Dive Bag vs. Dive Box...

[iztok]

Would the airlines actually accept that as checked luggage? If so, it sounds like a good/cheap/protective way to go. Has anyone done this and had it work out?

PS: I hope you have an air supply in that bin

I've done that in the past on UA and US w/o problems. I just used bungee cords and duck tape to secure lid.

 

[Buoyant1]

Currently I use an Akona boat bag to carry my fins, bp/w, regs, boots, gloves, & hood. I have a large nylon gym bag to carry my dry suit and undergarments, and an Akona "camera" bag to carry the rest of me gear (masks, lights, reel, parts, etc.)


I'm contemplating getting a tub to carry the stuff in my boat bag for local diving, only because it would just be easier to transport, and rinse after dives. (like someone else said, fill it with water and just hang it all)

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

Ouch...

I do most of my boat diving in So Cal and we all know how uncivilized they are

The boats there tend to be larger with compressors, so 1 tank per diver and thus the seat width is cramped. Which boats do you use with double tank width seats?

In Puget Sound pretty much all the commercial boats will accommodate two tanks per diver. That's just good business, since so many people around here dive doubles ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[FireInMyBones]

I use a Tupperware container from Walmart. Cost: $10. It holds up well, keeps gear in place, is stack-able, takes up little space on a boat, slides right under my seat and keeps my clothes dry if I change on board.

 

[dgreenh]

One size does not fit all... It depends on where you are diving and how you are getting there. For classes and shore diving we use the wheeled 28 gallon stanley tool boxes, for travel we use a standard roller dive bag, on a boat we use a mesh bag and a small dry bag.

 

[LeadTurn_SD]

Looking for some opinions on this issue. What do you prefer, using a dive bag or using a hard-side box (like a gorilla box w/wheels) for dive gear. I am looking for opinions on actaul usage "on-site", not for storage. Also looking for opinons on what types of bags/boxes are best, most rugged, most useful, etc. Thoughts?

I shore dive. I use a large Rubbermaid (or similar) plastice bin; everything goes in the bin except for my tanks

At the dive site, I pull the bin out of the back of my pickup or Explorer, set in on the ground, and gear up "out of the bin" (items are arranged in the bin in the order I'll need them while setting up).

Post-dive, everything goes back in the bin. Once home (I live from 10 min - 2 hours from the various sites I dive), I can soak most of my gear in the same bin.

For boat dives (once every blue moon), I have used a sturdy "sports" duffle bag of the appropriate size, that folds/stows away when not in use (space is at a premium on most boats).

Best wishes.

 

[vinegarbiscuit]

Depends where I'm diving (and what the 'norm' for gear carriage is there), and what equipment I'll need. Upon making my first boat dives back home in the Northeast, I learned that the mesh bag I used for Caribbean dives wouldn't cut it: a big and cheap plastic box (from Home Depot, Target etc) was/is the norm. Tanks are dressed in the car and carried to the boat - only smaller items are in the boxes at that stage. I've also seen milk crates used, but folk tend to be considerate and careful about configuring them: a tower of three milk crates isn't going to fit under the boat's bench, for example. When making a dive trip by car or shore diving, our gear goes in the trusty plastic boxes. Regulators travel in their own zip-up cases, while other delicate gear like lights and computers are packed in storm cases and can go in the boxes safely. If the dive trip entails air travel, that obviously imposes certain limits on what you can and can't carry We use a combination of suitcases, an Akona dive bag and a wheeled storm case for the SO's rebreather on the plane. A mesh bag wins by default for transporting dive gear to and from the boat, if we're boat diving.

 

[OldNSalty]

For on the boat? I use a small(about 1 cubic foot) plastic bin or a small dry bag and that's it. I assemble most of my gear at my car before I get on the boat and store everything there ready to go. I disassemble it all at the car after the dive and pack it away.

I have tried large bins and bags and for some people that might be what they need. For me, I try and take as little as I can so I am not messing around with the stuff on the ride out there-plus, by doing this, I found that a lot of things I thought I needed for diving I really didn't.

 

[akirawut]

I used a rolling bag for all my stuff until reacently. It fell apart so I'm trying another way. My diving is the liveaboads out of Ventura or Santa Barbra or San Diegio. I also do local diving either Lake Tahoe or Blue Lake on the NV/UT boarder. I've also picked up Florida and Mexico cave diving. That involves flying. Because my $$ doesn't go real far, I am now in a plastic bin (28 gal) that I got in the hardware store. It doesn't have wheels. I can sit on the top to put my gear on. I am going to drill 3 holes on the lid/rim on each side and two on the ends and get plastic bolts and wing nuts to secure it for checked baggage. That way if TSA wants to look, they really want to look.

While this idea seems good on the surface, I would be careful. The wing nuts may enable them to get into it if they want, but I bet they will be less than happy about having to undo those nuts. As a result they will probably really half ass it when doing them up again, if they put the nuts back on at all.

 

[captain]

I use a plastic laundry basket. Everything except tanks fits in it and I can either place the basket in a rinse tank or hose it. It can't fit under most seats on dive boats but I have never had a problem finding a spot where it will be close to me but out of the way of others.