divecaddy gen2 review, part 1: first impressions

[Sipadandiver]

I've been diving for over 10 years now, but never made a trip just for the purpose of diving. This means I’ve never taken my gear on an airline before. Sure, I've been diving abroad, but than I used to rent my equipment. With my first real divetrip just a few weeks away I decided that it was time to buy a good transport bag for my gear. After looking at different websites I decided that the divecaddy would be the bag for me. I choose this one mainly because I wanted a compact bag, but still be able to take all of my (warm water) divinggear with me.

The package
This is how the bag arrived:
IMG_0444.jpg

First impressions
On unpacking the bag I noticed the following:
- the overall quality is ok;
- it has lots and lots and lots of clippers;
- the mesh parts don't seem that sturdy;
- the zippers feel a little weak (plastic);
- there are not much padded parts, probably to save weight or space;
- the shoulder straps feel a bit light to handle all the load;
- the bag has no waist band.

The spiderbag
IMG_0350.jpg
The spiderbag is actually just a simple single piece of fabric with a mesh compartment on the inside. You won't be able to fit much inside, just some basic clothing, but that’s what it’s ment for. Shoes or other larger objects probably make it too bulky.
It needs to be attached to the main part of the bag to make sense. On it's own it's useless, so you can't carry it seperately. And it doesn't come off easy either. You'll have to undo at least 4 of the 6 cords to get proper access to it (maybe 2 will do in some situations). This will take some time.
You'll have to be carefull with the mesh part (no sharp objects) because it doesn't look that sturdy.

The turtlepack (top bag)
IMG_0351.jpg
The turtlepack (top bag) can be carried as a stand alone. It's a simple, single compartment storage pack that can be attached on top of the divegear bag. It's ment for smaller objects like your mask, a dive computer, reel or other things, but also your passport, dive certificates and your wallet will fit. For these last items a few simple inner compartments would have been nice.
The logo on this particular bag is printed on linen, while on other parts of the bag it's made out of rubber which gives it a nicer touch.


Next: the three compartments of the main bag, see this: DiveCaddy - Travel Bag System
1. Soft item compartment
2. Fincaddy compartment
3. BCD compartment

1. The soft item compartment
foto 2.jpg
This is a single compartment for putting stuff like your wetsuit. The fabrics of the inner flap of the compartment however on this part are made out of lighter nylon. Combined with plastic zippers it doesn't feel that well constructed as other parts of the bag. Same goes for the compression straps on this part and since the sides are made of mesh (for ventilation or for stretch reasons), this part I like less. (it's probably a combination of things).

2. The BCD compartment
foto 1.jpg
This compartment looks very useful. It has two wide flaps on either side for wrapping your BCD and lots of compression straps. It feels like a safe place to put your BCD or backplate and wing and I think there will be room for your regulator as well.

3. The fin caddy compartment
foto 3.jpg
This part is also well thought of. It's meant for your fins and it keeps them well in place. There is a little room for stretching (partly thanks to a zipper) so various sizes of fins will fit. The bottle holder on the side on the other hand is a little small.

The transport bag
Well this really is a piece of overestimated bag. It's part of the gen2 package and is shown as an option for existing first generation buyers. I say don't buy this separately, it's not worth it.
It's made out of very light fabrics and I can't imagine this to be strong enough to carry your dive gear over and over again. Especially because on the bottom the bag has 2 meshed banen on each side (for ventilation or afwatering I suppose). This means if you make the bag to heavy, the bottom could tear open. Didn't experience this myself though, but I hardly can imagine otherwise.

By means of an inner bag you can fold the transport bag into a tiny package and stuff it in. There are no instructions however, so it took me 3 folding attempts before I got it right. On first pull the tip of the line which seals the pouch came off. it's a cheap plastic tip, so much for quality.




My divetrip is in a few weeks. after that i'll post part II of my review: what's the bag like in real diving life.


more info can be found here: DiveCaddy - Home/

[Dirty-Dog]

- the bag has no waist band.
DiveCaddy - Home/

Tiny correction.... the lower compression strap on the backpack is also the waist strap. That is why it's longer than the others.

I think you'll find that the thing is stronger than you think. We've only made three trips with ours, but they get stuffed FULL and we're very happy so far.

[koozemani]

I plan on posting a review on my way home from using it for the first time. My review is very different from your assessment. This bag has been great, stronger than you think, in fact, the only thing you stated that I'd agree with is that it has alot of "clippers".

[snowdog]

The key to the DiveCaddy is.... play with it, get to know how your gear will fit the best.
I have discovered a few keys to using the Caddy.
1. dont over compress the BCD in the BCD section, keep it as flat as possible.
2. depending on the fins you have, you might have to position them a few different ways.
3. the soft packing section of the main bag should be a smooth and flat as possible.
4. put the wieght intergated pockets somewhere else in the system. makes the BCD packing easier.
Paul

[MaverickNH]

Mine arrives today, and I leave tomorrow. Wish me luck - I will report back.

[edit] I packed it up with my ScubaPro Knighthawk BC with Air2, MK25/S600 reg with UWATEC Aladin 2G 3 console computer, 3mm full suit, boots, gloves, snorkel in the TravelBag, mask, flashlight and DestinationBag in the TurtlePack, as well as cloths in the SpiderBag. It weighed 39lb and looked too big to put in a domestic US overhead bin.

So I moved cloths to a small roller bag to check and mask, snorkel to a small carry-on bag, and ditched the DestinationBag. The TravelBag alone looks fine to carry on and fit overhead.

I think the Knighthawk BC and console are to big and heavy for travel and might have to downsize to a travel BC and wrist computer. Then I think the DiveCaddy will work as a ful system for me.

[MaverickNH]

Three expereinces withh TSA this trip:
1. MHT-MSY: Ran through, no issues
2. MSY-BWI: Pulled bag, I unrolled, they swabbed various sites highlighted by scanner, I rerolled and off I went.
3. FLL-MHT: Ran through twice and on my way.

Fitting in overhead lengthwise was only option as it was too long on all flights, even w/o TurtlePack and SppiderPack.

[koozemani]

On my first trip with it I had no problems at either Tucson or Honolulu. The only issue I ran into, was that on an Express Jet, I had to remove the Spider Bag in order to fit it in the overhead bin, apart from that it was smooth sailing. The TSA was scratching their heads at my strobe, but luckily, that was packed in the gf's carryon(lol). What a hoot watching her trying to explain it without a matching camera.

As Maverick stated, it was to long on every plane and had to go in lengthwise. As this was my first trip with it, I slightly underpacked it, I now have a better idea of how much I can comfortably pack.

Off the top of my head I had the following packed:
SS BP
20lb wing
2 wetsuits
2 skins
Fins (played around with the configuration)
2 pr of boots
2 pr gloves
2 days worth of clothes, swim suit, rash guard (spider bag)
The turtle bag was filled with various odds and ends, I removed it prior to sticking up in the overhead bin.

I didn't like how my reg was fitting, so that got placed in my "personal bag"(camera bag).