Good dry bags for diving

[Elmstreet_Hunt]

Hi,

Beginning of September I will fly with my family to Maui for eight days.
Of course I want to do some snorkeling and scuba diving (never did scuba diving before ... that will be fun :vintagediver.

What dry bags (to store cellphone, car keys and wallet) do you guys recommend?
I found several products (aLoksak, AquaPack, Kwik Tek Dry Pack, ...) but it seems the only one certified for deeps up to 60m is aloksak. Just want to make sure that the stuff inside stays dry while I'm in the water.

 

[charlesg3]

If you're really trying to bring items to depth consider an otterbox or similar type item. I'm not sure why you'd want your wallet and cell phone at depth, if you don't then a leaving them in a simple dry bag should work. Perhaps even a ziplock should mostly work, I've left mine in shorts pockets on boats.

 

[DA Aquamaster]

You will want something that resists pressure if you are going to take a cell phone under water. with a soft "bag" it may stay dry but it will get squished by the pressure and that is not great for many phones.

I normally leave mine on the boat in a regular dry bag along with wallet etc. Just leave it in a dive bag or somewhere else not overly obvious and you won't have a problem. It's a boat, if someone steals it while you are under water, the list of suspects is short and they have no where to go so it does not take Adrian Monk to solve the case and even a stupid thief knows it.

Also, when you look at the probabilities involved, you are more at risk of losing the wallet and cell phone under water than on the boat.

If you still feel the need to take a cell phone under water, OMS sells a pressure cannister rated to 600 ft and that would be my first choice. Some divers, in places where there is current and where they are still in cell range of shore do that in order to be abel to call for help if they drift away from the boat.

 

[BonaireDan]

Dry box od some kind is your best bet. Many of the bag things to take on a dive are really best for snorkeling - no pressure issues. I have had a small dry box leak however so still be careful.

On Bonaire where we shore dive mostly we do not leave anything in the vehicle and leave it unlocked. So, no recourse but to take things with you. However other than vehicle keys I take nothing to the dive site I can't lose or live without. On a boat is fine to leave things like you describe.

 

[Doc]

Of course I want to do some snorkeling and scuba diving (never did scuba diving before

What dry bags (to store cellphone, car keys and wallet) do you guys recommend?

This might have been discussed once before.

When you begin to learn to dive, or as you snorkel... this time with a container of family treasures attached in some fashion to yourself, doing this will create a number of new situations for you to deal with.

You are essentially tying a positively buoyant object to yourself. In snorkeling, securing it to yourself may be a difficulty, in SCUBA, any instructor that works with you- their first instinct will be to remove it and toss it aside.

Here's what we have already learned from that one other post on this very subject: Money, credit cards and driver's licenses are waterproof. Your wallet itself, and pictures of the kids are not.

Car Keys, the non-electronic kind that will open the car door and cost $1 at the hardware store- they seem to resist salt water pretty well. Put the electronic $100 key hidden deep inside the vehicle.

Cell Phones are best left back inside the car. All sorts of experts on rescue will chime in as to their usefulness for rescue as you are lost at sea and the sharks are circling. But if you want to consider that after dive #50, well then, by all means, but until then, hide it under something in the trunk.

Until then, you are thinking about a "dry bag", which you have been wisely steered away from. I say this only to ask you to consider your perspective. Your experience level caused you to consider this sport with what amounts to a minimum of a 1/4 cubic foot of air strapped to your butt.

As you progress, you will quickly understand that trying to snorkel or dive with an empty 1 gallon milk jug strapped on just wont work. You will quickly realize a lot of things. You will slowly realize some other things.

An otter box may work for your "needs". But you might be looking for a solution to a problem that doesn't exist.

Remember: Keys, ID and Cash are waterproof. Cell Phones are not. One may well be useful, the other most likely not.

 

[Elmstreet_Hunt]

Hi all,

Thanks a lot for the responses.
Of course I'm going to rent a car so I don't know what car key I get. Sometimes the keys have electrical transmitter for car immobilizer system. I guess those keys might not like being unprotected in salt water. I guess I could leave my wallet in the room safe and just take the driver's license and a credit card to diving, leaving the cell phone in the car. And putting the cards in a pocket I can put around the arm.

Thanks a lot for the input!

P.S. Do you guys can recommend good snorkeling places on Maui?

 

[rsldonk]

The real use for a dry bag is to keep stuff you really don't want wet dry while you are on the boat or shore. I have mine for my camera batteries (I have a Reefmaster Mini which eats AAs for breakfast), my oxygen analyzer and other stuff I want while diving but don't want to get ruined if a wet diver getting on the boat drips on them or something similar. I also like a small (size of a pack of cigarettes) dry box I can stick in my pocket on my wetsuit for keeping car keys (not the electronic one though, too expensive if it leaks) money, ID, cert and DAN card stuff like that I wish to keep with me and don't want to leave just sitting at the surface. A lot really depends on the dive site, if I can leave something on the boat I will.

Think of it this way, if you dive from a boat, something comes up missing, there are only a few suspects for whoever stole it. I also make sure that if I am on a boat, that if I even bring cash, I only bring enough to cover a tip for the crew. That way, if they steal it from me, it was all I was intending to give to them anyway. I do recommend marking all your gear with some sort of permanent marker or paint. For me it's less likely that someone will purposely steal my stuff as it is to make sure I can identify my gear in a mess of everyone else's gear on the boat. Without the markings, my pair of fins etc. look just like all the others.

 

[sheelah]

[TABLE="width: 680"]
[TR]
[TD="class: xl65, width: 680, colspan: 6"]Hello everyone!
My name is Sheela and I got into this Forum to find out which is the best option to buy a waterproof bag so I could go for some outdoor activities, the bag needs to be capable of keeping my personal belongings dry!
Could you guys help me out on this search?
I need a bag pack that I could adapt to my bicycle and that is also good when I go scuba diving. The size should be medium, and about the price???? Well...., you know, the cheaper the better! Don't forget to keep in mind quality, sometimes the cheapest option makes you purchase twice!
Ok, Thanks to all for any possible help! [/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]

 

[MAKO Spearguns]

[TABLE="width: 680"]
[TR]
[TD="class: xl65, width: 680, colspan: 6"]Hello everyone!
My name is Sheela and I got into this Forum to find out which is the best option to buy a waterproof bag so I could go for some outdoor activities, the bag needs to be capable of keeping my personal belongings dry!
Could you guys help me out on this search?
I need a bag pack that I could adapt to my bicycle and that is also good when I go scuba diving. The size should be medium, and about the price???? Well...., you know, the cheaper the better! Don't forget to keep in mind quality, sometimes the cheapest option makes you purchase twice!
Ok, Thanks to all for any possible help! [/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]

MAKO Waterproof Bag - Transparent

 

[Pullmyfinger]

I just received my reef camo wetsuit! A VERY cool suit!

Thanks!
Mitch