dive bag

[Nalu]

I just bought all of my gear and now I need something to put it in.... Can anyone reccomend a bag that is relatively easy to carry and will fit most of my stuff but is compact enough to fit in that tiny space you get on dive boats? Thanks!:froggy:

[Mo2vation]

But there are guys here that roll gear to their car - and load their gear into a Hockey gear bag for the boat. Advantages:

* Soft sides (easy to squash into a small space when empty)

* Long - so likely easy to shoulder down the steep ramp of a dock

* Big - will surely hold everything (except camera and other hoopla that you want in a separate bag anyway

* BRIGHT! Not too tough to find YOUR bag in a sea of black bags.


I hate schlepping my stuff - so I have a hard back roller bag. 4 years, still going strong. Kepp the zippers (on any bag) well waxed - it only takes one day and the zipper will get stuck.

Be sure to bring a dry bag, or a couple of big heavy trash bags - because you'll want to have dry clothes to change into on the way home - and without a dry bag - it will get wet.

Pick up a few large spring clamps. They're great for clamping a wet towel or wetsuit to a rail so it can dry off a bit as the boat motors to the next divesite. I've seen towels blow away.

Measure your fins - many bags are too short for some of the longer fins (Genesis, Atomic, etc.)

Others will chime in - I like the Hocley bag idea. But I live in So Cal - like I know where to get a Hockey bag.

K

[O-ring]

I have a Pelican 1650 (used to have a $14 plastic Rubbermaid tub, but it didn't have wheels and I used another $14 device called a luggage dolly thingy from Wal Mart to haul it around on) and I switch over to an Akona mesh backpack for use on the boat. That seems to work ok, but I have noticed a couple tears in the Akona bag and may need to replace it soon.

That being said, if they let me, I will bring the Pelican on the boat if there is room and leave the mesh bag at home.

[Rec2Tek]

I use a rubbermaid action packer with lockable lid(I have 4 of them). Inexpensive, like $25 for the 24 gallon model. I have never had a problem on any boats and I fly with it. It also doesn't let everyone know it's full of dive gear.....

[Mo2vation]

I never got the attraction of the whole mesh backpack thing.

My OW LDS hawked a StahlSack mesh backpack on me (like 99% of all Padi OW students I meet)...and I said, duh, OK.

After my first dive, I put it on eBay. I mean, c'mon...why would I put something wet and dripping into a mesh backpack?

I don't get it. Aside from the fact it's likely very profitable (which is a fine enough reason to foist it on students) I just don't get it.

Enlighten me.

K

[O-ring]

Mo2vation once bubbled...
I never got the attraction of the whole mesh backpack thing.

My OW LDS hawked a StahlSack mesh backpack on me (like 99% of all Padi OW students I meet)...and I said, duh, OK.

After my first dive, I put it on eBay. I mean, c'mon...why would I put something wet and dripping into a mesh backpack?

I don't get it. Aside from the fact it's likely very profitable (which is a fine enough reason to foist it on students) I just don't get it.

Enlighten me.

K
I much prefer the pelican or any other wheeled case, but the mesh backpack works well when I am on a boat that has really small storage areas for each diver and the pelican won't even fit under the bench. If a boat is REALLY small, I can setup my gear and just stow the backpack wherever.

The other problem is when the pelican fits under the bench, but there is zero deck space. That thing has to come out from under the bench, sit somewhere relatively flat, open like a lunchbox, and then I can get stuff out of it. The backpack has a top and a side zipper and is easier to work out of in a limited area.

I agree with you on the mesh thing...I think the idea was to make it easy to rinse, or was it dry, or...whatever. I much prefer the plastic tub...who cares if it has water in it? I can deal with that when I get home. Besides, nothing sucks worse than putting it on after a long boat ride back to the dock and having all that cold seawater soak your backside..

What do you do on a boat that your case won't fit anywhere?

[Mo2vation]

Maybe I've been lucky.

I have one of those hard-back cases...sort of a teardrop tub shape. Two big pockets, a reg bag pocket and a small stuff pocket. Roller Blade wheel, etc. Simple to hose out with the hard back. Easy to carry weights in because its solid...its just a cool bag. My wife and I have had 'em for years.

They're the kind of bag everyone hates - I NEVER see them. I mean never. On dozens of drive trips, I've seen one.

