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Best way to pack skis for flying?

geargrrl

Angel Diva
We have an unpadded ski bag that usually goes on the roof rack.

I saw at the ski shop they have minimally padded bags. They were displaying them with ski cartons inside. I'm not sure if that was for display, or if the suggestion is to pack your skis in a carton.

What's the thought on Sport tubes. We both have fat skis ( Aura, Blog) Do newer sport tubes accommodate them?

Any advice would be appreciated. We've never flown with skis.

I did search, and found a couple of threads regarding skis/boots as baggage over all.... but not the best way to carry skis. Thanks!!
 

skithesierras

Angel Diva
It may not be the best way, but we haven't had any issues so far... We have an unpadded ski bag (fits two pairs), and we pack both our skis in there along with sweatshirts, clothes (mostly his, as I don't want to trash mine!), maybe a beach towel or two wrapped around them. We carry our boots in our regular bags - his in his checked bag, mine in carry-on.

I would like to get a padded two-pair bag, but I don't think we need a hard case.

That's been my experience, but maybe I've been lucky so far? I'd like to hear what other Divas do, too.
 

volklgirl

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
SportTube is the most protective way to fly with them. Your skis should fit without issue but figuring out how to pack them in can be a PITA and, in some cases, may require removing the bindings on at least 1 pair. I've also heard horror stories of the TSA not properly securing the 2 halves after inspection. In addition, the ST is bulky and can be difficult to store in the off season if you're short on room.

I've always taken mine in a well-padded, wheeled double bag, sliding thick winter socks over the tips and tails, sliding bubble wrap between the 2 skis, strapping them securely together, then another round of bubble warp. I also use the bag's internal straps to secure them inside the bag as well as possible. My skinny little Goode poles fit snugly along the sides of the bindings and are strapped down with the bag's straps.

If you decide to go with a bag, wheels are crucial for navigating airports smoothly, so look for large wheels (like in-line skates) situated near the outer edges of the bag. A long reinforced and stiff area at the wheeled end will help to keep the bag from flopping over constantly, and you'll want to make sure the handle is comfortable and usable. Heavy duty external snuggy straps with solid, easily worked buckles and sturdy zippers with big pulls help keep the bag easy to use. A well-constructed bag can be costly but it'll make your travel smoother and will last for many, many years.

As an aside, if you travel with a Camelback, DON'T put it in the bag with your skis. Mine came back with 2 of the buckles smashed. :(
 

RuthB

Angel Diva
I think it depends on how frequently you plan to fly with skis, and to a certain extent what sort of skis you have. We have unpadded bags, with minimal padding around the bindings and internal and external compression straps. They don't have wheels. They were advertised as doubles but we use them as singles. We put a single pair of skis plus poles in each and pad the skis with our ski clothing, base layers, socks etc. The bags are longer than our skis and I make sure that the tips and tails are well padded with a couple of pairs of socks and gloves.

The bags are not jam packed, so when they are opened for inspection it is easy to see what is in there without too much mucking around. When packed each bag weighs 10-12kg at most.

We have travelled this way for six long-haul (southern hemisphere to North America) and domestically 40+ airline trips like this and have had one problem only (hence the comments about the skis - the tails of my fuegos got damaged from being dropped). but one out of fifty or so trips with multiple plane changes isn't too bad. I am not changing anything this year for my new Aura's (part paid for out of insurance settlement and the fuegos still function even if they have half epoxy tail caps now)

We also travel with dakine split roller bags.

I have looked at all sorts of other solutions and have decided to stick with this - sport tubes aren't readily available here and storage and cost are an issue for me, as well as packing, not so easy to stick in the car or rook rack.

I have seriously considered a wheeled ski bag, but I still can't justify the expense.

As far as manhandling through airports, resorts etc goes we have found it easy, the ski bags are light enough that not having wheels hasn't been an issue and we usually dispense with trolleys etc overseas.

On a side note, having dealt with airlines over ski damage, most airlines have obscure conditions that basically amount to them taking no liability for damage to sporting equipment. Travel insurance does pay, but depreciation is a killer (50% in the first year), so if you are worried about damage, double check what the airlines liability is and consider travel insurance if you think you need it.

have a great trip
 

bounceswoosh

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
We did sporttubes for our Nomads (105 underfoot, I think 140 at the shovel), and they fit, but I don't think a ski much bigger than that would fit.

In our case, they weren't able to fit the tubes into the cargo for our flight, so we got our boot bags and other luggage right away, but the airline drove the sport tubes to us in the middle of the night. So that's one thing I would caution - because the tubes take up so much space, there could be delays on smaller planes. In our case, it all worked out fine.
 

bounceswoosh

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Oh, another thought - I think the airlines have policies about not filling up the ski bags with clothing - god forbid you pack more efficiently and thereby get around the luggage restrictions. I think their theory is that since they're already allowing you extra bags, you shouldn't get too greedy. Or something.
 

RuthB

Angel Diva
yeah, the clothing one is funny, every airline we have travelled on has had this policy, but we have never been queried on it -they seem ok with some ski clothing being used as packing - but we also don't over-stuff the bags or try and put all of our clothing in so maybe our bags look like a normal padded bag :noidea:. I've only travelled on United and Air Canada in north america though so not a big sample, and it has been part of an international ticket - so not ticketed through them.

Most airlines also seem to say a single pair of skis per bag, but there seems to be some leeway on that too, not that I have ever packed two pairs in, but if we buy DS skis this year his would go in one of our bags.
 

Jilly

Moderator
Staff member
I've used both methods - bag and sportube.

Bag - like others we'd pack stuff with the skis. I actually had a plastic ski sleeve, from Air Canada, that I put my skis into and then packed some of the bulky stuff in the bag. Hubby did his a little different and ended up with a mess.

