Thread: Flying with skis: what ski case is best?

I am 200% certain that this has been covered before but I searched to no avail so here's my question.

I have never had to fly with skis before I have always just lived in near the mountains up to this point, but I will be heading back out to CO in a few weeks and need to buy a case to throw my skis into for flying with. What is your favorite case to fly with that can protect your skis enough so the TSA or some unhappy baggage handler wont destroy them?

It'd be nice if I could fit in my ice axe, crampons, poles, and anything else I will not be allowed to carry on as well but that is less important, I can just throw those in my checked bag if I need to.

The [ame="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000BT2L34/ref=s9_simh_gw_p193_i1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd _s=center-2&pf_rd_r=046Y94465R5R7Z42EZX1&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p =470938631&pf_rd_i=507846"]Sporttube[/ame] is what Amazon led me to. Good choice? Hard case seems ideal of course but I thought Id get the wisdom of the collective before I spend any cash.

Thanks

Dakine Fall Line Double Ski Bag can carry everything you describe in the post, boots, pants, gloves, layers, jackets, poles, skis, crampons, ice axes, and helmet.

Tie the ski brakes flush to the skis so they don't get bent. I use several Voile straps to make sure the skis do not scratch each other's edges, and wrap with ski pants.

http://www.backcountry.com/outdoorge.../DAK0654M.html

I like the brown box that I put them in (padded) and then let fedex get them there. That way they will be there when I get there. Rather then in say... Atlanta, or some other cool place like that.

I prefer soft sided, more compliant for packing, light enough to carry on shoulder if needed, no worries about popped or improperly shut latches after TSA has decided skis are not bombs. Just stuff your clothes etc. in/around, at top/bottom. Perfect padding. Find one that includes couple of webbed fasteners that girdle the outside.

Dakine concourse double. Super durable, lots of great pockets, and it wheels like a charm.

Originally Posted by Beyond

I prefer soft sided, more compliant for packing, light enough to carry on shoulder if needed, no worries about popped or improperly shut latches after TSA has decided skis are not bombs. Just stuff your clothes etc. in/around, at top/bottom. Perfect padding. Find one that includes couple of webbed fasteners that girdle the outside.

Same here,just some cheap lightly padded tube when you shove the skis and all the extra gear like shovels,backarmour and underwear.
It would be nice to travel with ,say,PM Gears (in)famous greenroller tube,but as the bag itself weights 8kg there is not much you can put inside and you have blown the weight limit...
I have been personally travelling with a very slightly padded salomon tube, dozens of trips,with no problems. [/knoks wood]

Im thinking of buying one of those big dakinebags but are unsure if it is "OK" to have boots, clothes and other stuff in the ski bag. Would be lame if i buyd one but when checking in at the airport was told to unpack.

Anyone who knows how it works, do i fly it like a "big bag" or like a skipack with extra weight in?

Armada Anchorage bag. Great padding, great space, and sick graphics.

http://www.backcountry.com/outdoorge.../ARM0125M.html

Originally Posted by flying cat

Im thinking of buying one of those big dakinebags but are unsure if it is "OK" to have boots, clothes and other stuff in the ski bag. Would be lame if i buyd one but when checking in at the airport was told to unpack.

Anyone who knows how it works, do i fly it like a "big bag" or like a skipack with extra weight in?

Probably can't get away with boots due to extra weight and bulk (and why the hell would you be checking boots anyway?). Clothes etc. are easy to get away with as long as you go below the weight limit. Limits are in-line with normal checked bags (Generally 50 lbs), but if you're on one of the lame airlines that always charges for them now, stuff 'em.

I have a Havoc double ski, soft, with wheels. I use 1/2 a milk carton on each end to protect tips/tails and prevent rip thru. You can usually get away with adding a few pieces of clothing, but 2 pairs of skis, poles and bag weight gets you to 50lbs pretty quickly. Boot bag is jammed with miscellaneous skigear, ski boots are carry on.

Another vote for the Dakine Concourse Double - I also have the Falline Double which works just as well, it doesn't have the interior straps the concourse does but it DOES have 2 outside zippered pockets that are supposed to be for ski boots, ski boots will never fit and will make your bag overweight (they are both heavy bags and you should carry on your boots) but it is good for other gear items...

The Sportube cases are great. I'm never going back to a ski bag for shipping or air transport. I have 2 double cases. They are lighter than ski bags, and offer more protection for your skis. And they are the easiest of the options to haul around through an airport. Just make sure the case will handle the width of the skis you want to pack, if you have very wide skis.

