Question Help me get over my fear of soft sided luggage for air travel

[deeno]

I see others traveling with a soft sided duffel for their dive gear and I wonder if people have had gear damage over the years from using them vs a hard sided suitcase. I would like to cut 5lbs off of my gear weight by switching to a rolling duffel (my current samsonite is getting close to retirement), but I have nightmares of a tower of heavy luggage stacked on top of my dive gear.

Am I over thinking it?

 

[GreggS]

My wife and I have been using soft sided luggage for years and have never had our dive gear damaged. They're normally so tightly packed they're more like a solid case. We put our regs & computers in our carry-ons.

 

[ibj40]

My wife and I have been using soft sided luggage for years and have never had our dive gear damaged. They're normally so tightly packed they're more like a solid case. We put our regs & computers in our carry-ons.

I’d second this, with the addition that our regs are also inside the soft sides, inside padded regulator bags that are then inside our BCDs.

 

[Tracy]

What dive gear are you bringing that would be damaged by stacking other bags on top of it?
I pack in a canvas duffel and haven't ever had any issues. I don't really have anything that could crush outside of smashing it with a hammer.

 

[Darnold9999]

I have had a lens port cracked in a duffle. Thought it was well protected but I suspect a customs inspection shuffled something. I now use a small pelican type case to transport such items. If I need to it goes in the duffle so I can travel with a single bag.