Good Dive Boat Bag

[SantaAna,CA]

I have a nice large rolling Akona bag that I take with me on the airplane and cruise ship, that fits all my equipment. But it's too large for the boats when I go on scuba trips in each port. I got a mesh dive bag (smaller, with two handles) on ebay for my last cruise, and it was so bulky and hard to handle, I hated it. Can anyone suggest a good boat bag that won't take up as much space as a large roller bag..and fits all my gear (minus weights and tanks; I have everything else). Thank you!

 

Jane :)

[Pilot70D]

STAHLSAC makes a really good mesh backpack/scuba bag. It's large enough to hold all your scuba equipment yet it's small enough to conveniently go aboard even thesmallest of diveboats. It also has a zippered dry pocket on one side. I find this pocket very handy for those small items that would ordinarily get swallowed up by the gear in the bag.

 

These Stahlsac bags are available fairly frequently on eBay and usually sell for no more than $20 plus whatever the shipping is. We each have one and they have been almost impervious to wear. I think that I paid around $10 for one mine and $16 for the War Department's (a.ka. Mrs. B).

 

Hope this is helpful.

[w&k]

Except for us it was two sets of gear. All the big stuff went in the giant rolling bag, and I also had a small cheapo roller bag for the regs and camera. DH cricked his shoulder heaving the large one onto the tender in Belize, so we were looking for a better way.

 

We bought some inexpensive mesh backpacks before we took off on our last cruise, and they were wonderful for the smaller boats. They were big enough to hold a full set of gear + booties & wetsuit & camera, and they folded up small enough to fit in a large ziploc for our flights. The top sections are mesh, and the bottom is solid with a drain hole.

 

For a quick rinse before returning to the ship, I just loaded it up, and dunked the whole thing in the rinse tank.

 

I did carry my 'boat bag' of towels, shoes, sunscreen, snacks, etc., etc., etc., separately. but probably could have stuffed it in.

 

Putting the fins in first kept things from poking me in the back when walking, and made it easier to slide in the BC's.

 

I'm 5'6" and DH is 6'5", and there was enough adjustment to make us both relatively comfortable.

 

Have a great trip!

 

Wendy

 

We bought the Armor mesh backpack from Divers Direct. There were lots of fancy ones available as well.

 

http://www.diversdirect.com/item/Armor%20-%20Deluxe%20Mesh%20Backpack_ID35521

[techdiver]

I use one of the Akona mesh backpacks. Holds my big Mares full foot fins, BC, wetsuit, etc. Think the model # is AKB-234.

[sea-jay]

Wendy - I have the same mesh backpack. It's really great because it holds all my gear for the dive boat and then I can just leave it packed and fit it right into my rolling hard/soft bag for traveling. I wish I had bought it a year earlier.:D

 

 

 

Happy bubbles

[SantaAna,CA]

You guys rock...thanks for all your insight.

 

Jane :D