Dive Bags

Choosing a dive bag for how you actually dive

Most divers end up owning more than one bag. What you sling into a RIB is not what you check onto a flight, and neither is what you want a regulator living in. Work out where the bag spends its life first and the choice narrows quickly.

Mesh bags for the boat and the shore

Mesh drains, which is the whole point. Wet fins, a rinsed wetsuit and a mask go straight in and keep draining while you sit on the tubes. The Stahlsac B.V.I Mesh Backpack and Stahlsac Panama Mesh Backpack use snag-resistant polyester mesh over a reinforced PVC bottom, so dragging them across a wet deck does not shred them. The TUSA Mesh Backpack, TUSA Deluxe Mesh Drawstring Bag and Aqualung Adventure Mesh Duffle Bag cover the same job in different carrying styles. If you dive locally and rinse at home, a mesh bag may be the only bag you need.

Wheeled bags and duffels for travel

Once you are not carrying kit on your back, the weight problem moves to the airport. The Stahlsac Steel Wheeled Bags and the Stahlsac Steel Carry-On give you a sealed water-resistant lower compartment so damp gear travels apart from dry clothing, with a breathable top section above it. Their frame components and wheels are replaceable rather than write-offs, which matters on a bag that gets thrown down a jetty. The Apeks 90L Roller Bag takes a similar line with a robust telescopic handle that zips away, external compression straps to shrink the bag to its contents, and a hardwearing tarpaulin shell. If you would rather not have wheels, the Fourth Element Expedition Duffel Bag, Stahlsac Abyss Duffels, Stahlsac Steel Duffel Bag and Aqualung Explorer II Duffle Pack carry the load on a shoulder or your back, and the Stahlsac Caicos Cargo Pack and Stahlsac Curacao Clipper sit between the two. The Aqualung Explorer Dive Bags and TUSA's roller and duffle bags round out the choice.

Dry bags for wet crossings

Dry bags are for the crossing, not the dive. The Fourth Element Argo Dry Bag is zip-less with high-frequency welded seams, on the principle that the fewer openings a bag has the less there is to fail. The Waterproof WP Duffel Bag uses welded seams too, plus a large drain valve, padded handles that convert to shoulder straps and come off entirely for check-in, and a shock-absorbing internal mesh pocket for a dive computer. The TUSA DRYBAG1 and Ocean Pack Waterproof Dry Bag are lighter, simpler answers for a phone, a towel and dry clothes on an open boat.

Protecting regulators and delicate kit

A regulator does not want to be at the bottom of a duffel under a weight belt. The Aqualung Explorer Regulator II Bag combines foam with stiffened board walls, and its round shape keeps hoses from kinking rather than folding them flat. It packs flat itself when empty, so it costs you almost nothing on the outbound leg. The Stahlsac Molokini Regulator Bag does the same job. Both are sized to drop straight inside a larger travel bag rather than be carried separately.

Hard cases for the things that will not forgive you

Soft bags have limits, and camera housings, ports, strobes and computers find them. The Seahorse Protective Equipment Cases are watertight, airtight, dustproof and crush resistant, sealed with an O-ring and fitted with an automatic pressure purge valve so the case equalises after a flight instead of jamming shut on the dive deck. They have moulded-in padlock holes, chemical and UV resistant shells, and several come with cubed protective foam you pluck to the shape of your kit. The range runs from small cases that fit an overhead bin up to larger sizes for full camera rigs, and Seahorse back them with an unconditional lifetime guarantee.

The brands we stock

Aqualung, Apeks, Stahlsac, TUSA, Fourth Element, Waterproof, Ocean Pack and Seahorse. Stahlsac is the deepest part of the range, running from mesh backpacks through cargo packs and clippers to wheeled travel bags. Seahorse covers the hard cases. Fourth Element also make the Ocean Debris Bag, a drainable mesh pouch with a Velcro closure and a clip that stows in a pocket until you find something on the reef worth taking home with you.

Looking after a dive bag

Rinse it, do not just empty it. Salt left in zips, mesh and stitching is what finishes bags off, so hose the whole thing through in fresh water and dry it open rather than zipped. Empty the wet compartment on a wet/dry bag before it spends a night in a car boot. Zips take an occasional wax and repay it. And before you write a bag off, check whether the part that failed is a spare you can order — on the Stahlsac wheeled bags the wheels and frame components are designed to be replaced.