STASH Fin Gear Bag 44L

I got this for Christmas months ago and sorta forgot about it. I’ve been using a north face duffel for years but always hated that the zipper would corrode after using it. Then tonight as I was getting my gear together I saw this bag in the shed and thought I’d give it a shot. I was SHOCKED!!!! I fit my entire dive kit (5mm open cell, free diving fins, 100’ floatline + 10’ bungee, beach towel, mask, gloves, booties, knife, scallop kit, throw flasher, spray bottle of suit lube, and a waterproof case with my fishing license inside it) all in the bag!!! This bag is AMAZING!!!! All I’ve gotta carry on board now is my weight belt and guns!! I cannot recommend more that you get one! You won’t regret it!! 🤙🏻

The bag meets my expectations. It is well designed, big enogh to carry all I need and allowes me to access and again put away my gear easily.

I particularly like the netting which helps draining my gear after the dive.

All in all, this bag seems to have been designed, like all of Riffe's equipment, by somebody who put a lot of positive thought into this design.

I reviewed this bag when it first arrived three months ago. Now I've used it on a three week trip to Hawaii which included staying in several locations and flying.

Packing the bag for flying was a bit frustrating in that it was full with only half of the 50 pounds allowed in a checked bag. A pair or two or three of long fins takes up the center of the bag, leaving space for soft items, (which don't weigh much), to be packed around them. I didn't risk packing anything heavy, like my weight belt, or fragile.

I did miss the lack of strap attachments to wear the bag on my back. At the airport I found that I needed to carry it because the walkways for a luggage cart were too narrow for the bag to fit crosswise on the cart, and lengthwise the bag was not stable on top of other luggage. Walking with it dangling on my shoulder while pushing the cart was awkward.

Overall the bag is probably best suited for diving off a boat.

For flying I might go back to using an extra large duffle bag to potentially save the cost of an extra checked bag.

Riffe used to make a much larger fin bag, the Castoff Roller Travel Bag. However that bag was so large that it would trigger an oversize baggage surcharge (and likely also be overweight).

What I'd really like for flying (with long fins) is a fairly lightweight but sturdy quasi-rectangular bag that just fits within the maximum dimensions allowed for standard checked baggage.

I’ve been using mesh dive bags as my go to boat bags but really disliked how I’d have to bend my freedive fins in order to fit them in. I ordered this bag in preparation for a lobstering trip on a packed boat. It worked wonderfully. Not only did all my freediving gear fit, so did my wife’s. Talking wetsuit tops, weight belts, freedive fins, masks, gloves, and all. Another benefit with this bag is the shape. I didn’t realize it at the time but with the square shape, the bag does not spill out on the deck like all the round dive bags I’ve ever had have done.

Would definitely recommend.

Until now I have not been able to find a bag long enough for my Cressi Gara 3000 fins that didn't at least slightly exceed the airline maximum dimensions for checked baggage. I've been flying with long fins for over 30 years, and have relied on using extra large duffle bags to transport them. The duffle bags, such as The North Face Base Camp Duffle, are pliable enough to fit the length of the fins, though they are far from being an ideal solution. They bags with fins are also slightly oversized, though I've never had an airline charge me extra.

The new Riffe fin bag is a bit larger than what I need for flying, but I'm very happy to have it. I'm glad, too, that it comes with a shoulder strap.

It lasks attachments to for a back carry (probably not too important to me as I usually have a large duffle on my back). Also lacking is a velcro closure to hold the two handles together. This is a necessity for survival of a piece of checked baggage. I've added my own, a cord wrap that West Marine sold (until recently) under its own brand, and now sels under the "Wrap-It" name.