Traveling abroad with give gear - advice please

[greatwhite]

I really like my Hollis F2s for travelling. They don't have quite the thrust of their big brother F1s, but I've been happy using them in the Red Sea and the Maldives. They're superbly manoeuvrable and a size S comparison (with length from back heel of spring strap) is:

F1
Weight - 3.3kg per pair
Length - 24 inches

F2
Weight - 1.65kg per pair
Length - 21 inches

And my Apeks rk3 size L - 1.9kg and regular size quattro with spring straps 1.7kg - according to my cheap hand held scales.

[Jen - Winged Blob]

And my Apeks rk3 size L - 1.9kg and regular size quattro with spring straps 1.7kg - according to my cheap hand held scales.

Is that per pair or per fin?

[greatwhite]

pair lol. It makes me wonder if my scales are right out now?

[BcDiver]

The RK3s are significantly heavier than Force Fins.
I use mine interchangeably with my Hollis F1s; the Hollis are heavier and longer and do trim a bit better when I'm fully teched up with CCR, 2 Ali 80s and camera etc but not so much that it bothers me.

Yeah don't doubt that but I believe the foot pocket design of the force fins cuts down on the amount of air in your drysuit boots making your feet more negative even though the fins themselves aren't that heavy. Would always have liked to try the extra force fins but the price of them puts me off slightly!

[witchieblackcat]

Yeah don't doubt that but I believe the foot pocket design of the force fins cuts down on the amount of air in your drysuit boots making your feet more negative even though the fins themselves aren't that heavy. Would always have liked to try the extra force fins but the price of them puts me off slightly!

I had force fins for a while. Their plus point is the ability to walk on a boat deck etc. Their down side is that they lack thrust in a current and they're terribly light in the water. If you want to be flat or even a bit head down then force fins are a PITA so I switched to F1s (and lately to RK3s although I interchange between the F1s and RK3s). I tried the Force Fins some while later because my mate wanted to try the F1s; I hated the Force Fins and he bought F1s.

Force Fins are no longer made in the jazzy colours which is a shame.

[jturner]

What extras and spares do you take and still come under weight? What bag do you carry all this stuff in please?

Bag was the classic army deployment rucksack/holdall thing recommended many times on here. Tough as old boots and fairly comfortable to carry about. Extras and spare kit? Well, it included as spares and tools: double ended bolt snap, 2 x mask, 6' flag and carrying pouch, trim weight pouch, reef hook, 2mm gloves, torch (no night diving at Cocos), signal mirror, save-a-dive tube of things (cable ties, fin straps, mask straps etc), tear aid, DelayedAid with APD SMB, battery and o-ring kits for Suunto computers and transmitters (didn't have a spare battery kit for my Mares computer and guess which one crapped out on the plane over?!), rechargeable batteries and battery charger for AA/AAA, 2 sets of power socket adapters, mains-to-USB charger for micro, mini and USB-C, harness waist pouch for carrying the boat's Nautilus Lifeline and video camera stuff such as o-ring pick, grease, non-shedding towel etc. MrsT carried mainly her camera spares and lenses plus the giant clips for drying things and a duplicate of much of the above.

Given the wetsuit, I was also using my 30lb DIRZone wing, Oxychek STA, 2 DIRZone cam bands (of pure evil) and Custom Divers weight pockets with my standard twinset steel backplate/OPH. I don't like weight belts and heavy pockets... Chuck in the swimwear, fins, clothes (and Cocos can get cold on the surface believe it or not, so you actually need long sleeved tops etc at times) and the whole thing came to just under 23kg.

How was the diving in Cocos?

Very good, thanks! Viz wasn't ideal and the crossings were pretty unpleasant though. Trip report to follow in the near future!

[Energy58]

Bag was the classic army deployment rucksack/holdall thing recommended many times on here. Tough as old boots and fairly comfortable to carry about. Extras and spare kit? Well, it included as spares and tools: double ended bolt snap, 2 x mask, 6' flag and carrying pouch, trim weight pouch, reef hook, 2mm gloves, torch (no night diving at Cocos), signal mirror, save-a-dive tube of things (cable ties, fin straps, mask straps etc), tear aid, DelayedAid with APD SMB, battery and o-ring kits for Suunto computers and transmitters (didn't have a spare battery kit for my Mares computer and guess which one crapped out on the plane over?!), rechargeable batteries and battery charger for AA/AAA, 2 sets of power socket adapters, mains-to-USB charger for micro, mini and USB-C, harness waist pouch for carrying the boat's Nautilus Lifeline and video camera stuff such as o-ring pick, grease, non-shedding towel etc. MrsT carried mainly her camera spares and lenses plus the giant clips for drying things and a duplicate of much of the above.

Given the wetsuit, I was also using my 30lb DIRZone wing, Oxychek STA, 2 DIRZone cam bands (of pure evil) and Custom Divers weight pockets with my standard twinset steel backplate/OPH. I don't like weight belts and heavy pockets... Chuck in the swimwear, fins, clothes (and Cocos can get cold on the surface believe it or not, so you actually need long sleeved tops etc at times) and the whole thing came to just under 23kg.




Very good, thanks! Viz wasn't ideal and the crossings were pretty unpleasant though. Trip report to follow in the near future!

Most useful thing I take is a powerblock with a very short cable plus the obvious adaptors; power sockets are invariably at a premium on holiday and charging batteries/phones/laptops etc. draws minimal current. If I could find a decent one with built in USB ports too I could ditch half the power supplies I carry around the world.

[Moleshome]

I got one of these:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B01KUTRGS4

[Beduffshirl]

Most useful thing I take is a powerblock with a very short cable plus the obvious adaptors; power sockets are invariably at a premium on holiday and charging batteries/phones/laptops etc. draws minimal current. If I could find a decent one with built in USB ports too I could ditch half the power supplies I carry around the world.

Most TV's iun Hotel rooms now have at least one USB port to charge off

[Pete Bullen]

While I would never advocate using full foot fins for anything other than a liveaboard you can usually save over a kilo by using full foot fins and a pair of socks over the same fins in strap and bootees version. This may not seem like much until you are lined up at check in with a shed load of photo gear!

But would you think that a pair of socks was adequate for walking over Malta's rocks?