Roller duffle

[lairdb]

There've been several threads on roller duffles vs. Pelicans and so forth lately -- thoguht I'd throw out a couple of thoughts:

Like [somebody, who I can't find] remarked, I have accumulated a ridiculous collection of bags over the years; these notes are an accumulation of learnings.

Like zboss I have found lightness to be pretty important; particularly if much or all of your diving involves air travel.

(Do NOT forget to check airline maximum dimensions and weight limits -- with the no "waivers and favors" policies in effect at most carriers, even if you are status elite six ways from Sunday, they will joyfully smack you with excess baggage fees. You will find that many apparently suitable bags exceed the maximum dimensions by a couple of inches. Also, recall that you will likely bring a couple of pounds of seawater home with you, so 49.998 pounds of outbound gear might not be the best idea. If weight really didn't matter, I might scrap all this advice and move to three big Pelicans instead of one roller duffle and one rollaboard for clothes and stuff, but weight does matter; the weight penalty of the Pelicans means I'd definitely need at least two for dive gear. Add a clothes bag to that and it's too many and too heavy to manage without porters. My rollaboard pull handle will happily clip to my roller duffle, and I am my own little baggage choo-choo. Perhaps slightly silly-looking, but less silly than Fred and Ethel at the roadside anchored by non-wheeled samsonites.)

Speaking of that, wheels rule. Backpack straps are a nice addition for the occasional beach stretch or cobbled road, but wheels are mandatory.

So, IMO, is a rigid extending handle. This will cost you 3 to 5 pounds, but is *so* worth it. A sewn-handle bag will seem very nice, unloaded in the store. As soon as you load it up with 40 pounds of gear, it will painfully bang you in the thigh or back of the knee with every other step. This may seem silly, but it is, in all seriousness, a requirement in my view.

A bag that will squish to fit under a bench is a big plus if you're going on any boat larger than a panga and smaller than a liner. If you can find one with a semirigid end, so that it will shove under a bench and still try to stand on it's own, that's a nice feature.

Speaking of that, a bag that will stand up when loaded is nice. Most of the soft-side bags won't. This isn't a critical feature, but is nice. If yours won't, it'll probably lean against a wall or post OK, and that'll do in most situations. (Don't lean it against a pier piling, unless you're willing to borrow gear to dive and retrieve yours.)

Lots of pockets are overkill. My current bag has one big compartment and one small side compartment; that's pretty much enough sorting, and means I don't have to pull it out from under the bench to get at back/side/etc. pockets. I throw a couple of the semi-disposable tuppers in to collate all the small junk, which is better anyway, since I can pull them out and fish through them, pass them to another diver, set them on the camera table, etc.

If I were really lucky, I'd find a big tupperware (i.e. the size of the bag) that would just barely fit inside. Then I'd pack everything in that, providing some additional protection and waterproofness for travel, and pull it out on arrival and leave it in the hotel room, using the soft rollerbag for the boat bag.

I do throw in a mid-size (mask-fins-snorkel size) mesh duffel. This serves as a snorkel gear bag if I want, as well as a utility bag if I can leave my big gear overnight with the operator.

Ziplocs rule. Always bring a couple extras. If you can find the big 2.5-gallon size, they'll even do for disposable drybags. Another way at this, if you can find them cheap, are those fancy roll-up-to-evacuate-air packing bags. ([Search, search.] Container Store seems to have them pretty cheap.) (Don't get the stupid ones that require a vacuum cleaner. I've really never understood these -- what are you supposed to do at your destination, borrow a cannister vacuum from Housekeeping? Why isn't this obvious to people -- sheesh, Barnum was right.)

Add to this most of the usual road-warrior hints: avoid excess straps that dangle, address on a bagtag *and* inside, "lock" with zipties, etc.

Note that these comments are pretty travel-oriented; if I were a car diver, I'd probably be in the milk-crate/giant-tupper/ActionPacker camp. However, as a travel diver, these are my conclusions.

(This isn't really an endorsement, but I suppose I should say what this all has led me to right now. I currently am using a JanSport roller duffel. I believe they have discontinued the exact one I'm using, but it is very similar to this bag, though mine lacks the waistline zipper and shoulder strap. It has decent skate wheels, a rigid extending handle, bottom rails that slide pretty well. In my better world, I would add tuck-away backpack straps and make the bag a little squarer to maximise space-within-dimensions and improve my chance of finding a matching tupper to fit snugly inside. (In my better-yet world, I wouldn't be subject to the total-size limits, and would be able to switch to a 32" bag, for a little more room.)

Into my bag, I can get BP&W, regs, 3mm shortie and fullsuit and hood and squidcap, safety gear, MFS, a couple of backup lights, and a couple of small tuppers of junk, with some room to spare. With some pack-fu, I can wrap camera housing and strobe and tray in the wetsuit and still get it all in.)

Don't forget to silicone-spray/WD-40/CLP the wheels when you get home; the seawater will chew away at the bearings, and the bag will likely channel any interior seawater right out through the wheel housings to "help" with that.

--Laird

[zboss]

Speaking of that, wheels rule. Backpack straps are a nice addition for the occasional beach stretch or cobbled road, but wheels are mandatory.

I agree, to the point that I could do without the straps altogether.

So, IMO, is a rigid handle. This will cost you 3 to 5 pounds, but is *so* worth it. A sewn-handle bag will seem very nice, unloaded in the store. As soon as you load it up with 40 pounds of gear, it will painfully bang you in the thigh or back of the knee with every other step.

I completely agree.

A bag that will squish to fit under a bench is a big plus if you're going on any boat larger than a panga and smaller than a liner.

Since I don't take the bag I travel with on the boat, this is not an issue (I have never done a live-aboard but I assume that a larger bag is fine)

Speakign of that, a bag that will stand up when loaded is nice. Most of the soft-side bags won't.

That, plus little nubs that form a square with the wheels to assist in the bag standing up.

Lots of pockets are overkill.

Agreed.

I throw a couple of the semi-disposable tuppers in to collate all the small junk, which is better anyway, since I can pull them out and fish through them, pass them to another diver, set them on the camera table, etc.

I use them for the lithium batteries for my camera; I tried using rechargables but they die too quickly. Lithium batteries are too hard to find overseas.

If I were really lucky, I'd find a big tupperware (i.e. the size of the bag) that would just barely fit inside.

Or just a semi-steel frame

Ziplocs rule.

I used to use them also, but they are wasteful. I justed picked up some small dry-bags.

if you can find them cheap, are those fancy roll-up-to-evacuate-air packing bags....Don't get the stupid ones that require a vacuum cleaner.

While I agree these are useful, I disagree to buy the ones that don't vacuum... the ones that Costco carry can use a vacuum or just roll up - the air goes out the same way.

[lairdb]

Or just a semi-steel frame

Weight weight weight collapsibility weight.

I used to use them also, but they are wasteful. I justed picked up some small dry-bags.

I still like the Ziplocs. They weigh a tenth what a drybag does and can be reused for a long time; you don't have to throw them out. On the other hand, if they get thrashed, you can.

While I agree these are useful, I disagree to buy the ones that don't vacuum... the ones that Costco carry can use a vacuum or just roll up - the air goes out the same way.

As long as they don't require a vacuum, and you're not paying extra in cost or weight for the vacuum "feature".

--Laird

[Allison Finch]

Liveaboard dive boats HATE rigid bags. They have precious little storage place to put everyone's bags into. A wheeled (MUST HAVE WHEELS!) pullman type (I use an Armour asymetrical half shell bag) is good for international travel to these boats. The crew will appreciate anything that collapses for storage.