Plane travel with skis

[newboots]

I'm thinking of getting some use out of my Epic pass for a change, and going to Breckenridge in April. I fired up Backcountry.com and began to look at dozens of ski bags. There's a Dakine soft bag with room for clothes and boots! I'm not sure I want all that stuff in one bag, and not at all sure I want my boots checked. Also one reviewer said that even though his skis were as long as the bag, it still wasn't stiff enough to be easily rolled.

The SkiTubes are, predictably, more expensive, but it seems they are likely much more protective.

Any recommendations? I've never used a ski bag. I keep mine in the back of the RAV-4, with a few blankets to keep them warm from banging around.

 

[ski skuhl]

I think there was an entire thread about this last month...I'm off to look for it

 

[ski skuhl]

https://www.theskidiva.com/forums/index.php?threads/packing-soft-ski-bags.22576/

There's comment on types of ski bags and packing tips. We a Sierra Designs lightly padded double bag with wheels that has been a workhorse for 15+ years but over time the wheels have become useless. I also have a single Dakine bag that I love, as well as their boot bag.

 

[NewEnglandSkier]

I have a Kulkea Kantaja single ski bag (no wheels) which I really like. Depends on if you want wheels or not--some people swear by having wheels, others like myself are content to just carry the bag.
I went with a soft bag due to reading about some people who had issues with the TSA not knowing how to re-close the tube properly and having it come out in pieces or coming apart, which defeats the purpose of a protective hard tube. Others have had no issues with sport tubes.

 

[MissySki]

I use a Sportube, it's made quite a few trips with me at this point and is dinged up to show for it. Makes me feel better that it's a hard shell getting beat up versus my skis in a soft case. Plenty of people use soft ones though, preference.. I would never ever check my boots though, unless it's a gate check situation where they put stuff right below. I've had skis get lost 3 times on trips, I can live without those but not without my boots. Boots go in a carryon or over my shoulder and I also pack enough for a day on the slopes with clothing/goggles/hotronics/hand warmers etc. all ready to go in case luggage is lost as well since that happened once too. Helmet I clip to my carryon or purse strap.

Most of my luggage issues have been flying through Midway in Chicago, so I avoid that layover like the plague if I can.

 

[newboots]

Thanks, everybody!

I found a deal on a SporTube for $75 - packaging damaged, sold by Amazon Warehouse. It's not their top-of-the-line model; it normally sells for $169. Does anybody like this hard shell model (Cabin Cruiser Series 1)?

@ski skuhl - Thank you! I did a search for "ski bag" but the search terms were "too common." With different search terms I found some delightful old threads, like one in which @Marigee went to the wrong airport! (That is SO ME!) She credited @RachelV for her suggestions on packing lightly, allowing them to make it to the right airport in the nick of time! A great read.

 

[MissySki]

Thanks, everybody!

I found a deal on a SporTube for $75 - packaging damaged, sold by Amazon Warehouse. It's not their top-of-the-line model; it normally sells for $169. Does anybody like this hard shell model (Cabin Cruiser Series 1)?

@ski skuhl - Thank you! I did a search for "ski bag" but the search terms were "too common." With different search terms I found some delightful old threads, like one in which @Marigee went to the wrong airport! (That is SO ME!) She credited @RachelV for her suggestions on packing lightly, allowing them to make it to the right airport in the nick of time! A great read.

I have the orange cabin cruiser series 1 and it's great, especially the color to pick out your skis when everyone else's are usually black lol. I got mine from LL Bean years ago with Bean Bucks

 

[Susan L]

I have always traveled with a soft bag and stuffed boots, clothes and toiletries in there. Never had an issue. I have also stuffed 2 pairs of skis+1 pair boots and 2 snowboards+2 pairs of boots in a bag before. Southwest had no issues with that either.

 

[newboots]

I have the orange cabin cruiser series 1 and it's great, especially the color to pick out your skis when everyone else's are usually black lol. I got mine from LL Bean years ago with Bean Bucks

This one is orange, too! I'm going to pull the trigger. If it's damaged inside the packaging, I can return it. And, @ski skuhl I am going to buy some packing cubes, too! No sense letting TSA let everything fall out.

 

[newboots]

I have always traveled with a soft bag and stuffed boots, clothes and toiletries in there. Never had an issue. I have also stuffed 2 pairs of skis+1 pair boots and 2 snowboards+2 pairs of boots in a bag before. Southwest had no issues with that either.

I'm with the "The Boots Stay with ME" crowd, though. What a loss that would be on a week long trip to the Rockies!

 

[RachelV]

... I did a search for "ski bag" but the search terms were "too common." With different search terms I found some delightful old threads, like one in which @Marigee went to the wrong airport! (That is SO ME!) She credited @RachelV for her suggestions on packing lightly, allowing them to make it to the right airport in the nick of time! A great read.

While I appreciate my continued notoriety for being a light packer -- and I am still a pretty light packer! -- I feel obligated to mention that I am not sure I can ever attain the heights I did while packing for ski trips as a 20-something living in NYC. So, you know, maybe take those threads with the appropriate grain of salt if they're from ~2011 or earlier.

