ScubaPro Porter Bag - buying new travel bag review

[LindaL]

For anyone thinking about buying a new travel dive bag, I would NOT recommend the Scubapro Porter Bag. I bought this recently and I found after 1 use I found that there is a major issue with the base of the bag - it is not well constructed at all and certainly prone to tearing. I contacted Scubapro and they were extremely unhelpful and proceeded to do nothing about the poor quality of the bag, so I have been stuck with it. I was replacing my previous bag which was Mares, which I used for years and is a very similar style (it folds up into a smaller bag - Scubapro seems to have just made a poor copy of the design). Wish I had stuck with Mares.

 

[KeithG]

Why did you buy luggage from a regulator company?

 

[LindaL]

Why did you buy luggage from a regulator company?

That's a good question! I already had the Mares fold up bag, being able to fold your dive bag up really small is great for both storage at home + Ive found it a real bonus when in a small room on a live-a-board. I needed to buy some more bags (replacing some heavier dive bags) and when I seen that Scubapro had introduced the same fold up style as Mares, I thought I'd give it a go .... trusting the brand and all that. I openly admit that was a mistake, the Porter bag just doesnt have the build quality of the Mares, it was even more disappointing to find a total lack of 'customer' care' from Scubapro - they basically said the bag had been 'dragged' - the fact that the damage was on the base where the heaviest material is (sort of a rubber) but also, where the wheels and the hard rail for standing is, so Im still trying to work out 'how' by dragging, the damage could possibly have been caused in that area because it doesnt touch the ground! Whats actually happend is that there is some sort of board material underneath the rubber covering, it has sharp edges and has started to poke through the rubber, nothing to do with 'dragging'. If I hadnt already had the Mares bag, in exactly the same fold up style, I would have probably said it was just a bad design and not good for heavy/bulky dive kit, but its not that, its just poor quality. I'll try and get one more holiday out of the 2 Scubapro bags, but I'll need to secure the base of the bag with duck tape and hope for the best.
Hope this helps.

 

[Milkman670]

I just recieved the newest Mares cruise backpack pro, it seems like a real good bag but I see it doesn't fold up into itself as the previous model as it now has a partial frame. Will put it to the test this winter with 6 flights.

 

[LindaL]

Good luck with your new Mares back pack, I also have a Mares rucksack and really like it. I did have a slight problem with it (after a lot of use) but I have to say, even although I had expected Mares to repair it, they sent me a brand new bag immediately, amazing customer service.