Spearfishing Packing List for a Two-Week Trip

Spearfishing Packing List for a Two-Week Trip

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A good spearfishing packing list for a two-week trip is short, deliberate, and built around one constraint: it all has to fit in a single checked bag under the airline limit. This checklist covers the core gear, the warm-water wetsuit and weighting that matter in the Mediterranean, your safety kit, and the spares and consumables that keep you diving for the full fortnight — with the heavy lead left at home.

It's the practical companion to our travel spearfishing in the Mediterranean guide, and it builds on the foundations in our beginner gear kit list. Print it, tick it off, and you won't reach the water missing something you can't easily replace.

Core Gear You Can't Skip

These are the non-negotiables — the things that, missing, end your dive day:

  • Mask and snorkel — low-volume mask for easy equalising; a simple J-snorkel.
  • Fins — long freediving blades; the biggest item, so pack them flat against the bag's back panel.
  • Speargun or pole spear — unloaded, bands relaxed, tip capped.
  • Weight belt — rubber belt with a quick-release buckle (the lead itself you'll buy there).
  • Dive knife — small, blunt-tipped, strapped to belt or arm.

Wetsuit, Weights and Fins for Warm Med Water

The Mediterranean in summer runs 22–26°C, so a thick suit will cook you. A 1.5–3 mm open-cell or two-piece wetsuit is right for most of the season; bump to 3–5 mm in spring or autumn or if you feel the cold. An open-cell suit needs lubricant (soapy water or conditioner) to get into — pack a small bottle.

Weighting follows the suit: thinner suits need less lead. As a rough start, a thin-suited diver might run 4–8% of body weight in lead, adjusted in the water. Because you'll buy weights locally, plan to do a quick weight check on day one rather than guessing.

Pro Tip Wear your bulkiest items on the plane — your boots, the heaviest layer — and use your wetsuit and towels as padding around the speargun in your checked bag. Two jobs, one item, no wasted space.
Spearfishing gear laid out flat for packing: fins, wetsuit, mask, weight belt, knife and a speargun beside an open suitcase
The whole two-week kit, lead excluded, fits one checked bag if you pack flat and double up.

Safety Kit and Float Line Setup

Safety gear is not optional, and it's light enough that there's no excuse to skip it:

  • Dive float and flag — keeps you visible to boats; many areas legally require it.
  • Float line — connects you (or your gun) to the float.
  • Dive watch or computer — track dive and surface-interval times.
  • Gloves and socks — protect against rock and urchins.
  • Small first-aid kit — urchin spines and cuts are the usual customers.
Safety Warning Always dive with a buddy and one-up-one-down, never push your breath-hold, and surface with air to spare. Shallow water blackout is the real danger in the depths you'll be diving — read our guide to shallow water blackout and buddy diving before the trip.

Spares, Tools and Consumables

Two weeks is long enough that things wear or break, and a coastal shop may not stock your exact part. Pack a spare shaft and tip, a couple of spare bands and wishbones, a spare mask strap, line and crimps, a multi-tool, and a small tube of silicone grease for o-rings and threads. These weigh almost nothing and save a dive day.

"Pack the spare band you'll probably never use. The one trip you don't is the trip a band snaps on day three." — Fishes One Hook, dive log #188

Packing It All Within Baggage Limits

The whole list above fits a single 23 kg checked bag — but only if you leave the lead at home (it's heavy and cheap to buy on arrival) and pack smart: fins flat against the back panel, wetsuit and towels as padding around the gun, boots worn on the plane. Breath-hold is the engine of all of this, so spend some pre-trip time learning how to hold your breath longer for spearfishing — it's the lightest, most valuable thing you can bring.

A Printable Two-Week Checklist

Quick version to copy: mask, snorkel, fins, wetsuit, weight belt, knife, gun or pole spear, float and flag, float line, dive watch, gloves, socks, first-aid kit, spare shaft and tip, spare bands, line and crimps, multi-tool, silicone grease, suit lubricant. Buy on arrival: lead weights. Tick every item, and your two weeks in the Med are sorted.

Frequently Asked Questions

Frequently asked
What should I pack for a two-week spearfishing trip?
Core gear (mask, snorkel, fins, gun or pole spear, weight belt, knife), a thin warm-water wetsuit, safety kit (float, flag, float line, dive watch, gloves), and spares like a spare shaft, tip and bands. Buy lead weights on arrival to save baggage weight.
What wetsuit thickness do I need for the Mediterranean in summer?
A 1.5–3 mm suit suits most of summer, when the water is 22–26°C. Step up to 3–5 mm in spring, autumn, or if you feel the cold easily. Open-cell suits need lubricant to put on, so pack a small bottle.
Can all my spearfishing gear fit in one checked bag?
Yes, if you leave the lead at home and pack smart — fins flat, wetsuit and towels as padding, bulky boots worn on the plane. A full two-week kit fits a single 23 kg checked bag with the weights bought on arrival.
Should I bring dive weights when flying?
No — lead is dense and quickly eats your baggage allowance. It's cheap and sold at every coastal dive shop, so buy or rent it on arrival and do a quick weight check on your first dive.
Contributor

Lucas Davis

A Fishes One Hook contributor — logging dives, testing gear, and writing it all down between surface intervals.

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