 

[MissySki]

This one is orange, too! I'm going to pull the trigger. If it's damaged inside the packaging, I can return it. And, @ski skuhl I am going to buy some packing cubes, too! No sense letting TSA let everything fall out.

Yay, I think you'll appreciate the color immediately when you land and go to find your skis the first time!!

 

[Jilly]

I have the black Sport-tube 1 from about 2009. Air Canada at that time would not take a bag with more than skis and poles in it. I have the Salomon Go-To-Ski backpack for boots, computer, camera, etc. on board.

Rest gets packed in the suitcase. Only once did my stuff not arrive with me. Coming home from a Tahoe trip. Had in Toronto. Didn't have it in Ottawa.

@RachelV - I can't believe that you still can't pack for a long weekend in a carry on!

 

[fgor]

I've flown internationally with skis via Air Canada. I stuffed everything i could, outerwear etc, into the ski bag for efficiency! I did take my boots with me onto the plane though, i had too many dramas getting boots to fit me, no way I'd be able to rent anything satisfactory.

I did get a bag with wheels which I'm very very thankful for. Carrying a heavy ski bag around the airport/city would have been pretty miserable as I do not have strong arms

 

[Jilly]

My husband had to removed most of his stuff from his double ski bag and put it in a cardboard box when we went AC to Vancouver. Then they ripped the bag as well since it wasn't stuffed anymore. I think that was early 2000's though.

I got tube for the trip in 2009 because the website said then, that all sports gear needed to be in a "hard container", or you had to sign off for any damages.

I've since been flying WestJet and no issues there.

 

[Iwannaski]

I used to fly with mine and had the soft bag (early 2000s)... it was heavy and added the comedy they always say when carrying skis parallel to the ground that you can’t/shouldn’t really turn fast. And @fgor - a fully stuffed bag IS super heavy and I do not recommend it. That was back when I was younger and single sans kids. Just thinking about the hassle of flying with skis AND kids? Driving starts looking a lot better. Or renting locally.

 

[marzNC]

For a late season trip, it's a lot easier to pack light. I have a Sportube 2, but have also done trips with a soft bag for one pair of skis. I flew with a padded ski bag and even an unpadded one back in the 1990s. Got a Slim Jim that has wheels a few years ago. One reason I'll just the soft bag is to make it easier to share a rental car. An empty soft bag is a lot easier to deal with then an empty Sportube.

My ski buddy, Jason, had an old rolling suitcase he used for his ski boots back in 2011. That's one reason I bought the Transpack rolling boot suitcase when I saw it in my local ski shop several years ago.

Here's the minimum approach I used for a spring skiing trip to New England a few years ago. I pack the soft bag carefully so that it isn't overstuffed. No reason to call attention to the fact that there is more than just skis and poles in the bag. I take the Transpack Sidekick and the rolling boot suitcase as carry-on. Once I take the helmet off, the Sidekick and the helmet fit under the seat for window and center seats. The space under an aisle seat isn't quite enough so then the helmet has to go in an overhead bin too.

 

[marzNC]

Here's a couple of packing approaches.

The Sportube and black suitcase with a soft briefcase were what @nopoleskier packed to fly to SLC. I'd left my Sportube with Bill with my all-mountain skis after our mid-season trip. So I brought my rock skis that were treated with Phantom in my old unpadded soft ski bag. Checked the blue suitcase and the ski bag. We took Alta Shuttle up to Alta, where we were staying in slopeside lodging.

On the way home, sometimes I'll gate check the boot bag if the flight is going to be full. My boots are old enough that I'm willing to trust Southwest at that point. If I'm being extra cautious, I'll plan ahead and take out the custom footbeds before packing the boot suitcase.

 

[fgor]

@marzNC we have almost the same bag, I just have the wider version I like being able to fold down the top so that the bag is no longer than the skis. I've also used those straps down the front to jerry-rig my own carrying system to make the bag do as much of the work as possible for me:



I ended up not taking a suitcase on this trip, just the ski bag + duffle bag, to minimise the number of things I was having to separately wheel through the airport/trains etc.

That Transpack boot/helmet bag looks really handy. I just threw my boots in the overhead locker loose as I don't have a bag for them.

 

[nopoleskier]

Here's a couple of packing approaches.

The Sportube and black suitcase with a soft briefcase were what @nopoleskier packed to fly to SLC. I'd left my Sportube with Bill with my all-mountain skis after our mid-season trip. So I brought my rock skis that were treated with Phantom in my old unpadded soft ski bag. Checked the blue suitcase and the ski bag. We took Alta Shuttle up to Alta, where we were staying in slopeside lodging.

On the way home, sometimes I'll gate check the boot bag if the flight is going to be full. My boots are old enough that I'm willing to trust Southwest at that point. If I'm being extra cautious, I'll plan ahead and take out the custom footbeds before packing the boot suitcase.

View attachment 15263

The small bag is my computer- not shown is my boot bag- I always carry that on w/computer bag- I need to learn to pack like @marzNC she's an awesome minimalist in packing- I always take too many shirts!! and it is heavy to haul w/ boot bag on my back and pulling the suitcase/computer bag and skis..