Trying to get my act together for Christmas.....only 46 more shopping days!
I'm looking for a good travel dive bag/luggage for the hub. He's tired of jamming everything into a regular suitcase & having it so messed up he can't fit everything back in it the way it was. When we were at the airport a few weeks ago, he saw a hard (probably heavy duty plastic) suitcase which was used by a professional photographer. He really like that but I don't know where to start looking.
He needs it for Fins, BCD, Mask, Reg, Snorkel, lights, wetsuit, boots, etc.
Not backpack style - something with wheels.
Any suggestions?
Thanks

I bought a duffle bag with wheels as I was severely restricted on weight when I went to the bahamas. It's large enough for all my dive gear plus some and didn't weigh me down like suitcases and more expensive luggage.

Also, I didn't want "dive luggage" to attract any would be thieves

I use a pelican case and love it. It's very old and worn and it's perfect. I think the website is www.pelican.com but I'm not sure.


It's the hard plastic and has wheels.

With the weight restrictions these days on flights to Bonaire, my thoughts are to stay away from hard-sided cases, or at least see what one weighs relative to, say a large duffel. Using up your precious weight allowance with the weight of an empty bag just doesn't seem like a good idea to me. I am a big fan of the LL Bean rolling duffel in the extra large size. Well made, sturdy, rolls well, comes in lots of colors to make spotting it easy, and if the airlines ever rip it up or damage it (pretty inevitable if ya use it enough) the very liberal LL Bean guarantee means you get a free replacement no questions asked. It also doesn't look like a dive bag or camera gear case, which (hopefully) lowers thief attraction.

I like the rolling duffel bag idea too. I keep my stuff on island now, but when I take them back for service in the states, I always have my reg, mask, snorkel in my carry-on, the wet suit and B/C go into a checked luggage. My Mask is script, would not want to not have that piece of luggage delayed when I got to Bonaire, so something to think about is hubby has a script mask.

We bought the large american tourister padded suitcase for our dive gear. Actually, we purchased four of them. Trying to keep every bag under 50 lbs. is a challenge trying to travel with three. Therefore, we opted for four. Hubby's dive gear in one, mine in another. Both bags just under 50 lbs each. One suitcase for hubbys clothes, toiletries and one for me. We love them because the wheels swivel too. No more tipping over. Plenty of weight allowance to bring back goodies.

Try looking at www.leisurepro.com . They have a good selection of dive bags at prices that are hard to beat. That being said, I just got an Armor Limited bag on Ebay for around $40 with shipping.

We bought sets of 3 nested bags with wheels from Sears. We now have 3 sets. THey are cheap - about $80 for the set and very light.

With 3 divers and 1 snorkeler we have lots of stuff and fit everything in the 6 larger bags. The 3 smaller bags, plus another small wheeled bags are our carryons. It was a breeze moving the bags around - even the 8 year old handled 2 small bags.

The nice thing about using the set of nested bags is you can usually strap several of them together and pull them (like a train) through the airport. If you adjust the straps right, they will lean on each other and not really produce much weight for you to hold. Amazing the comments you get from people when you are pulling three or four bags through the airport that way.

Hello!

I'm going to Bonaire in two months. This will be my third trip to the Dutch Caribbean this year. Went to Bonaire in January and spent two weeks at Aruba this summer. NICE!!!

I travel with KLM from Sweden and I always uses a MARES TECHNOMAD 100 MESH. It's big, the weight is low and it's perfect for boat dives...

I buy all my scuba equipment at
http://www.scubastore.com
They deliver at your door the next day

Patrik, Sweden

We have 2 Akona's they are very nice..come with regulator bag that you can either carry seperatly or keep attached to main bag. Lots of compartments and the wheels seem more durable than other bags we had in the past.
I agree about not taking the Pelican's (we have 4 in the attic!) Too heavy and we carry our cameras in our overhead luggage.

There are several good alternatives -- it depends on your budget and taste. As others have noted, the 50# weight limit is an issue as well (I have a few bags that you can easily pack over #50 pounds).

A Pelican case is still the gold standard for protection -- the cases are very durable, fairly waterproof, weigh a ton and can't be collapsed. (If you are staying on a liveaboard, bags that collapse small are a good thing). This what my brother uses for an underwater housing, arms, two strobes, etc.

In terms of systems, I like the Stahl Sacks. I have a matching bag (big dive bag, with wheels), a nice padded regulator bag for carryon (and it mates to the big bag) and a duffle bag (also mounts to the big bag). I use the dive bag and the reg bag every trip.

I also own two other bags that, depending on the trip, are used. A Patagonia Freightliner Max (is huge, rolls like it weighs nothing and has a lifetime guarantee) and an older Patagonia MLC (backpack style carryone bag). I don't like the new MLCs...

A few things to ponder:
a) Weight of the bag is an issue if you have lots of gear (a pound of bag weight means one less pound of gear).
b) If the bag will get plenty of use, a better brand bag is probably worth it (think Patagonia, Eagle Creek, Stahl, etc.) as they are typically better built. Regardless, look at the quality of the stitching, the zippers, straps and wheels. Look for reinforcements in wear areas.
c) Look for skate wheels that can be replaced if need be.
d) Think about where you are going and the amount of gear you will want to pack. The ideal bag will fit all of that and a tad bit more (but not anymore than that).
e) There is no substitute for seeing the bag in person.
f) I would avoid stuff that screams "expensive dive gear inside" such as heavily logoed bags.
g) Other alternatives are things like regular luggage. Costco has some nice pieces. Places like Ross and TJ Max often sell discounted stuff. On-line, I like Sierra Trading Post.

Good luck!

http://www.luggageonline.com/product.cfm?product_ID=396

Samsonite 29" Oyster hard-side w/ wheels, inexpensive, light, sturdy, and meets the airlines size limitations. I carried everything I needed for 9 days on Bonaire in one of these plus a carry on.

I just picked up this: http://www.luggagewarehouse.com/s529103.html

Tom, that's what we use. In fact, we bought 4 of them over the last couple of years. The come with those TSA locks. We love them. The wheels swivel so they don't tip over easily.

And this is my favorite:
http://www.luggagewarehouse.com/s411414.html

We have three of these, have used them all over the world for several years. They do not look like dive gear (although you could get a red one and paint a while stripe on it, or a blue one and paint one end white!), are naked plastic on the inside (so some water packed in on the way home causes no problems), and are surprising light for a hard-sided bag.

- Mel

The previous message linked to the larger of the two versions; this link is to the smaller one, which is a bit harder to find, but which is plenty big for the new 50-pound limits.
http://www.amazon.com/Samsonite-FLite-28-Upright/dp/B0001FF9TQ

- Mel

Judy, do you notice that while we might have our own preferences, we all share one thing in common? Yes, you are right, none of our bags or hardside luggage scream "DIVE GEAR".

Thanks everyone - guess I have some checking around to do.
Got that, Tom & David. The last thing I'd want to do is scream "This is my husband's DIVE GEAR" do check it out! You know in saying that when we saw the photographer's heavy hard-styled luggage we just knew that there was something expensive in that luggage & it definitely draws attention.

I have those LL Bean rolling duffles like mentioned above. They are the lowest weight of anything I've ever found. With a 44 lb weight restriction, I guess you'll be able to recognize me as the lady with only one outfit.