Packing advice

[Rob Dobson]

I am about to travel with a 21W 9ah Salvo, an 18W 4.5ah and a 35W Li-ion.

I always used to carry my primary light in my hand-baggage so that security could take a good look at it without calling in the bomb squad.

Now that there is this poxy "strictly one piece of hand luggage" rule my laptop has to be that piece of luggage with means that the lights will have to go in my check-in bags.

This isn't good - 3 primary light batteries (plus 4 scooter battery packs) is going to look extremely dodgy on the x-ray and I can see them refusing to allow the bags on the flight.

Anyone got any recent experience of doing this???

[MJH]

Lets face it Rob - no one else is going to have shipped as many X-Scooters as you do

Why don't you get in touch with the airline?

[desertrat]

With that much gear thats got the potential to cause problems I'd phone the airline Rob and explain to them what you are taking.

Then print off a load of those labels to go on the batteries telling them what they are and that they are safe to travel by air.

..On second thoughts your doomed to failure so you'd be better off just dropping the scooters off at my house before you go!!

Edit. Marianne's got quicker finger then me! lol

Edit 2. I thought the hand luggage rule was as long as it fits in the overheads your ok so you should be able to get the lights and the laptop in one bag? Its not like any of them are lead acid.

[Rob Dobson]

Originally Posted by MJH

Lets face it Rob - no one else is going to have shipped as many X-Scooters as you do

You lie!!!! Ben has shipped more than I have

[Scuttler]

Me thinks that you'll be close to your limit on the baggage allowance. It shouldn't however cause a problem with the airline. I regularly travel with some pretty dodgy looking stuff (Flight Data Recorders, Air Data Computers and Air speed probes) in my checked luggage. Chuck in all my power leads and travel iron and the thing looks like a suitcase full of ticking bangy things!

[Rob Dobson]

Originally Posted by Scuttler

Me thinks that you'll be close to your limit on the baggage allowance. It shouldn't however cause a problem with the airline. I regularly travel with some pretty dodgy looking stuff (Flight Data Recorders, Air Data Computers and Air speed probes) in my checked luggage. Chuck in all my power leads and travel iron and the thing looks like a suitcase full of ticking bangy things!

Ah OK - that's good to know. I was always under the impression that nothing battery operated should be checked in.

BTW we have 240Kg to play with - 90Kg of scooters and 150Kg for everything else...

[Dave Crampton]

Flippinh eck' where are you going? Dark side of the moon.

If your that worried, have them shipped DHL etc... to the dive centre. Might just cost the same as the excess. We were charged £5 a KG on our last flights for over weight (Not me before you ask, I'm within the EU normal weigh )

[desertrat]

These are the things I was thinking of.

http://www.airspeedpress.com/BatteryLabelDrycell.jpg

[Rob Dobson]

Originally Posted by Dave Crampton

Flippinh eck' where are you going? Dark side of the moon.

If your that worried, have them shipped DHL etc... to the dive centre. Might just cost the same as the excess. We were charged £5 a KG on our last flights for over weight (Not me before you ask, I'm within the EU normal weigh )

The Dark Side of the Moon is probably better serviced by a LDS... We're off to Zhongjieshan Qundao hence we need the 240Kg for kit (we're collecting the cylinders and lead in Shanghai).

The 240Kg is free (don't ask).

We thought about shipping the heavy stuff (that was plan A about 2 months ago) but it meant sending about £15K of kit into a foreign country and having to navigate all of the customs / import hurdles remotely whilst risking never actually seeing the kit again. Plus the 3 weeks without the kit this end which meant 3 weeks less of practice dives.

[Rob Dobson]

Originally Posted by desertrat

These are the things I was thinking of.

http://www.airspeedpress.com/BatteryLabelDrycell.jpg

Cool.... Gonna print me some of these bad boys off...