Putting my vote in for the Dakine concourse double. It has been a great bag for me. I have probably flown with it 10-12 times and have never been disappointed. The only damage that as occurred has been to the fabric by the wheels from careless baggage handlers. But no internal damage whatsoever. And on trips where I only bring one pair of skis the bag can easily fit a ton of gear, clothes, etc.

x2 on the Sportube. Indestructible and, once packed with 2 pairs of skis, too heavy for baggage handlers to throw

I've travelled with both padded and unpadded bags without issue. Skis are pretty tough. If you're bringing two pairs, then go with a roller bag to make it easier to haul around the airport. Otherwise a basic cordura nylon bag is sufficient. Use some bubble wrap or clothes if you are that concerned about damage.

The only drawback to those nice padded bags or a sporttube is that they take up a lot of room in the car once you put your skis on top. Not a huge issue if you are traveling with one or even two other folks and can keep the skis in the bag/box inside the car, but can be a real deal breaker if space is tight in the trunk or cargo area.

Sport tubes always seemed like overkill to me. Recived one as a gift a while back and it was a bit of a puzzle getting two pairs into the box. I'm ususally racing to the airport on the way back and would hate to miss my flight while wrestling with a sport-tube erector set at the rental car drop off area.

Originally Posted by mnskier

Armada Anchorage bag. Great padding, great space, and sick graphics.

http://www.backcountry.com/outdoorge.../ARM0125M.html

Looks cool, except it only fits skis up to 191cm. Skis I might take to Anchorage are in lengths: 194 (XXL), 192 (Rocker), 200 (Lotus 120), 196 (Lhasa pow)...

70% off now is pretty hard to beat.

http://www.sierrasnowboard.com/Dakin...board-bags.asp

I use the PM gear bag. Yes, it is heavy, but I can fit two pair and not much else or 1 pair and all my clothes and avi gear and keep it right around 50lbs.
I just travel with my 194 XXL's/dukes 90% of the time.

I've never tried a tube, but I just can't see packing all the extra stuff in there?

I own a sportube and a dakine double fall line. The sportube just sits in the closet. It sucks.

I have flown successfully with the sportube, padded, and unpadded bags. Clothing makes great padding, and the sportube is kind of a waste of a bag.

IMHO there is a better chance of a bag getting lost than a handler busting your skis inside a padded bag.

Originally Posted by Shredhead

I've never tried a tube, but I just can't see packing all the extra stuff in there?

Skis,shovel,probe,tent,sleepingbag,rope,harness,me tal,clothes,backarmour etc.
If you are talented,you can even fit a tootbrush. Toothpaste...ee...maybe not.

Voile strap your skis together - stick in bag. Don't pad with cloths unless you want to get them cut up and ruined too, or you need to use the ski bag space to meet luggage reqs. They are skis fer fucks sake

^^^^
I'm just curious, I have a trip planned for the spring of 2011 to Stuben, Austria, for the Long Board Classic. I've done a little searcing on the popular sites, BC, sierra etc. Yet haven't found anything longer than onces that fit ~195cm's. Since I'm going for the LBC I will be bringing my Rad-Air Tanker, a 200cm beast. I all so wanted to try and bring an old 178 burton alpine and my tele's since I'm planning on an extended stay and have never skied the apls. I have considered and looked into shipping all the good's to my sister in Vienna, but after adding up fed-ex charges I feel as though buying a bag that I could use for future trips would be a better investment. I know Id be looking at extra fee's at the Airport but shipping all my gear to Austria and back aren't looking cheap either.
Any ideas?

Originally Posted by Enoch

^^^^ I will be bringing my Rad-Air Tanker, a 200cm beast.
Any ideas?

Jeesus!That is a beast...

If I remeber right,head had a Monster bag that was 200cm, and the PMGear bag was close to that,but I dont know the situation of those,if they are sold anymore? In the pmgear bag you could fit 3 pairs of skis so it is quite spacious. Just remeber the airlines have the max.33kg / bag max allowance so you dont overpack it...

SIDE NOTE: On Southwest Airlines, Skis+Poles+Boots counts as "one" of your free bags. You still get another free bag for other gear. :-)

Not sure if this has been mentioned, I didn't read ALL the posts, sorry.

I flew with Air Canada & West Jet recently who made me sign a waver for my ski bags, one was a basic fabric tube style, the other a Dakine Fall Line (padded, double w/ wheels). They said as the bags weren't solid I had to sign the waiver in case they got damaged.

I love my Dakine, it fits a shit load of gear in BUT if I was buying another case I'd get a Sport Tube so that the airlines have to pay up if they damage the skis.

Another vote for the dakine double concourse. Awesome bag. Fits all your gear with no issues. Bomber construction.