What bag?!?

[MelLandry]

I'm sure someone scoffed at that title... "Another noob in here asking dumn vague question that we've seen a million times."

I guess I'm really just stumped. I've been looking around for almost two weeks now and I don't think I'm any closer to making a decision than I was on day one (well maybe a little).

There are so many options: Carry-on or check? Roll or backpack? Large or small? One bag or two?

Background: My wife and I are both flying to Cozumel to dive in October. I'm looking for a bag (or bags) to safely transport all of our gear: BCDs, 5mil suits, fins, mask, computers, etc.

Where I am at this very moment: I'm thinking along the lines of two Akona Carry-on Rollers (AKB176). This will limit the weight of a single large bag, allow us to carry on all of our precious equipment, and still provide enough space for both sets (and perhaps a little left over).

So what are your thoughts? I've never traveled via airline with gear. Does this sound like a reasonable train of thought? Is there a bag that would be better suited for this? Any other thoughts?

Thanks for your help in advance!

[ScubaJ]

That sounds like a decent solution.

I simply got one of the large wheeled suitcase to put all our gear in when traveling. I can fit our BCD's, fins, masks, wet suits, lights, etc etc and it comes out to be about 45#. We carry on our regs. I can handle using a rented BCD, but not rental regs.

That leaves us one more check bag to pack all our clothes & such.

The dive specific travel bags are certainly sweet, but if your on a budget, there are other options available.

Hope that helps a little bit.
Enjoy your trip in Cozumel.

[Diver Kat]

We use several regular suitcases when traveling. Prefer not to have our luggage advertising we're divers ... I've heard too many story of things not making it to the end destination. We did our last 2 week trip with 3 26" midsize suitcases. With 2 sets of gear, clothes, etc. each bag weighed a bit over 40 lbs.

[freeski4ever]

Dive a BP/W, and you'll be able to fit your entire rig, including regs in the overhead compartment!!

[Daz]

Originally Posted by MelLandry

There are so many options: Carry-on or check? Roll or backpack? Large or small? One bag or two?

Background: My wife and I are both flying to Cozumel to dive in October. I'm looking for a bag (or bags) to safely transport all of our gear: BCDs, 5mil suits, fins, mask, computers, etc.
So what are your thoughts? I've never traveled via airline with gear. Does this sound like a reasonable train of thought? Is there a bag that would be better suited for this? Any other thoughts?

When we fly on a dive trip we check and carry on. Two full sets of gear plus camera/housing/strobe rig as well as clothing/supplies for a one to two week trip. Regs/computers in a carry on reg bag - this bag doubles as a "personal bag" because we carry all of out travel docs in it as well. The cameras and accessories fly in a carry on camera bag and I carry on our backplates/harnesses in a backpack. Everything else gets checked in one or two roller duffels (depends on where/when we're going) that we bought on sale at Target for $25. The dive gear generally goes in one roller and whatever else we're bringing (clothes and whatnot) goes in the other (on some trips we take food stuffs as well as a couple of liters). There's plenty of room for everything we need and even room to bring home more stuff and the bags don't scream "I'm full of expensive dive gear - somebody steal me!". Carrying our backplates on helps keep the checked bags light and we never have to worry about overweight charges for our checked luggage.

One question: Are you really planning on diving Coz with 5mm suits? That seems a touch heavy to me. I haven't been there in a while, but on previous trips I wore a 3mm shorty while my always cold wife wore a 3mm full suit.

[bubbletrubble]

Originally Posted by Daz

When we fly on a dive trip we check and carry on. Two full sets of gear plus camera/housing/strobe rig as well as clothing/supplies for a one to two week trip. Regs/computers in a carry on reg bag - this bag doubles as a "personal bag" because we carry all of out travel docs in it as well. The cameras and accessories fly in a carry on camera bag and I carry on our backplates/harnesses in a backpack. Everything else gets checked in one or two roller duffels (depends on where/when we're going) that we bought on sale at Target for $25. The dive gear generally goes in one roller and whatever else we're bringing (clothes and whatnot) goes in the other (on some trips we take food stuffs as well as a couple of liters). There's plenty of room for everything we need and even room to bring home more stuff and the bags don't scream "I'm full of expensive dive gear - somebody steal me!". Carrying our backplates on helps keep the checked bags light and we never have to worry about overweight charges for our checked luggage.

