Aqualung Explorer II Scuba Diving Duffle Pack

The Aqualung Explorer II Duffle Pack is a carry-on sized dive bag that works as either a duffle or a backpack. Aqualung lists the intended use as scuba diving and dive travel, and the build follows that brief: fin straps on the outside, a mesh pocket for wet gear, and a shell meant to come off a baggage belt intact.

Who this suits

This is a bag for the recreational diver who flies to the diving. The fin straps sit on the back of the bag, so fins never eat into the packing space, and the whole thing is sized to go in the cabin rather than the hold.

Skip it if you dive cold. At 2,808 cu. in. (46.2 liters) a drysuit and its undergarments will fill it before your regulator goes in.

Skip it too if you drive to a local shore dive. An open gear bin is cheaper and easier to load, and none of the travel features earn their keep on a ten minute drive.

It is not a hard case either. There is internal padding, a padded V-diamond base and 6 corner guards, but nothing here protects a camera housing the way a hard case does.

Carry-on size, and what 46.2 liters holds

The bag measures 24" x 13" x 9" (61cm x 33cm x 23cm), which Aqualung gives as 46" (117cm) linear, and lists as carry-on size. Airlines set their own overhead-bin rules and enforce them differently, so check the carrier you are actually flying before you plan on keeping it with you.

Volume is 2,808 cu. in. (46.2 liters). In practice that is a mask, a regulator, a wetsuit, a computer and the small items, with the fins strapped outside. Empty weight is 3.5 lbs. (1.5 kg), which is what the bag costs you on the scale before anything goes in it.

The shell, the base and the zippers

The shell is 1680D polyester with PVC coating. Denier is a measure of yarn weight, and at 1680D the weave is thick enough to scuff rather than tear when the bag is dragged over a boat deck or thrown onto a belt. The PVC coating keeps a splash sitting on the surface instead of soaking through to what is inside.

The base is a padded V-diamond base with 6 corner guards. Corners are where a dropped bag lands and where a stacked bag wears through first, so that is the right place to put the reinforcement. Internal padding holds the shape, so the bag does not slump around your gear on a luggage cart.

The zippers are #10 locking corrosion resistant zippers with extended pullers and lock holes. On a dive bag, zippers are usually the first thing salt kills, so corrosion resistance in a heavy #10 gauge is the most useful line on this spec sheet. The extended pullers work with cold or gloved hands, and the lock holes take a padlock when the bag does go in the hold.

Which bag this page covers

Aqualung sells this as the carry-on size within the Explorer bags complete line. Other sizes in that line are separate listings with their own dimensions and volume, so every number here belongs to the carry-on. No color or size choices are offered on this product.

The bottom line

The Explorer II earns its place if your diving involves an airport. Carry-on dimensions, 3.5 lbs. (1.5 kg) empty, fins carried outside and a mesh drying pocket for the wet suit are all decisions made for a traveling diver rather than a local one. It is not an expedition bag, not a hard case, and not the answer if you dive dry or carry a lot of gear. For a recreational kit going somewhere warm, it is well judged.

Specifications