Cinebags Underwater - CB70 Square Grouper

[TimG 62]

Hey guys

I'm sure like many of us, I've played around with travelling rinse tanks. I've quite often bought a plastic laundry basket on a dive trip and have used that to carry my camera around and then as a rinse tank on a dive boat or at the resort or hotel. I give it away at the end of the trip.

I keep toying with the idea of a Cinebag Grouper bag: https://www.cinebagsunderwater.com/cb70-square-grouper but then think, way more expensive than a $5 laundry basket and yet another thing to cram into my dive bag.

But now having moved to a dive island and on boats a lot (yay!), I'm back to toying with the idea of  Cinebag Grouper again.

I'd welcome thoughts from anyone who uses one - and especially on the zips. I've tried several times to use soft zip-up cool bags but after a couple of trips the zips are trashed and solid with salt. Cinebags describes the YKK zips as being "salt resistant".  I'd be really interested in real life experience. Do they solder hard after a few dives? Or do they remain happily open-able and close-able even after getting a good salt spray?

Thanks!

[diggy 34]

4 hours ago, TimG said:

Hey guys

I'm sure like many of us, I've played around with travelling rinse tanks. I've quite often bought a plastic laundry basket on a dive trip and have used that to carry my camera around and then as a rinse tank on a dive boat or at the resort or hotel. I give it away at the end of the trip.

I keep toying with the idea of a Cinebag Grouper bag: https://www.cinebagsunderwater.com/cb70-square-grouper but then think, way more expensive than a $5 laundry basket and yet another thing to cram into my dive bag.

But now having moved to a dive island and on boats a lot (yay!), I'm back to toying with the idea of  Cinebag Grouper again.

I'd welcome thoughts from anyone who uses one - and especially on the zips. I've tried several times to use soft zip-up cool bags but after a couple of trips the zips are trashed and solid with salt. Cinebags describes the YKK zips as being "salt resistant".  I'd be really interested in real life experience. Do they solder hard after a few dives? Or do they remain happily open-able and close-able even after getting a good salt spray?

Thanks!

Hi Tim,

I have been using this bag :  https://www.polarbearcoolers.com/product/original-48-pack-soft-cooler/

since 2012. Yes the zippers tend to get verdigris but every time I am back from a trip I just spray some silicone based spray such as 

https://www.amazon.com/3M-Silicone-Lubricant-Net-Fill/dp/B0002BBX4Y/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=Aerol®+Silicone+Lubricant+Spray%2C+(300g%2F513+ml)&qid=1600410007&sr=8-1

and the bag is still going strong ! 

Its very large and takes in a Nauticam Housing for a 7D with arms and strobes all well tucked in. Also works well as a rinse tank and protection for your housing/camera.

One of the image shows the verdigris on the zipper. But all works well.

Cheers,

Diggy

[trygon 3]

The CB70 is a great bag.  I've been using one for the past 4-5 years in both fresh and saltwater and I've not had any trouble with the zipper.  I use it to carry an Oly 4/3 system and  I can get the set up camera and strobes, 3 ports, a couple of lenses and the CB76 toolkit, which is very handy, in the bag. It also folds flat for travel, I flatten it and put it in the checked bag with the rest of the dive kit, photo kit gets carried on.

Bryce

[TimG 62]

Hey Bryce and Diggy

Many thanks indeed. That's really helpful.

Best wishes

Tim

 

[Pomacentridae 4]

Hi,

I recently got an AO Cooler bag: https://aocoolers.com/24-pack-carbon-cooler-black.html

I got the black carbon model because it is very water repellent and dries really quickly. I typically just hose it down at the end of the day, then wipe it down dry. Salt seems to just slide off, did not notice any salt build up on the zippers. Used it for about 3 weeks out on fieldwork for my camera system. It worked well on the boat.

For travel what I did was I bought a camera bag insert: https://fstopgear.com/products/icu/pro-icu-large

So the cooler serves double duty as my camera bag during travel. I typically arrive at my destination and i can just pull out the camera insert and all my stuff is there. That camera insert stays in the hotel room nice and dry. Then I assemble my camera and just drop it in cooler bag and that serves as my wet bag which i can take onto the boat.

Hope it helps


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[TimG 62]

Thanks Pomacentridae!

 

[diggy 34]

On 9/18/2020 at 7:21 PM, TimG said:

Hey Bryce and Diggy

Many thanks indeed. That's really helpful.

Best wishes

Tim

 

And this one may work too. Also its cheaper.  Thanks to Pomacentridae I may buy one of these.

