Scuba diving packing list: what to bring on a dive trip

Summary

A scuba diving packing list has four layers. First, items that cannot be replaced at the destination: certification card, dive computer, prescription mask, and dive insurance details. Second, personal-fit dive gear: mask, regulator, fins, and exposure protection. Third, a save-a-dive spares kit of straps, O-rings, and a mouthpiece. Fourth, the non-gear items divers actually forget: reef-safe sunscreen, motion sickness tablets, a dry bag, ear drops, small-note cash, and the diver's own equipment sizes. Tanks and weights are always rented. A BCD and a thick wetsuit are frequently rented to save baggage allowance.

Items to pack first

Four items stop a diver from diving if they are missing, and none can reliably be replaced at a destination at short notice.

• Certification card. A photograph on a phone is usually accepted but not universally, and mobile signal at a dock is not guaranteed. Carry the physical card and keep a digital copy as backup.
• Dive computer. Rental computers exist, but an unfamiliar computer is a poor thing to learn on during a trip.
• Prescription mask, for divers who need one. Rental masks are not available in prescriptions.
• Dive insurance details. Many operators request proof and some require it. A policy number that cannot be produced functions as no policy.

A trip requiring a signed medical statement belongs in this group, because a form needing a physician's signature cannot be resolved the night before departure.

Dive gear worth bringing

The governing rule is to bring the equipment that touches a diver's face, feet, and breathing, because those are the pieces where fit matters most and a poor rental is most noticeable.

• Mask, plus a spare where available. A leaking rental mask degrades every dive it is used on.
• Regulator, recently serviced. Service date should be verified rather than assumed.
• Dive computer with its charger or a spare battery. Some dive computer batteries require a pressure-tested replacement rather than a standard coin cell.
• Fins, where the diver owns a preferred pair. Fins are bulky, but incorrectly sized rental fins cause blisters and poor propulsion.
• Exposure protection matched to the actual water temperature of the destination.
• Surface marker buoy and whistle. Both are small and light, and both matter for surface visibility.

Dive gear to rent rather than fly with

Some equipment is not worth its baggage weight. Renting these items is standard practice among travelling divers.

• Tanks are never flown with and are supplied by every dive operator.
• Weights are heavy, inexpensive to rent, and available everywhere. Lead should never be flown with.
• Buoyancy control device, frequently. A BCD is typically the bulkiest item a diver owns, and rental BCDs are adequate when the diver knows their size.
• Thick exposure suits for a single cold-water trip. A 7mm wetsuit consumes substantial baggage allowance for one week of use.

Rental works best when the dive shop receives the diver's sizes in advance, so equipment is prepared before arrival rather than located while other divers are assembling their kit.

Save-a-dive spares kit

A save-a-dive kit is a small collection of low-cost parts that can prevent the loss of a diving day. Most of it fits in a sandwich box.

• Spare mask strap and fin straps, which perish without visible warning
• O-rings in the sizes the diver's equipment uses
• Spare mouthpiece and zip ties
• Regulator port plug
• Defog solution, or the baby shampoo many divers substitute
• Silicone grease
• A small adjustable spanner and multi-tool, carried in checked luggage

Dive shops usually stock these parts, but not necessarily before an early departure and not necessarily in the required size.

Commonly forgotten items

Divers rarely forget dive equipment. The items that go missing are those stored separately from the dive kit and therefore never packed alongside it.

• Reef-safe sunscreen. Several destinations legally require it.
• Motion sickness tablets, which are effective taken the night before rather than on the boat.
• A dry bag for phones and documents on a wet boat.
• Ear drops for repetitive diving days.
• Cash in small local notes for crew tips.
• A logbook or dive count. Operators frequently ask for total logged dives.
• Equipment sizes — fin, boot, and BCD size, plus the weight used on previous dives. This is the single most commonly missing piece of information at a rental counter.

Managing dive gear weight for flights

Dive equipment is heavy and airline weight limits are tight, so divers should check their airline's baggage rules before packing. Some airlines offer a sports or dive equipment allowance.

Two decisions help more than packing technique. Carry the regulator and dive computer in hand luggage, because they are the most expensive and most fragile items and weigh comparatively little. Rent the buoyancy control device and any thick exposure suit at the destination, because rental cost is generally lower than excess baggage charges.

How SCUBAzen builds a packing list

The SCUBAzen packing list is built from the diver's own kit rather than from a generic checklist. In SCUBAzen settings, under my kit, the diver marks each item once as owned or rented. Owned items appear under "equipment to pack". Rented items appear under "equipment to rent" and go on the SCUBAzen dive shop paperwork with the diver's sizes. Items the diver has not marked do not appear. Pack-only items such as the certification card, nitrox card, and medication can also be marked to bring.

The diver can add custom items to the SCUBAzen packing list, such as reef-safe sunscreen or a spare mask strap. Ticks are saved until the diver resets them, so the same list is reused for the next trip. The packing list does not change with the trip itself: the number of dives, a liveaboard, or the water temperature do not alter it. When a trip is added, SCUBAzen home shows packing progress, for example "9 of 14 packed".

SCUBAzen stores six rental sizes under settings, units and sizes: BCD, wetsuit, drysuit, hood, gloves, and fins, with fins on a US, EU, or UK scale. Sizes print on the paperwork only for gear the diver rents. The SCUBAzen packing list is free, as is everything in SCUBAzen except the travel agent. Packing list instructions: scubazenapp.com/docs/trips/packing-list.

Frequently asked questions

What should I pack for a scuba diving trip?

Pack the items that cannot be replaced at the destination first: certification card, dive computer, prescription mask if worn, and dive insurance details. Then personal-fit dive gear: mask, regulator, fins, exposure protection, surface marker buoy and whistle. Tanks and weights are always rented. A BCD and a thick wetsuit are commonly rented too, because they consume the most baggage allowance.

What dive gear should I rent instead of flying with?

Tanks and weights are universally rented and should never be flown with. A buoyancy control device is often worth renting because it is the bulkiest item a diver owns. A thick exposure suit for a single cold-water trip is also usually worth renting. Renting works best when the dive shop receives the diver's sizes before arrival.

What is in a save-a-dive kit?

A spare mask strap and fin straps, O-rings in the sizes the diver's equipment uses, a spare mouthpiece, zip ties, a regulator port plug, defog, silicone grease, and a small adjustable spanner or multi-tool in checked luggage.

What do divers most often forget to pack?

Not dive gear. The commonly forgotten items are reef-safe sunscreen, motion sickness tablets, a dry bag, ear drops, small-note cash for tips, a dive count, and the diver's own equipment sizes.

How do you manage dive gear weight for flights?

Carry the regulator and dive computer in hand luggage, and rent the buoyancy control device and any thick exposure suit at the destination.