2 month travel

Hi,

Going to be gone for 2 months overseas and will by staying in different locations about every week. Trying to decide if I should take my regular CPAP machine or my mini travel size?

Gmarie wrote: ↑

Thu Jan 23, 2020 11:11 am

Hi,

Going to be gone for 2 months overseas and will by staying in different locations about every week. Trying to decide if I should take my regular CPAP machine or my mini travel size?

I just got back from a one week trip across the US from Virginia to California. I would vote for taking your regular CPAP machine. I understand many of the travel machines have reduce features to try and minimize their size.

If flying, a tag for your CPAP bag saying it is medical equipment can be a help. A CPAP does not count as a personal or carryon item when flying. I only had one person question and the tag made explanation easy. I bought my tag from Amazon.

Since you are asking, you have a choice.
I would choose the most comfortable option.
Any cpap needs to be a carry-on.
Is it worth more to you to have less to carry or uncompromised sleep?
The ball is in your court.
Have a lovely trip.

In any case, make sure you have the adapters for all the countries you plan to visit. If you pack a "universal" adapter, please be aware that it might not work in South Africa, Myanmar, or parts of the Indian Subcontinent. Also, pack an extension cord as you don't know how far the socket will be from your bed. BTW, foreign voltage is not an issue with late model CPAPs, as well as phones, laptops, and tablets. Most powerstrips that you get in the US (or Canada) are surge suppressors, and are not compatible with foreign voltage.

Furthermore, prepare a permanent packing list for your CPAP. You need it not just for travel, but for evacuations, and for planned or unplanned hospitalizations. In the case of the unplanned, somebody else might need to pack it for you.

One more thing. If you get a travel machine, try it at home for a few nights first. You don't want to find that there are issues when you're traveling!

chunkyfrog wrote: ↑

Thu Jan 23, 2020 11:53 am

Since you are asking, you have a choice.
I would choose the most comfortable option.
Any cpap needs to be a carry-on.
Is it worth more to you to have less to carry or uncompromised sleep?
The ball is in your court.
Have a lovely trip.

Or just to keep Murphy happy take both, one in carry-on the other in baggage. That way you are covered if one is lost or broken. Jim

I know this is a minority view, but if you are OK using your travel CPAP, I say take that one.

While having a CPAP as a separate carryon is not a problem in the US, I personally have had problems overseas. Although it is considered a medical device, it can also be counted as one of your bags. This happened to me in Europe and I had to consolidate my bags as the rest of my party (and the rest of the passengers!) boarded the plane. After that trip, I bought an AirMini and travel with it in my purse/tote, backpack, or carryon suitcase, depending on the trip. True it does not have a humidifier, but it has the same modes as my Airsense 10 Autoset and now that I have hacked the hose, I can use my Bleep and it is almost as quiet. It is also so much smaller, I pack it in a soft quilted lunchbox. I will be traveling around Italy for a month later this year and I know I will appreciate the smaller size and lighter weight. For me, that will be worth losing the humidifier for a month. You might consider how much you are packing on your 2-month trip and how much you want to lug from place to place.