18-200 lens, and travel essentials. With a photo vest I could make it very light if need be, probably even getting both pieces of luggage to 20kb/44 lbs if I really had to, and of course a second piece of luggage may cost me, but if there another flaw in this scheme, please let me know. It has all the useless perfection of a plan that has never met reality.

Terrific thread! I recently ran into a problem where I was allowed into Dominica with 80 pounds of luggage but was not allowed to exceed 70 flying out. I was a tad bit irate no one told me of this back in Boston when I left but luckily stuffing a few strobe arms down my sleeves and leaving a bottle of rum behind did the trick. I might have to pick up one of those vests as I'm leaving for the Caribbean in a few weeks and need to take both my video and still housings. Not fun. (ok, it's a work trip, but still...)

Screw it all.....I'm buying my own Jet w/ private pilot....I'm taking donations! Fractional ownership for all those interested.

I was recently not allowed to fly from Phoenix to Tampa after a trip to Cabo and the Socorro Islands....TSA a determined I was too intoxicated to fly....I said "DUDE I'm not flying the plane, I'm gonna sit in my seat and go to sleep, the drinking was just preparation for a 4 hour nap and I'm a nice drunk!" Nothing worked....I even offered the little 4' tall TSA dude a $100 bucks to get my ass on the plane....I think he had little man issues! Nothing worked! I was pretty hammered, but not more than usual plus I just got back from Mexico and US AIR had no problem serving me $8 dollar drinks!

Mike

ROTFLMAO

Nice...are they not lead shot filled. Be sure not to be carrying a straw they may feel if combined you have a weapon. At minimum you can hit people with shot while they sleep. LOL

I carry the Photog vest in my carryon. No need to pull it out and fill it up yet but I know the day is coming when carrying it will become useful.

Cheers

Todd

I wish I could have seen that conversation. Next time you take your jet to Mexico from Phoenix stop in Tucson and pick me up. It's on the way.

Steve

Been following this discussion as I have a trip in October that will have these restrictions on baggage. I have done some searches for bags and found the following: For the Samsonite Oyster 29" that Cor and David were talking about found prices of $78 to $90. The higher price was on the Samsonite Company store site and this one had the TSA locks. The other sites that were cheaper seemed to have older versions that did not have the TSA locks. For the Samsonite F'Lite 28" I found prices that ran from $115 to $120 and the sites noted that they did have them in stock. Here again the higher price was at the Samsonite Company store and again it looks like they have the TSA approved locks and the other sites did not really say if the locks were TSA approved. The sites I used for this were Luggage Pros, Lugggage Topia, E-Bags and Bergman Luggage.

On Luggage Pros and Bergman Luggage there was also what seemed to be a newer version of the F'Lite called the GT which both sites showed at $127.

Just something I thought I would throw out there based on some of my pricing research.