 

https://aocoolers.com/48-pack-mossy-oak-elements-manta-cooler.html

Edited September 20, 2020 by diggy

[diggy 34]

24 minutes ago, Pomacentridae said:

Hi,

I recently got an AO Cooler bag: https://aocoolers.com/24-pack-carbon-cooler-black.html

I got the black carbon model because it is very water repellent and dries really quickly. I typically just hose it down at the end of the day, then wipe it down dry. Salt seems to just slide off, did not notice any salt build up on the zippers. Used it for about 3 weeks out on fieldwork for my camera system. It worked well on the boat.

For travel what I did was I bought a camera bag insert: https://fstopgear.com/products/icu/pro-icu-large

So the cooler serves double duty as my camera bag during travel. I typically arrive at my destination and i can just pull out the camera insert and all my stuff is there. That camera insert stays in the hotel room nice and dry. Then I assemble my camera and just drop it in cooler bag and that serves as my wet bag which i can take onto the boat.

Hope it helps


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Thanks for this.

[Architeuthis 64]

I have a NorChill 48 can cooler, similar to this one (2018 version): https://norchillcoolers.com/collections/cooler-bags/products/boat-bag-xtreme-marine-cooler-bag?variant=22109546381360

It is similar to Diggy's and Pomacentridae's bag and serves very well the purpose at home, when I travel to the diving places by car and from there also on the boat. It is very well polstered and the Nauticam EM1II assembly fits without problem (probably any other camera would fit also). I did not take it on airplanes, since it is too bulky to fold and takes a lot of lugagge space in the suitcase. The solution of Pomacentridae looks interesting, but I wonder how this would fit in the cabin lugagge (does it?). I do not give camera, lenses and flashes into the check-in lugagge.

For airoplane travelling the square grouper looks good to me, since the advertisment says it can be folded easily and fits better into the suitcase...

 

Wolfgang

 

P.S.: Only now see that Trygon confirms that the Grouper is good for traveling (I just ordered one for my wife as a birthday gift - probably the Grouper is the bag for all purpose, but polstering may be better in the NorChill)... 

 

Edited September 21, 2020 by Architeuthis

[Pomacentridae 4]

48 minutes ago, Architeuthis said:

I have a NorChill 48 can cooler, similar to this one (2018 version): https://norchillcoolers.com/collections/cooler-bags/products/boat-bag-xtreme-marine-cooler-bag?variant=22109546381360

It is similar to Diggy's and Pomacentridae's bag and serves very well the purpose at home, when I travel to the diving places by car and from there also on the boat. It is very well polstered and the Nauticam EM1II assembly fits without problem (probably any other camera would fit also). I did not take it on airplanes, since it is too bulky to fold and takes a lot of lugagge space in the suitcase. The solution of Pomacentridae looks interesting, but I wonder how this would fit in the cabin lugagge (does it?). I do not give camera, lenses and flashes into the check-in lugagge.

For airoplane travelling the square grouper looks good to me, since the advertisment says it can be folded easily and fits better into the suitcase...

 

Wolfgang

 

Haha Where was this NorChill bag when I was looking for cooler bags? I was looking for a cooler bag with that over-sized front pocket, unfortunately when I was buying AO Cooler no longer made that version of theirs.

The Cooler Bag version I have is the 24-can size (17" x 12" x 10") it is small enough for carry-on. If I recall my research right, you can go up to the 36-can model and it still meets carry-on requirements. The 48-can model unfortunately isn't carry-on compliant.

The 24-can size fits my Compact Camera with Dome Port, 2 x floater arms and 2 x Z330 strobes (but barely!). You got to contort the arms and strobes a bit in order to close the bag. But if you leave the bag open it'll swallow it up no problem. I just keep the bag open if I am just setting my camera down on the boat but neatly fold my strobe arms to close the bag when we are moving. I can imagine the 36-can version to be okay for a Mirrorless or DLSR setup?

The CB70 Square Grouper is most likely carry-on compliant as well given the size at 16" x 12" x 11".

Edited September 21, 2020 by Pomacentridae

[hellhole 16]

Well.. I will be the cheapskate and say I use the big IKEA bag. No zippers but works for me. Maybe for me it's a temporary soak tank for me on destination that does not have good clean water for soaking..

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[adamhanlon 0]

I've got a Square Grouper and love it!

No problems with the zips thus far.

Adam

[TimG 62]

Thanks Adam!

Had to chuckle at hellhole's big IKEA bag... One of the blue ones with big strappy handles? How do you keep water in that!? )How do you even keep your housing from falling out of it? 

[Algwyn 10]

For those in Europe or Canada, Decathlon has an inflatable cooler which is quite convenient for traveling or storage:

https://www.decathlon.co.uk/p/ice-box-for-camping-and-walking-compact-fresh-35-litres/_/R-p-310516?mc=8572258&c=GREEN_KHAKI

It's quite cheaper than the other coolers quoted above.