I've only been on about 6 or 7 different boats (tomorrow will be a new one) and my bag has always either slid under the bench, on the shelf behind the bench ) one of the 6-packs I dive has built shelves) or on the bow. More room in the bow, anyway.

Getting soaked on the way back to the car sucks.

Tomorrow is my first dive in my 50/50 sig....!!!! :):):)

[Nalu]

I have been peeking about the internet looking at all of the different types of bags...
Thanks for all of the feedback...I was wondering if I needed a dry bag so that advice helps...the action packer idea sounds great but I'm afraid it might prove a bit hard to lug around for a girl like myself with biceps more on the wimpy than popeye side of arm muscles...I like the ones that have the roll or lift option.... I also think some padding would be good at least around my reg and computer because I can see my bag being knocked about. The problem is that all of the models I have been looking at look more like take you gear on an airplane than on a boat type bags. Any particular model suggestions?

[Dryglove]

I have an akona mesh bag from when i took openwater class.It looks like a nice bag but isnt very well made.The draw string on the top really sucks as it catches on everything when you add or remove stuff from the bag.I still use it on the smaller boat dives that have no room for anything larger.Other than that i use it to store my drysuit,hood and trek boots in after a dive as the mesh helps it dry and not get all stinky like in a sealed closed container.

[froop]

As with most things, it all depends on where/how you will be transporting your gear.

If I'll be driving straight to my dive spot, and gearing up at the car, I load it all into a 100 litre plastic tub, and throw it into the car.

If I need to cart my gear a bit, I'll throw it into my UK mesh bag. It has a solid base and ends, but mesh sides. I find it really useful because it lets air through the bag, and moisture out.

If I'm travelling on a plane, I don't like the idea of using a mesh bag (although I have done it, after first lining the mesh sides with a couple of towels), so choose to use a larger generic sports bag.
FWIW, I don't have a reg bag, but usually pack them into my BC, and then between some soft stuff (wetsuit, towel, etc)

[Diver Lori]

FWIW.....here are my suggestions. I cave dive and ow dive....

Airline travel. Get a good sturdy rolling duffle. LLBean has a great one.....called the adventure duffle. That sucker holds everything and is guaranteed for life and comes in a rainbow of colors....so it's easy to see at baggage claim. So let the gorilla baggage handlers have at it. Whatever you do, don't get a bag from the dive shop that says some scuba name on the side....no need to advertise you are carrying scuba gear. I've known several people who's bags have disappeared because they said Mares or US Divers on the side. Same with those huge Pelican boxes with a padlock. (Can you say, "HEY, I've got something delicate and expensive inside me.....Steal me!")

Diveboats. Get a mesh duffle bag that zips from end to end. Compresses when empty and is easy to stow. Plus it doesn't get sopping wet like a regular bag does should you be on a small boat. Definitely get a drybag big enough to hold towel, dry clothes, small money, snackie stuff...etc. to carry within your mesh bag. Mine has a shoulder strap and I just drape my towel over the bag and heft it up on my shoulder.....no wet hip that way.

Local diving from car. Have you ever been on a dive trip in your personal vehicle and gotten in your car the next day to hit the divesite again and about died from that warm neoprene funk in your car, SUB (sport utility box) or van?? EWWWW!!! You never never want your nose in the same compartment with your wet gear. ICK! If you've got a pickup truck (like I do now) you toss your stuff in the container of your choice in the bed and be done with it.....BUT, if you're stuck with your nose in the same place as your gear.....invest in a tub of whatever brand that fits best in the space you have. PUT the lid on and no ODE DE FUNK in the same area as your nose. Plus it also keeps the carpet of your vehicle from getting musty from being wet all the time.

Lastly.....I tried this on my trip to Akumal a few weeks ago and it worked pretty nifty! I've got hip issues and it's painful for me to sleep on a mattress that's too hard. I got one of those egg crate type foam mattresses from WalMart and had a friend cut it smaller for me.....around my torso while I was laying on it. Got a couple three pads out of it for future use when the first gets chewed up. Anyway.....I took the pad, placed my HID and backup lights in it and rolled it up nice and compact.....all foam padded. I then placed it in my adventure duffle from LLBean that has a hard bottom and packed the rest of my soft gear around it. Fins on the outside inside edges to protect the light. Can you say cool??? My lights arrived unscathed and I had a nice foam pad for the hard bed I was subjected to. Did the same thing for the return home and joila'! Double duty packing!

After you've been at this sport for a while and tried this and that, you'll find what works best for you.

Lori