Ski+boot bag or ski bag and separate boot bag?

[kabutar]

I'm heading away to eastern US for school in fall and am debating how to take my (currently only one pair of) skis with me. So far it's down to:

1) Double ski bag with boot space (ie Dakine Fall Line bag).
Pros: Plenty of space for gear and stuffing clothes in. Boots, skis all in one place.
Cons: I'm a little iffy on storing the boots on the outside of the bag (even though I'd wrap them in something). I'd be worried a) they'd get banged and b) their full weight would be on the skis. Also, looks like the bag can only hold one pair of boots? There's also a North Face bag that has space for two skis AND two boots...

2) Double ski-only bag and separate boot bag. Some gear in ski bag, more gear in boot bag.
Pros: Easier place to put gear
Cons: Can't check the whole thing as one luggage item... I'm not sure I want to check the boot bag anyway, but will have a laptop backpack with me so two hand luggage items won't work

What are fellow divas' thoughts? Of course any ski bag I buy will be fully padded and wheeled (I don't want a Sporttube lol), and the skis will be wrapped in clothes etc, so what are the thoughts on combined boot+ski bags for safety, ease of transport, etc? I'll also likely be flying to wherever I'm skiing, or at least driving a while. Any recommendations for ski bags, bag types, etc?

Thanks

 

[MaineSkiLady]

I'm sure there will be more responses with the overwhelming consensus of: SEPARATE, do NOT check boots! IIRC, quite a few here have gotten laptops into Transpacks and carried them on. Good bag. But definitely look at airline baggage policy wrt ski bags, because there are some carriers that are sticklers that the ski bag must ONLY contain equipment, nothing else, no clothes. Frankly, if I were in your shoes, i.e., traveling east to stay for a longer period of time, I would FedEx or UPS the skis and save yourself the grief of lugging and airline "fun."

 

[pinto]

I'm sure there will be more responses with the overwhelming consensus of: SEPARATE, do NOT check boots! IIRC, quite a few here have gotten laptops into Transpacks and carried them on. Good bag. But definitely look at airline baggage policy wrt ski bags, because there are some carriers that are sticklers that the ski bag must ONLY contain equipment, nothing else, no clothes. Frankly, if I were in your shoes, i.e., traveling east to stay for a longer period of time, I would FedEx or UPS the skis and save yourself the grief of lugging and airline "fun."

I'd probably ship skis, too. And if you aren't going to be skiing within weeks of traveling, I'd check the boots unless you have had extensive work done to them, or if they are otherwise quite difficult to replace. It's unlikely that the airlines will lose the boots forever (possible, but unlikely) ... The reason I don't check is for the temporary loss/delay of boots that would screw up a day or more of a short ski trip. I often check them on the way home.

If you separate into ski/boot bags, it still counts as only one item to check, unless the airlines have changed some things.

Personally, I check the skis in ski bag, gear in boot bag; carry on boots in hand (strapped together) along with laptop etc in bag (2 items). Technically you are supposed to have boots in the boot bag, but I've never been called on it. Sometimes I put cowboy boots in the boot bag, that's similar, right?

 

[Jilly]

I'd have to agree with MSL. Have parents/friend ship them after you get settled.

For example. Air Canada is only allowing 1 checked bag. So it's going to cost $30 to take skis, each way. Depending on where I was going, it might even be cheaper to ship UPS!

 

[RachelV]

Cons: Can't check the whole thing as one luggage item... I'm not sure I want to check the boot bag anyway, but will have a laptop backpack with me so two hand luggage items won't work.

I've put a transpack (w/boots and a ton of clothes) in the overhead, then stuck a pretty good sized backpack with my laptop and purse and a few other things under the seat in front of me, so then you're only checking skis. Just something to think about. It's a lot to carry around the terminal, but worth it to save ~$50 in baggage fees for checking 2 bags.

 

[2ski2moro]

I don't put my skis in a bag when I drive to the mountain. I have an SUV, and skis fit in the rear with part of the middle seat down. If I have more than 3 people in the car, I use the Thule box. I have an old quilt in the box that protects the skis from rubbing against the other pairs of skis.

I use a Transpack for boots, helmet, gloves, etc. The backpack leaves my hands free to carry other things.

