Learned the hard way: cheap lift bags are a waste of money

Jason Stone · 2026-07-02T06:40:03.861413+00:00

Bought a set of 4 50lb lift bags off eBay for $120, figured they'd do the job for salvage work on a wreck near San Diego. First dive with them at 60 feet and one blew a seam on the second lift, lost a good chunk of a day. Anybody had better luck with a specific brand that won't leave you stranded?

richard_young802mo ago

My buddy in the Coast Guard told me they had a similar issue with some cheap bags during a training exercise off Point Loma, ended up with a 30-foot line wrapped around a prop trying to salvage the job. I just stick with the orange Fenzy bags now even if they cost more upfront.

8

mark_chen622mo ago

Nothing beats the "learned the hard way" special, right? $120 for a set of four sounds like you were asking for trouble, those cheap bags are basically just fancy trash bags with a valve. I'd rather spend the cash once on something that won't spring a leak at 60 feet.

3

ivan_harris2mo ago

...and that's exactly what happened to my buddy Dave, he bought a set of those cheap eBay bags too (thinking he was being smart) and the first time he tried to lift a small anchor off the bottom, the bag just...popped. He was ticked because he spent the whole afternoon swimming it back up by hand, which is not fun at all. He ended up getting a set of the normal ones from a dive shop, the kind that cost like $80 each just for one 50lb bag, but he's had them for years now without a single problem. It's one of those things where you really do get what you pay for, especially when you're dealing with pressure at depth and your whole day depends on it holding air.

2