One question: Are you really planning on diving Coz with 5mm suits? That seems a touch heavy to me. I haven't been there in a while, but on previous trips I wore a 3mm shorty while my always cold wife wore a 3mm full suit.

I agree with Daz's recommendations, although I tend to check my aluminum BP/W. My girlfriend and I carry-on regs/computers/camera/UW housing/laptop/masks in backpacks. We check the rest in a $40 rolling duffel that I bought at Costco. I'd rather save my money for our next dive vacation or to buy more dive gear. :-)

I was in Coz 3 years ago, and I wore a full 3mm wetsuit. 5mm is probably overkill...but it is drift diving...and you probably won't be kicking that much. If you're planning on logging some serious bottom time (5 dives/day with each dive being about 1 hr), then perhaps the extra neoprene is justified. Everyone's cold tolerance is different.

Have a great time!

[snagel]

I use a standard suitcase to pack my gear in while flying. Also, don't like to advertise "Dive Gear". I have heard many say this, but really haven't heard of any issues - maybe it's a myth or people just being cautious. When traveling to Mexico I see a lot of gear bags marked with dive logos. Once in Mexico I use a standard mesh duffle to carry things onto the boats. You don't want a huge suitcase on a boat. Something that can fold up and out of the way. I carry this in the suitcase and once in Mexico transfer everything out of the suitcase into the mesh duffle.

Last trip we traveled from the Riveria Maya side across the ferry to Coz and back in a day. Carrying everything was a pain, so I too would love something that is able to be rolled and/or backpack. But, again has to be small enough to not take up a lot of space on the boats. I actually wore my BC and carried the rest. Kinda odd, but worked. I'm looking at a lightweight mesh backpack offered by my LDS for carrying gear once in Mexico.

Re - 5mil? I tend to get cold easily, but only wore a 2mil shorty while in Mexico and was fine. The locals were in 5's and even 7's. I'm thinking 5mil for you might be a little much.

Snagel

[BlueC5Kitten]

So does the dive bag construction not matter much? I guess one of my biggest concerns is being able to pack wet and dry in the same bag, since I really don't want to check a second bag to separate wet gear from dry gear and am a single diver (yep, one of those "always in search of a dive buddy" folks). The bag fees, in addition to the hauling of the extra luggage just make it not worth it!

Thoughts???

[bubbletrubble]

Originally Posted by BlueC5Kitten

So does the dive bag construction not matter much? I guess one of my biggest concerns is being able to pack wet and dry in the same bag, since I really don't want to check a second bag to separate wet gear from dry gear and am a single diver (yep, one of those "always in search of a dive buddy" folks). The bag fees, in addition to the hauling of the extra luggage just make it not worth it!

Thoughts???

@BlueC5Kitten: If you don't have enough time to allow your gear to dry (or the humidity in a tropical locale prevents drying), you can still pack dry and wet gear in one bag. Simply invest in several garbage bags. Use one for your wetsuit, one for your BCD or wing, one for your other neoprene items, etc. If you do this, I would pack the rest of your dry clothes in another garbage bag, too, just in case one of the wet bags is punctured. When you get home, rinse the stinky neoprene out in fresh water laced with your stank-be-gone chemical of choice. The side benefit of doing this is that if you have a personal vendetta against TSA agents rummaging around in your luggage, know that they'll be greeted by a noxious aroma when they open up your bag full of wet neoprene. :-)

Personally I don't feel the need to buy a dive manufacturer's bag to pack my dive gear for a trip. It's true that most dive bags have salt water corrosion-resistant zippers, but I think for vacation divers the garbage bag idea addresses the issue adequately. Some might argue that those same dive bags can be used for local diving. Yeah, I see tons of divers who use bags emblazoned with Mares/Aeris/Stahlsac/Akona/Cressi/Aqualung/Scubapro logos to haul gear to and from the beach. I prefer using a medium-size Rubbermaid container to carry gear for local dives. It doubles as a post-dive rinse tub. For boat dives, I use a mesh dive backpack that collapses to fit nicely under the seat.

[snagel]

Obviously, you want something that will withstand being thrown about by the luggage handlers. You have to decide this quality.

Keep in mind that wet cloths are heavier. So, if you are close on weight going, you will probably be overweight when you return - allow for this or try and get things dry before you head back.

Snagel