Like MSL, when I fly, I ship skis with FedEx. Years ago, an airline baggage handler literally shredded my ski bag and put 3 deep parallel scratches across the top ski and into the edge. Plus the peace of mind knowing that the skis will be at my destination when I get there.

Where will you be skiing in the East? There are a lot of us out here if you want to meet up on the hill.

 

[3VSki]

I have the Dakine Fall Line Double Ski Bag (190cm) with external pockets for boots and it will happily hold 2 pairs of skis (156cm and 170cm) and two pairs of poles.

I can also manage to get all baselayers (mine, my husbands and my two girls' - about 20 tops and 8 bottoms) in there which pad out the skis. With all that, its really a tight squeeze so there's no way I could get one pair of boots into the external pockets. I don't mind anyway cause I put them into a suitcase which goes into the aircraft's hold.

I have used this bag for 4 trips within Europe now with no problem, which is remarkable cause we have actually watched the baggage handlers load and unload flights - those guys can be really rough. The full bag weighs in about 25kg and is really quite manageable to manoeuvre around. I would recommend it.

 

[NbyNW]

Other than my Sportube, which is recommended by Air Canada (but the ticketing agent had never seen one before!), I don't have any special bag for gear and boots. And surprisingly, AC didn't charge me for the second bag.

I just got back from a ski vacation where my friend, who was traveling with her toddler, used United's Door-to-Door baggage service to ship three pairs of skis, poles and boots plus gear. Saved her a lot of headaches, since her husband was coming from another location so she only had the one pair of hands.

Basically they will ship to any U.S. address or you can have your luggage held at a Fedex location for pickup.

I don't know whether other airlines are offering this, but there are other independent "ship-ahead" baggage services. I've used a couple when I was injured and couldn't handle my own bags between curbside and check-in.

 

[Pequenita]

Ship them with FedEx or UPS. Granted, I never flew away to school, but I can't imagine landing at an airport with 2 suitcases of clothes, carry on, AND skis, and then having to deal with a shuttle to campus, which probably doesn't even drop you off at your dorm...so you have to schlep it all to your dorm. And who knows how far away that is from the drop-off point.

Or, if you are going home for Thanksgiving, bring them back with you then. The northeast rarely gets decent coverage before then.

For getting to and from the hill in college, we just carried the skis onto the ski shuttle or loaded a car and changed into boots at the lodge.

SportTubes aren't bad for airline use. The airline baggage people seriously toss skis around when loading and unloading, and if they're being sticklers about what goes into a ski bag, you may not be able to stuff enough padding in there. If your concern is the amount of space they take up, I get that, but otherwise, I wouldn't rule them out.

 

[kabutar]

Thanks everyone. I should have been clear in saying I'm not going to take the skis before xmas break is over, so I won't have all my luggage etc - just one bag more likely, so the skis would be OK as my 2nd bag. Otherwise I definitely would ship!

I'm glad to hear the fall line bag is a good one, though I'm still split between that and the separate boot bag. Which would still be the question if I'm shipping them... basically, is there a consensus not to check/ship boots if they're in the outside pockets of a ski bag?

 

[kabutar]

Like MSL, when I fly, I ship skis with FedEx. Years ago, an airline baggage handler literally shredded my ski bag and put 3 deep parallel scratches across the top ski and into the edge. Plus the peace of mind knowing that the skis will be at my destination when I get there.

Where will you be skiing in the East? There are a lot of us out here if you want to meet up on the hill.

I forgot to reply this! I'm not sure where I'll be skiing - I'll be in Connecticut, so whatever's around there (NY state maybe?) and I think the school organizes some trips to Killington... Either way, I'd love to meet up on the hill! I guess I'll know more once I get out there, having been dragged screaming away from my PNW snow...

 

[altagirl]

I'd concur that if you have boots that you love/are highly customized/hard to replace/or are on any kind of tight schedule - I wouldn't let them out of my hands (i.e. they would be a carry on or I'd drive with them no matter what).

If you're planning to ship/check them regardless, I guess it doesn't matter if they are in one bag or two, unless the airline or shipper has restrictions. I know I've seen some airline restrictions lately that say you can only have one (sometimes two) pair of skis in a "ski bag" - nothing else. I don't know if they'd hassle you over having a ski/boot combo type bag, but it would be worth researching in advance.

