Ever watched a diver wrestle with a leaking garbage bag full of wet gear at 5 AM, or arrived at a liveaboard with a regular suitcase that turned into a soggy disaster? Choosing the wrong dive bag creates headaches you'll deal with on every single trip. This episode walks you through the sizing calculations, material considerations, and feature priorities that separate bags built for real saltwater abuse from those destined to fall apart mid-vacation—whether you're a newly certified diver making your first purchase or an instructor replacing yet another destroyed roller bag.

• Measure your longest rigid item (usually fins) and add three inches—that's your minimum internal bag length requirement, because gear that only fits diagonally means nothing else fits properly.

• Recreational divers with standard jacket BCDs and ...