Fantastic gear bag and source!!

[Cacia]

I can vouch for that design, space-wise. Very similiar to the bag we use for two sets of gear......Yours looks like a better quality (mine was 40 at Costco) The bottom compartment for fins keeps everything tidy and we take ours on to the boat.

 

[ColdH2OisNot4Me]

Susan,
The exact wieght on my Tamita electronic bathroom scale is 11.9 pounds. This bag is extremely well constructed, made from 900 denier (versus 600 for the $65.00 one someone mentioned.) I don't know if it's puncture proof to an ice-pick but I'd say that short of a Pelican hard case it would resist the typical luggage-handler abuse. I also know that the people at luggageguru.com will ship same day as order if you call them, give them your phone number, and ask them to watch for your order coming across the internet. For me, a 16 dollar difference between someone I can count on based on a personal experience versus an unknown entity would be worth it. I'm in the Midwest, ordered the piece on Tuesday and it showed up on my doorstep from their facility in New Jersey on Thursday. 2 days in transit and I had also received a UPS tracking confirmation by 6 PM day of order.

 

[ColdH2OisNot4Me]

The larger bag mentioned by another member is 2 inches in excess of airline baggage allowances. This bag is at the exact limit. Not a big deal 99% of the time; however I seem to always get the baggage checker that gets a perverse delight in trying to find a bad 1 inch oversize to collect the $80 oversize fee or 1 pound overweight for the $25 charge. I actually had to reshuffle the contents of two bags at the Miami airport American Airlines counter once because one was 4 pounds over and the second bag was 5 pounds under. All of my other luggage is Briggs and Riley, which cost $250 per piece and up. Briggs and Riley has a very simple warranty. If the bag is ever damaged, ever fails, even if abused or damaged by airlines, it will be repaired or replaced. Period. No disclaimers, no time limit, just simply guaranteed, no matter what, for life. While this bag doesn't have a similar warranty, and the construction is only slightly inferior to B&R, it carries a price that is less than 1/2. I am confident it will last many many trips.

 

[susan6868]

Okay- the bag is on the way. I strayed just a bit and bought a 30" dropp bottom duffel in High Sierra's new "Level" line. http://luggageguru.com/store/detail.html?sku=120640&cart=3371808238272761
I gotta tell you, Chris at LuggageGuru.com was an absolute gem. He remembered working with you and really took his time helping me out. Then, he dropped the price below what the website showed without me even asking. The best part is that the whole time he was weighing bags and going back and forth with me, I'm thinking what a pleasure it is to deal with someone in the Midwest who is so patient and courteous.
At the end of the conversation, I gave him by billing address in New York and it turns out he's like 10 miles away from me in some office.............their retail store is my local mall!
Now, I'm not bashing New Yorkers, after all, I am one, so don't send me hate mail.
But my experience is that we tend to be maybe a little more aggressive than most? Or maybe just stressed and rushed. This outfit could be on a farm somewhere in the sticks. You were right ColdH2OisNot4me, they were the NICEST people to do business with. Chris said the bag would go out to me today, I should have it in a day or two.
I did get snagged with sales tax because after all, we're neighbors, but dealing with them was such a refreshing experience, it was worth the price of admission.
And, they service the products they sell, so if there is a problem, these are the people you will be dealing with. Another plus.
Well, there's my luggageguru.com plug. Give them a try, and thanks again for pointing me in that direction. I couldn't be happier, except, of course, underwater........)

 

[mike_s]

I bought a Walmart bag to start with. was a roler duffel.

The problem with it was the fabric wasn't as tough as it needed to be nor were the zippers. not for the wet of wet scuba gear.

Salt water on the unprotected canvas weakened the fabric after several trips. If finally tore wide open as I picked it up on the luggage carousel at the airport on the way home. I'm just lucky that it didn't do that in the underground luggage area where the handlers were.... I'm sure they would have split up my gear evenly among themselves.

From then on, I use I bag that is made to handle wet & heavy scuba gear. Just something to think about.

 

[susan6868]

I've been there too with the BJ's $40 rolling duffel and yes, it was definately worth $40 but not made for the abuse our bags typically take.
I did some research, and chose this bag because it was made from ballistic nylon. Evidently ballistic nylon was originally developed by Dupont for Military Flak jackets and bullet resistant vests and then eventually replaced by Kevlar. Makes you wonder if they make Kevlar duffels..............overkill maybe. Anyway, I read that ballistic is supposed to out perform cotton duck (canvas) by about 14-1, not bad, even if they've exaggerated a bit.
I thought it was a good choice because it is not only touted as being exceptionally durable, but it's extremely lightweight. This bag weighed in at 11 pounds.
It's more expensive, but not crazy. I can live with that if it protects my stuff!
I'll let you know more after the baggage gorillas get a whack at it.........

 

[LindaBluedolphin]

I've been there too with the BJ's $40 rolling duffel and yes, it was definately worth $40 but not made for the abuse our bags typically take.
I did some research, and chose this bag because it was made from ballistic nylon. Evidently ballistic nylon was originally developed by Dupont for Military Flak jackets and bullet resistant vests and then eventually replaced by Kevlar. Makes you wonder if they make Kevlar duffels..............overkill maybe. Anyway, I read that ballistic is supposed to out perform cotton duck (canvas) by about 14-1, not bad, even if they've exaggerated a bit.
I thought it was a good choice because it is not only touted as being exceptionally durable, but it's extremely lightweight. This bag weighed in at 11 pounds.
It's more expensive, but not crazy. I can live with that if it protects my stuff!
I'll let you know more after the baggage gorillas get a whack at it.........

Once you get your bag and test it out please post your evaluation!

 

[polysemous1]

I just ordered the same bag that susan did. She is correct about great customer service. I'm off to Coz in January, so I'll be interested to see how this bag works for the trip. Just basic gear for the warm water trip, so maybe I can also fit most of my clothes in the bag...that would be a help.

thanks to all for their input on this thread.

best,

Dave

 

[susan6868]

I just ordered the same bag that susan did. She is correct about great customer service.

Dave, I just packed the bag that you ordered that I ordered..............(yikes)
We packed two sets of gear minus regs and computers and it worked out great.
What color bag did you buy? The black was unavailable when I bought so I took the green and it turns out it's really sharp looking.
Have a great trip to Cozumel, and Happy Thanksgiving.