Mares Cruise Mesh Elite Backpack for Divers

Mares Cruise Mesh Backpack Elite: A 114-Liter Mesh Dive Bag Built for the Dock and the Journey

The Mares Cruise Mesh Backpack Elite is a large-capacity mesh backpack designed to carry a full set of dive gear from your accommodation to the water and back.

If you travel to dive regularly, whether on liveaboards, resort trips, or day-boat charters, this bag is worth understanding properly before you buy.

What it actually is

Mesh dive bags are a staple on dive boats for good reason. The open weave lets water drain freely and air circulate, so your wetsuit, fins, and BCD dry out instead of sitting in a sealed bag getting funky.

The Cruise Mesh Backpack Elite takes that concept and scales it up. At 114 liters, it holds a full recreational kit: wetsuit, BCD, fins, mask, and accessories, with room to spare.

It carries like a backpack, with padded, adjustable shoulder straps, and it also has padded grab handles along the side so you can swing it like a duffel when you are moving quickly between the dock and the rinse tank.

Materials and build

The main body is 840D nylon with a polyurethane (PU2) coating, combined with polyester. 840D is a heavy-duty denier rating, the same weight of fabric used in serious luggage and military-grade bags. It resists abrasion well, which matters when you are dragging a bag across boat decks and concrete dock edges.

The bag weighs just 499 grams (17.6 oz) empty. For a bag this size, that is genuinely light, and it means the bag itself is not eating into your airline weight allowance in any meaningful way.

Closure and pockets

The main opening uses a drawstring with a barrel-lock fastener. This is a practical choice for a mesh bag: it cinches down quickly with wet hands and does not rely on a zipper that could corrode or jam after salt exposure.

There is also an additional padded outer pocket with a zipper, sized for a regulator and dive computer. This is a genuinely useful detail. It keeps your most expensive and fragile pieces separated from the bulk of your kit, with a little cushioning around them.

The bottom of the bag is extended and includes drain holes, so water that pools at the base after a dive can escape rather than sitting there.

The rinse tank advantage

One of the more practical things about a mesh bag of this type is that you can submerge the whole thing in a rinse tank at the end of a dive day. Your gear gets rinsed while still packed, which saves time and means nothing gets forgotten.

This only works because the bag is mesh. A solid nylon bag traps water and requires you to unpack everything first.

Packs down for storage

When you are not traveling, the Cruise Mesh Backpack Elite folds into itself for compact storage. If you dive seasonally or take trips a few times a year, you are not left managing a large, shapeless bag between trips.

Using it alongside a hard or soft travel bag

A mesh bag is not ideal for checked airline luggage. It offers no padding or structure to protect your gear in transit, and security can see straight through it.

The practical approach many divers use is to fly with a solid travel bag, then transfer their kit into the mesh bag once they arrive at the dive destination. The mesh bag then handles all the wet, dock-side work throughout the trip, while the travel bag stays dry at the accommodation. The Cruise Mesh Backpack Elite is light enough that carrying both is not a burden.

Dimensions at a glance

Who this bag suits and who it does not

The Cruise Mesh Backpack Elite works well for recreational divers who travel to dive sites and want a single bag that handles dock life: rinsing, drying, hauling, and storage between dives.

It is not a substitute for a structured travel bag if you are checking gear on a flight. And if you only ever dive locally and drive to your sites, a simpler mesh bag at a smaller size may be all you need. But for anyone who wants a capable, durable mesh bag that doubles as a proper backpack rather than just a net sack, this one is a well-thought-out option.