Hard Golf Case for Scuba travel

[sdiver68]

I was looking at the various hard travel cases for scuba gear when I had a thought....

Can anyone think of a good reason why NOT to bring a hard golf travel case for scuba gear? Has anyone done this? It's a little bit awkward but has a lot of protected room and takes up a small footprint at your destination when you stand it on end.

Amazon.com: SKB 2SKB-4812WS ATA Standard Golf Travel Case

I'm thinking if I can trust $1500+ of golf gear in there, might be a good choice for scuba as well? I already own the case so would get nice dual use out of it.

 

[Scubagolf]

You need the hard shell for the golf bag to prevent clubs from being snapped, which I have seen happen. Not sure this is a particularly good solution for dive gear.

You should consider putting your regs + computer in your carry-on to make sure it gets to your dive destination with you. That really only leaves the BC, wetsuit, fins, etc. which are not breakable items and are probably better off properly packed in a standard suitcase.

 

[diversteve]

How much gear do you have? lol...

Seriously, I packed my clubs, BC and other gear - IIRC correctly even weights - in a soft ballistic nylon golf travel case and flew to HI. It was really heavy though - this was pre-luggage charges. Almost knocked over one porter when he went to grab it.

The only thing I can see is that you wouldn't want the heavier stuff shifting around and smashing other gear. I always carry-on regs, computer, mask. As I want them with me if my checked luggage doesn't arrive - I can always rent fins and a BC.

I would point out the obvious also, depending on plane size they may not be able to take it. For example - local flights on Tropic Air out of Belize City have a 30x15x8" size restriction. I would guess something like Divi Air to Bonaire would be similar.

 

[SteveAD]

Might be a good idea. Airlines have always been friendlier to golf clubs than scuba gear. Might save on excess baggage cgarges.

 

[Doc]

SCUBA Gear is surprisingly bullet resistant.

Such golf cases have very limited internal volume. As airlines continue to be stupid, those that welcome golf equipment at no additional charge (vs. extra $ for SCUBA gear) might easily be hoodwinked by this subterfuge. Go for it. We have done this with success in very specific circumstances.

Contrary to your thought in terms of conveniently storing it in your quarters- many places that you may travel further along in your dive travel will be pretty cramped... liveaboards are but one example. On any liveaboard, this would be really bad idea.

Dive gear is not very delicate, nor is it really very desirable as a theft item from baggage. The urban myths contradicting these facts will triumph over reality.

 

[Damselfish]

There might be the rare and specific itinerary where the golf bag thing would work to your advantage, but you'll discover it's not a good solution most of the time. So if you find yourself doing a trip where it makes sense and already own the golf case, have at it, but I wouldn't buy one especially for this or plan on using it all the time.

You don't need a hard case for scuba gear. Most people carry on small/fragile/more valuable stuff anyway like mask, computer, camera gear if they have it, maybe regs, and check the rest, which will be just fine carefully packed in a soft bag. We actually used to use hard suitcases and moved to roller duffels after they got busted, and found soft worked better for scuba. Better to stuff under the bed of a liveaboard, better to squeeze into the cargo hold of a small plane, easier to haul around. And actually more durable, they bend instead of breaking. And they weigh less to start, important on smaller planes, and big ones after they reduced all the limits.

 

[sdiver68]

Sounds like my original plan of a carry-on with the expensive/breakable stuff and a large roller duffle with the soft goods will work better. Now when they build that golf course in Roatan...

Thanks all.