Ski Boots - Carry on or check in?

[t-the-east]

I refuse to believe there is not already a thread for this, but I just wasted more time than I'd like to admit using the search function, also its a holiday weekend and my legs are smoked from the past few days, so I'm preparing for my trip. If other threads exist on this, link em up and I'll delete this one.

So, title says it all - Carry on or check in the boots? I get the whole carry on the boots idea, I can just demo skis if my bag is lost, my boots are dialed in to my feet. But, I'm not gonna ski in the khakis and flannel I traveled in. So, it seems to be an all or nothing thing. Check everything in and hope it shows up when you do, or struggle through carrying as much crap as you can on several flights. So, what's the collective say? Pro-tips, life experiences, anecdotal comedy?

[PlayItLeo]

I generally carry on - let’s everyone in the airport know how rad/Jerry you are. That said, if flying direct, probably safe to check. If you’re changing planes, carry on


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[t-the-east]

I generally carry on - let’s everyone in the airport know how rad/Jerry you are. That said, if flying direct, probably safe to check. If you’re changing planes, carry on


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

That’s my one downfall, 45 minute layover in MSP. Not much time.

I figured the beard, khakis and flannel would speak of the radness factor.

[skimaxpower]

If you're worried, carry on the boots on the way to the ski trip, but please check the stinky boots on the way home.

Most airlines count [boot bag + ski bag] as a single bag. There's a lot of extra storage space in a boot bag, so I prefer to check.

[SJG]

Renting skis = no big deal

Renting boots = not recommended.

I've had too much stuff lost over the years to check ski boots in. YMMV

[I've seen black diamonds!]

I've only checked my boots once. Alitalia lost my XR9's. Forever. My favorite T-shirt too. Bastardi!

[auvgeek]

Because boot work takes tons of time to get right, at least for my feet. I can by new outwear, skis, and bindings at any decent shop and be fine. I can't do the same for boots.

If you have a pretty generic foot and haven't spent a ton of time trying to get your boots to fit, by all means check them coming home or both directions. But I'll carry mine on both directions because I don't want to spend the time and energy to get a new pair fitted even when I'm back home.

[Shredhead]

You need to carry on everything you need to ski, the anticipated conditions.

[HHTELE]

I really only fly to tour.
Our routine is 1 ski bag with two pair of skis and poles, then stuffed till it reaches max weight. Then a roller duffel packed similarly. A 45 liter pack packed right can go carry on, at least mine does, packed with essentials, and ideally not super full. The boots count as hand luggage.
I would hate to tour on any kind of rental boots, so this works well.

[SumJongGuy]

Ship the gear in advance.

[phatty]

Boot bag gets carried on with all ski clothes and required gear. Skis/poles get checked. I've never had an airline blink at the bag even though it's bigger than carryon size.

[XXX-er]

Because boot work takes tons of time to get right, at least for my feet. I can by new outwear, skis, and bindings at any decent shop and be fine. I can't do the same for boots.

If you have a pretty generic foot and haven't spent a ton of time trying to get your boots to fit, by all means check them coming home or both directions. But I'll carry mine on both directions because I don't want to spend the time and energy to get a new pair fitted even when I'm back home.

this ^^ the boots go in my carry on 40L ski pack

[hutash]

Carry on includes boots and enough ski clothes to get by. Also and change of regular clothes, underwear and basic toiletries. I can at least function if my checked bags go to Cabo.

[t-the-east]

Ship the gear in advance.

I did this a few years ago. It was insanely expensive.

[sk8rat6587]

Carry On. Rental boots are miserable and the minor inconvenience of carrying a boot bag on a flight is more than worth the potential of having to put on some rental boots.

Sent from my PH-1 using Tapatalk

[optics]

Boots and ski gear in the carry-on. Street clothes in the checked ski bag.

dakine boot pack bag works very well for this.

[blackalps]

lol. was just going to say, wear them on the plane.

[Shredhead]

Ship the gear in advance.

I’ve had several ski trips, that I didn’t make it to my final destination, but still skied enroute.

Missed my connection to AK, in SLC. Skied the Bird in the AM and caught the afternoon flight to ANC.

[SumJongGuy]

At the end of the day, if you're only allowed ONE carry on and they measure it.. any boot bag with boots in it would have to have the boots nested like this L7 and there wouldn't be much room in there for anything else, definitely not a helmet AND boots. Your only solid, fail safe option is to take the boots out of the bag and try to count that as your "personal item" hoping they agree that they will fit under the seat.. or in the overhead assuming your actual bag will fit under the seat..



Most places haven't make a huge stink if it MOSTLY fits, but I've heard they're starting to get stricter.

[robertrs]

I recently flew from Sacramento to Portland to Bozeman, MT on Alaska. We carried boots in Hot Gear boot bags for all the reasons stated above. First flight fine, a 2 seat by 2 seat layout. The bags fit in the overhead but when we were boarding Portland to Bozeman the gate agent said "Those will not fit in the overhead bin" and were forced to carry them down the jet way and hand them over to a baggage person. When we got on board found it was the same brand/model plane we flew to Portland.

On the return trip the gate agent gave us the "those won't fit" speech so we gave them up, turns out same plane as before, and watched folks trying to squeeze carry on luggage into the bins that were too big to fit. The desk agent told us in the near future they will require all to place carry on baggage into the fit box before boarding.

[3PinGrin]

At the end of the day, if you're only allowed ONE carry on and they measure it.. any boot bag with boots in it would have to have the boots nested like this L7 and there wouldn't be much room in there for anything else, definitely not a helmet AND boots. Your only solid, fail safe option is to take the boots out of the bag and try to count that as your "personal item" hoping they agree that they will fit under the seat.. or in the overhead assuming your actual bag will fit under the seat..



Most places haven't make a huge stink if it MOSTLY fits, but I've heard they're starting to get stricter.

OMG, you're a girl.

[Beder]

10 international ski trips--Chile, Japan, Argentina. Never once carried boots on and never missed a bag. Maybe I'm due for a nightmare.

[I've seen black diamonds!]

10 international ski trips--Chile, Japan, Argentina. Never once carried boots on and never missed a bag. Maybe I'm due for a nightmare.

In a 6 year stretch of annual trips to Italy, my checked bag was a day late four times and lost forever once.

[dcpnz]

I fit ski boots and a set of ski clothes in a soft sided 40 duffel pack that'll fit the overhead bin of a smaller regional jet and carry on any time I'm flying to ski.

Buddy spent first day of a heli trip last year wearing my extra clothes and in some shit rental boots. I'm not going to do that.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

[SumJongGuy]

I fit ski boots and a set of ski clothes in a soft sided 40 duffel pack that'll fit the overhead bin of a smaller regional jet and carry on any time I'm flying to ski.

Buddy spent first day of a heli trip last year wearing my extra clothes and in some shit rental boots. I'm not going to do that.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

Good luck with that. Over the past forty years I've carried on things countless times way bigger than stuff I saw others forced to gate check flying pretty recently. Been more than once on different airlines, regular size jets too. If you're flying through major hubs and not flying first class, dollars for donuts, they're eventually gonna tell you you can't bring it on if it doesn't fit COMPLETELY in that fucking box thing..