Dive Caddy Review for Tech Diving- Picture Intensive

[dustynrobots]

Has anyone checked out the Gen2 dive caddy? It's $300 now! I don't want the destination bag and repair kit, just the main travel bag with fin caddy. My wife got the 1st gen for $200 a year ago, and I'm kicking myself now for not getting one then. Does anyone know of a source for the Gen2, or a discount code somewhere, to get it for less than $300? Thanks!

 

[ScubaERDoc]

I just got my Gen2 Dive Caddy which I ordered from Amazon for $300 and was distributed by Seavanger. Just spent about a half an hour this afternoon taking it apart and packing my gear in for a test run in preparation for my upcoming Curacao trip. Some impressions:

1) This system takes some playing around with to use effectively. There are a LOT of straps and definitely need to review which go where...for example I'm not sure if I am using my trim straps right.

2) It is lightweight and seems to be well built.

3) The compression system is effective. You can get your gear down to a pretty good size. The lack of extra bulk and material is very appreciated.

4) If not packed well, the bag will be lumpy and can poke your back...goes back to point #1

5) Potentially, if traveling extremely lightly, this can be a one bag system. I will leave my knife in San Francisco for my next abalone dive trip. Will not bring a laptop but will pack a Kindle Fire into the turtle bag, along with my camera. Will only bring 3 days of very warm weather clothes as I plan to use the washer/dryer at the condo often. Otherwise, it would be easy to check a bag with my clothes which I could care less if the airline loses.

6) One thing I dislike immediately about the Gen2 system: The spider pack attaches with 6 straps which fasten through double D-ring and velcro. NO QUICK RELEASES on the spider pack. Thats right...the video on the Dive Caddy website is of the original system with quick releases. I didnt realize this until I opened the Gen2, I thought the buckles were missing at first until I looked online. Apparently this change was made to make the Gen2 more durable, but it is a time consuming process to detach the spider pack by working free each double D-ring strap. Which kind of defeats the entire purpose of the bag...it won't be a quick breeze through TSA. If I had known this before, I think I would have looked hard at getting the original Dive Caddy instead.

7) The bladder on my Zeagle Express Tech gets folded and a little pinched when compressed. But I doubt it will damage it.

8) This is better than using standard luggage for sure

 

[RadHal]

I too, am in the process of prepping for an upcoming dive trip, to Bonaire in mid May 2012 for 5 days of diving. I bought the Divecaddy Gen 2 from Diverightinscuba (love them). I wanted to avoid checking any dive gear into the hold. I am also taking an Olympus EPL3 camera, with housing, dual strobes, tray, arms, and sola 800 focus light. Obviously this aint gonna fit in the DiveCaddy, into which I am already packing a 3mm full wetsuit, my regulator, SS back plate and wing and Tusa Split fins size large (have a curved form) as well as rugged booties and clothes. The alternative was to put all the camera gear in a dedicated camera roll on hard case (not cheap either >$200 or a regular roll-on bag), ensuring the camera is well protected, and sending the Divecaddy into the hold (defeating the purpose of having the Divecaddy2 as a take-on bag) . What I am going to do is put all the camera stuff, with wrist dive computer, and 10" mini laptop in an over-the-shoulder sling bag and take this onboard as the "personal item" together with the Divecaddy and try keep clothing to a minimum in the Spider Bag, thereby avoiding any checked luggage. At worst, I will check the DiveCaddy. So be aware, if you are taking a moderate amount of camera gear, you cannot protect it adequately, let alone fit it in the Divecaddy 2. I also agree with my colleague ScubaERdoc that the double D-rings holding the spider bag, though apparently more durable, is not as efficient as clips.

It takes a while to learn how to optimally use and pack your gear into the Divecaddy, so don't leave this to the last minute. Review the online videos for help. As you can see I am already packing three weeks before I head out to my first trip to Bonaire!

 

[MRadke]

You might look at adding a set of plastic squeeze lock buckles. Buy a couple of feet of webbing that matches what is used on the dive caddy. Use the existing webbing for the male end of the buckle and a short length of the new webbing to attach the female end to the d-rings. This way you'll get the convenience of the buckles and built in redundancy in the event of a buckle failure. Total project cost will likely be around 20 bucks. I have a Gen 1 and would be SOL if a buckle broke.

 

[bfuqua]

My wife and I have these and love them. We can carry everything we need for a long weekend in Cozumel and have it without waiting for luggage...

 

[koozemani]

Got my gen 2 for $200 on black Friday.

 

[ScubaERDoc]

Thanks MRadke. I ordered 7 plastic side snaps buckles, 7 foot of webbing (just encase I need to find the best length) and 7 1 inch plastic belt slides. Its gonna take a little bit of playing around to get it set up as I'm not sure how to connect the double D rings to the webbing to the female half of the buckle securely.

Kinda seems like a pain in the but that I have to do this to begin with. Dive Caddy stated that the double Drings were their "most popular" improvement. Somehow I don't believe that.

I will write a Full Review after my trip

 

[MRadke]

My guess is that they were having too many complaints of broken buckles. Some folks could break a solid steel ball, 12 feet in diameter, in an hour in a sandbox with a rubber hammer. That's just a reality of producing a product for the public. No, I don't work for the company, just been in customer service doing repairs my entire life.

Attaching the female buckle to the webbing will depend on the style buckle that you have. If it's a single loop buckle, you may have to stitch the webbing instead of threading it through the way you would on the male end. Hopefully it works out well for you.

 

[PUDDLZ]

Just ordered mine from DRIS for my trip in a week, thanks again guys.

 

[BAMA6977]

Just ordered mine. Trust me if it can be broken, made to not hold equipment or arranged with "dingle dangles" hanging out, it will happen with me. More when I try it.