Using Non-Dive Bags For Dive Gear

[Tortuga68]

I have a few of these, they're well-made (copy of a North Face design) and reasonably priced

Bagworld Australia | Shop | Tatonka

 

[cloudswinger]

My boat bag is a mesh bag from a camping shop. Works great and was half the price of a dive bag.

 

[ElChe]

The "dive bag" is what you use to carry the dive equipment, regardless of its original purpose. When I go to nearby lakes I use the sturdy, waterproof big blue bag from the Ikea, it costs about 1 USD...

 

[DevonDiver]

I use a Mountain Hardware Expedition Duffel.

Hard wearing, spacious and has comfortable straps to wear like a rucksack. I am constantly travelling with kit, so I need that bit of comfort when lugging it around through cities, airports and on buses.

I rarely take it onto a dive boat... normally assemble my stuff before then, so it stays in the hotel room. Loose kit goes into a mesh bag.

It carries all my normal travelling kit;

2-3 backplates with wings & harnesses.
Doubles regs
Singles regs
Force Fins
Shorts & rash
3x masks
4x reels
camera, housing and charger
laptop and charger
a bunch of t-shirts and shorts
flip flops
toiletries
Course admin/paperwork
mesh bag

 

[rongoodman]

Wild Things seems to have recently gone through a reorganization, but their Expedition Luggage | Wild Things is as good as ever.

 

[USVet96]

I use a Mountain Hardware Expedition Duffel.

Hard wearing, spacious and has comfortable straps to wear like a rucksack. I am constantly travelling with kit, so I need that bit of comfort when lugging it around through cities, airports and on buses.

I rarely take it onto a dive boat... normally assemble my stuff before then, so it stays in the hotel room. Loose kit goes into a mesh bag.

It carries all my normal travelling kit;

2-3 backplates with wings & harnesses.
Doubles regs
Singles regs
Force Fins
Shorts & rash
3x masks
4x reels
camera, housing and charger
laptop and charger
a bunch of t-shirts and shorts
flip flops
toiletries
Course admin/paperwork
mesh bag

Wow. That bag fits all of that gear. That's crazy talk

Hey, on a wet side of things, how does it manage after you put semi wet gear in it. Say after a rinse for transport?

I have a big duffel on wheels that I use when transporting gear which is great. But it's too big for boats and what not. So then I use a mesh duffel with shoulder straps. But the wheeled bag stays pretty dry considering it holds damp / wet gear all the time lol.

USVet

 

[Tristan.ak]

I use a plastic 20 gallon tote for wet gear and have a cascade design dry bag duffel for travel. I will be getting a 70L SealLine backpack dry bag for gear and it will be used for rafting trips next year.

 

[sambolino44]

We get all our gear bags from the local thrift store. Hardly ever pay more than a couple of dollars. Laptop and camera bags have padding. Even plastic zippers will freeze up if you don't rinse off the salt water. The last "Scuba" bag I had, I had to cut into it to get my fins out. After that, el cheapo! Reduce! Re-use!

 

[johnboywalton]

I think it depends on where you take the bag. As previously mentioned, if it goes on the boat, avoid corrosion-prone metal fittings.

I prefer big canvas open-top bags for hauling my stuff to and from the car, because my equipment starts drying out on the way home. My boat bag is mesh for the same reason, but I don't need to store as much gear in the boat bag because my kit is partially assembled by then.

 

[buddhasummer]

I used to have a dive brand specific bag, I travel a lot, decided it was stupid, everyone knows how expensive dive gear is so figured it was probably not too smart advertising the fact. Then I bought a wheeled, not dive, bag worked fine but again as I travel a lot it was a pain to carry, walking, buses, trains, boats, planes etc etc now I use a backpack and couldn't be happier, it takes a little time and effort to fit everything just right but I find it so much easier for traveling. I always leave the last two days of my trips for land based stuff so it gives my gear time to dry properly. For local diving I just use a cheap duffle bag I bought years ago.