How to Store Scuba Gear
Your PADI Open Water training teaches you to store your dive gear in a cool, dry environment, which avoids mold growth, but beyond that you’re left to your own devices. This can become an issue as your kit grows; even the most streamlined underwater gear can be bulky and awkward topside. I know the struggle. My husband and I share 563 square feet with two cats and a 60 pound dog, and I have everything you need to dive (and a few extra toys). Based on my first-hand experience, here are some scuba storage ideas so your gear has a home between dives – without taking over yours.
Hang Up
Alexandra GillespieHanging your wetsuit uses dead space and gives it space to continue drying.
Any organizer will tell you vertical space is your best friend. You can unlock a lot of space for storing gear if you look at your walls and doors.
I screwed a cheap hook from Home Depot into the door of my laundry closet, which works perfectly for my wetsuit and game bag. It makes use of otherwise wasted space, and everything disappears when I shut the door. Storing my wetsuit vertically has the added benefits of avoiding the wrinkles that can form in folded neoprene and ensuring it can finish drying properly if I put it away damp. (You can even expedite the drying process of a hung suit with a fancy-schmancy hanger-fan combo, which is particularly useful for drysuits.)
If you have more space, like a garage, you can go to town with hooks and bars for anything from masks to regulators. Take the California diver below, who converted lockers into scuba storage with a peg board and rail. If you are not as ambitious, a simple storage rod works too.
Scuba Bag and Storage Chest Combo
Alexandra GillespieStorage chests can hold scuba gear and other household items.
Gear that isn’t bulky tends to be small, like boots, flashlights, masks, defog and snorkels. This makes them difficult to corral and easy to forget on diveday. I circumnavigate both of those issues by storing all of my small equipment in a mesh dive bag. This keeps it all together and I only have to remember one thing — this bag — on dive day instead of a dozen small items.
This is not the most aesthetic solution, I grant you, so I combine this with a storage chest. Purchased from Home Depot because my apartment does not have a single coat or storage closet, this holds all of our outdoor supplies and vacuum in addition to my dive gear in a dark, dry space. (As an added bonus, the lid is a great surface or drying gear post-dive before putting it away.)
Alexandra GillespieDive bags keep the small parts of your kit together.
Keep It Simple with Plastic Storage Boxes
Readily-available storage bins are also great. They fit on home shelves, are see-through so you know what is in them, and have handles so you can carry a lot of gear at once.
I have two Rubbermaid containers: one for holding all of my wet gear after a dive to keep my car dry, and another to use as a rinse bucket after a dive (apartments don’t have hoses). When not in use, they store easily on my washing machine.