 

[Windee]

Any way you do this, you will want a boot bag here in the East. We Easterners seem to prefer booting up in the lodge, not in the parking lot! ;) :D
Am I the only person out here who's noticed this phenomenon?
Not to hijack this thread, but...

 

[altagirl]

Any way you do this, you will want a boot bag here in the East. We Easterners seem to prefer booting up in the lodge, not in the parking lot! ;) :D
Am I the only person out here who's noticed this phenomenon?
Not to hijack this thread, but...

Heh - I have no idea. I boot up at the truck most of the time (actually I usually boot up while my husband is driving and am dressed and ready to go by the time we pull into the lot - yay for tele boots because that was a difficult task in alpine boots...), but it's just quicker to get in line for opening that way.

But when I ski with friends or at other resorts, a lot of times the other people I'm with will want to boot up in the lodge, so I go along with that if I'm part of a group, particularly at a place where we have a lot of walking from the parking lot or some such thing.

Bottom line is that my boot bag only gets used when I travel somewhere other than my home resort, or on mornings where we are heading up before interlodge and then we are definitely booting up inside. I will say it is nice to have a separate boot bag for those occasions though!

 

[marzNC]

2) Double ski-only bag and separate boot bag. Some gear in ski bag, more gear in boot bag.
Pros: Easier place to put gear
Cons: Can't check the whole thing as one luggage item... I'm not sure I want to check the boot bag anyway, but will have a laptop backpack with me so two hand luggage items won't work

Thanks

I decided to go with a Transpack Sidekick Pro for carrying boots, helmet, and laptop as a carry-on backpack. Worked well for the flights for Diva Week. Also for a day trip driving with friends. In the past, I've also used a rolling backpack for boots and basic ski clothes. For more about Transpack options, see

https://www.theskidiva.com/forums/showthread.php?t=9493

There are two Sidekick models. The Pro 2 is better since there are boot covers.

 

[alr]

I have a dakine concourse double. I fit my skis, poles, and my husbands snowboard inside it. In one of the outside pockets, I could fit 2 boots (they are pretty small-- 23s), but if the bag were more stuffed, I put one boot in each pocket. They were just fine in there. I could wheel it through the airport with the concourse in one hand and my rolling suitcase in the other. On my back is a backpack that holds the laptop!

 

[kabutar]

alr - awesome, thanks! I was also looking at that one but heard it's HUGE (as in the 185cm is more like 200cm) so was leaning towards the Fall Line.

I think I'll end up getting one of the Dakines, and then getting a boot bag later on when I actually go places. The double ones are the only ones that roll anyway, and they come with boot pockets, so... problem solved. Easiest thing

 

[alr]

alr - awesome, thanks! I was also looking at that one but heard it's HUGE (as in the 185cm is more like 200cm) so was leaning towards the Fall Line.

Yes, you are right, the concourse double (I have the 185) is huge! I could easily fit myself inside it. Since you are not probably going to be carrying a snowboard too, then you can likely easily get away with the fall line. The fall line is a little less heavy too, which is nice.

The padding and quality of my dakine bag is really good. I am pretty happy with it.

 

[snow addict]

Hi, I've got a Dakine Fall Line double bag. I use it for bus/train travel, so can't say much on the issue of air travel. For me it does the job perfectly. On my Easter trip I packed a pair of skis, a pair of boots, ski trousers, jacket, socks, gloves, etc. in it and didn't need any more luggage apart from a smallish backpack. Very convenient. I don't think it will fit two pairs of boots though. I had problems zipping it up with both boots in one pocket (I thought in this way the bag will be more stable in a train) and ended up packing one boot in each pocket. But overall I am happy with purchase. These wheels make huge difference!

 

[kabutar]

That's awesome snow addict, thanks!

One question since you have one - is it longer than advertised or is it about right? I know the Concourse is supposed to be waaaay longer than the advertised lengths, but I was looking at the 170cm version of the Fall Line and wondering what its length is really like. Right now I have 152cm carvers, but I'm trying to figure out the longest I'd go... in a pure rockered powder ski at advanced/expert level, I'd probably hit around 170cm I think so I'd like some breathing room in case it's actually a 175cm or something...