How many of you use a diving gear bag?

[CAPTAIN SINBAD]

I would like to know. I used a diving gear roller bag (can not remember which one) for many years until the wheel broke. Then I got a regular travel bag and it could not take salt water too well. It never went on a boat and yet the salt in the gear after the dive caused rust in the zipper and then the inner panels began to get eaten away. I was quite shocking to see how little of salt water can do so much damage.

It was my wife's favorite luggage bag so after that I am looking to get another one and this time, I may buy a dedicated scuba gear bag instead of walmart solutions to scuba problems. Wondering how many of you are using dedicated scuba gear bags?

 

[EireDiver606]

I use a scuba brand duffel bag. it’s not really necessary to get scuba dedicated bags but I did. It has a great strong zipper and has heavy material on the bottom and of course is massive to fit a lot of my gear in. It is very heavy when full and weighs probably 25 kilos + so it would be better to either distribute the weight between smaller bags or get shoulder straps which it does but are very flimsy and uncomfortable. The best thing to get for local diving is a big plastic container in your car that you can also wash your gear in and has a plug in the corner with a hose attached to it to run out of car.

I do like mine though because I can just hunk it over my shoulder and carry it anywhere without needing stairs to roll it on and if I don’t need it, I can fold it to save room.

 

[RainPilot]

I picked up the Apeks 75 bag, its enough for me in most applications.


I also sometimes use an old Akona mesh bag.

 

[flyboy08]

A duffle with wheels from Cosco, Marshals's, or Target would fit the bill perfectly....we use one for all gear except regs which we carry on....I’ve been using the same duffel for more than 10 years now..probably cost no more than $60.00.

A good trick is to run a soap bar over the zippers every few months....acts like oil.

 

[Lorenzoid]

I have been using a Stahlsac--still holding up after 10+ years--but I was thinking of eventually replacing it with a generic bag. Your comment about corrosion from residual salt on the gear has me re-thinking that. Still, I have not been on a trip where there was no opportunity to fairly thoroughly rinse and hang my gear to dry before packing it up.

 

[seeker242]

I use a standard hard sided suitcase for air travel. I don't like to advertise that I have a ton of expensive stuff. And then just a mesh scuba duffle at the destination or when diving locally.

 

[Bubbles McGee]

I use a regular medium size hard shell suitcase for air travel. I transfer everything into my Stahlsac Bonaire Mesh Backpack upon arrival.

 

[CAPTAIN SINBAD]

I have been using a Stahlsac--still holding up after 10+ years--but I was thinking of eventually replacing it with a generic bag. Your comment about corrosion from residual salt on the gear has me re-thinking that. Still, I have not been on a trip where there was no opportunity to fairly thoroughly rinse and hang my gear to dry before packing it up.

I did a few dives in Roatan and on the last day of the dive I shoved everything in without properly dumping it in fresh water. After that I did a few NC trips in which the gear was carried back to DC in the bag without wash. The zipper started to collect rust from the Roatan trip onwards and after than NC trip is became useless. The insides have not taken well to saltwater either.

 

[ibj40]

I use a regular medium size hard shell suitcase for air travel. I transfer everything into my Stahlsac Bonaire Mesh Backpack upon arrival.

Same here, I pack my gear into a Pacific Gear rolling duffel, like this one:

And then at the destination, transfer to an Aqua Lung mesh tote.

 

[Magnus Lundstedt]

I use one dedicated scuba gear bag with mesh bottom and part of sides.

When i fly i put my fins, tool case, wet suite and BP/W in that one, and also i put my backpack with clotes and stuff inside it. Its my checked in luggage.

When hauling gear to and from boats and divesites I have my camera, torch and regs in a regulator bag, the rest in the scuba bag. I lock to get one I can carry as a backpack as the bag tend to be a little heavy when climbing over a row of boats and walkin the 200 meter from my hotel to the boat. While a heavy BP is lovely in the water, its not funny to carry around.

I find the mesh is good when hauling soaking wet stuff from the boat to the hotel, i usualy dropped a lot of water before I left the boat.