Sport tube - I got one of these just before the Diva Summit (that I couldn't get too) and used it for the Mother's Day trip. I packed my Z5's one year and my Conquer's the next. Skis, poles and hiking shoes went in the box. The Z's had a little damage to the tip of one ski as TSA didn't quite get the thing together right on the way back. Not major, just a PITA. The way I packed the sport tube was to place the skis tip and tail opposite, bindings together, shoes in between the curved tip and tail of ski. Worked great, instructions come with the box too.

Air Canada will not insure skis or boards in soft bags. That's why I bought the sport tube. And I think some airlines are stating skis and poles only in the bag, nothing else. And then there is that weight!!
 

2ski2moro

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
20 years ago, DH and I travelled with soft bags that we padded with coats, etc. On one trip, something sharp was shoved into my bag, ripping the bag, trashing the base and damaging the ski's edge. Delta replaced the skis and bag, no question.

I bought SportTubes for us after that. I have a Series 2 (double) SportsTube now. I have a couple of the NicNack packs, too. My Kenjas and his Volkl AC50s fit in it perfectly.

I affixed a label for TSA to show them how to secure the 2 pieces of the case together. I hope they read it.
 

Pequenita

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
I affixed a label for TSA to show them how to secure the 2 pieces of the case together. I hope they read it.

By any chance can you take a photo of that label and post it? I'd like to do that, but you're right: I have no idea if they're inclined to read it.

I personally have not had a problem with using a SportTube, either double or single, but I will say that for me, it's a jigsaw puzzle. I do know that TSA opened another Diva's locked (with a TSA-approved lock) SportTube and didn't put it back together again, so everything came out separate on the conveyor belt. As for myself, I've only had to deal with them being too dimwitted or lazy to put back together my telescoping poles after they pulled the tops and bottoms apart.
 

Christy

Angel Diva
It may not be the best way, but we haven't had any issues so far... We have an unpadded ski bag (fits two pairs), and we pack both our skis in there along with sweatshirts, clothes (mostly his, as I don't want to trash mine!). We carry our boots in our regular bags - his in his checked bag, mine in carry-on.

I do the exact same thing, though we have minimal padding around the bindings. And like others said, even though you aren't supposed to put clothes and such in your ski bag, we do. I think as long as you aren't overweight, the gate agents couldn't care less what you have in there.
 

abc

Banned
I've traveled with both bag without wheels and Sportube. The latter wins hands down. I wish I had the double though. Trying to fit two pairs of skis into a single tube requires ingenuity. ;-)

As for storage space, once the skis are out, the two halves collapse down to a meter or so and is light as a feather. So it's not too hard to fit in the car, or under the bed in hotels.

I affixed a label for TSA to show them how to secure the 2 pieces of the case together. I hope they read it.
I have not had problem with TSA not knowing how to put the 2 halves together. However, they did lose one of my pins.

I had some clothing in it so the two halves stayed put without the pins on that trip.

Now I put a twisted wire to one of the empty holes. Hopefully if the TSA guy couldn't find the pin, they could use that instead. (myself too, if they lost the pin on my outward leg)
 

RachelV

Administrator
Staff member
Oh, another thought - I think the airlines have policies about not filling up the ski bags with clothing - god forbid you pack more efficiently and thereby get around the luggage restrictions. I think their theory is that since they're already allowing you extra bags, you shouldn't get too greedy. Or something.

I think that it's just that some people go way overboard. If you have long skis and absolutely pack the ski bag with clothes, you end up carrying around this 60lb 6ft long unwieldy thing that's like trying to carry around a dead body (not that I'd know from personal experience or anything...).

I used to do that and my strategy now is:
1) skis + poles in unpadded bag (with nothing else, maybe 1 jacket wrapped around the bindings) that I check
2) transpack with boots that I carry on and put in the overhead
3) backpack that I carry on and put under the seat in front of me

Bonus: 1 person can pretty easily carry all of these things (transpack on back, backpack in front, relatively light ski bag in hand), which was definitely NOT the case when I did the "stuff the ski bag with clothes" thing.

Anyways, just my 2 cents. I figure that what I do with my skis (i.e., put them on my feet and then jump up and down on them all day, ski over rocks and branches, fall down and smash them into each other, etc) isn't any worse than what's gonna happen to them in an unpadded ski bag in an airplane.
 

RuthB

Angel Diva
Wow you guys are allowed lots of carry on in the US - We are only allowed 1 carry on with tightly controlled dimensions and weight (which is checked at random)

Dimensions for Jet services1 should not exceed 118cm (46.5"). This generally means baggage should be no more than 57cm (width), 37cm (height) and 24cm (depth) for an overnight bag, laptop bag or briefcase or 60cm (width), 11cm (height) and 114cm (length) for a suit pack or garment bag. Dimensions for customers travelling on Link2 services are 105cm which generally means a bag should be no more than 48cm (width), 34cm (height) and 23cm (depth).

and one personal item (slimline laptop - nothing else in bag; or handbag; or duty free goods.

Hence when we ski our boots go in checked luggage.
 

ski diva

Administrator
Staff member
Wow you guys are allowed lots of carry on in the US - We are only allowed 1 carry on with tightly controlled dimensions and weight (which is checked at random)

Dimensions for Jet services1 should not exceed 118cm (46.5"). This generally means baggage should be no more than 57cm (width), 37cm (height) and 24cm (depth) for an overnight bag, laptop bag or briefcase or 60cm (width), 11cm (height) and 114cm (length) for a suit pack or garment bag. Dimensions for customers travelling on Link2 services are 105cm which generally means a bag should be no more than 48cm (width), 34cm (height) and 23cm (depth).

and one personal item (slimline laptop - nothing else in bag; or handbag; or duty free goods.

Hence when we ski our boots go in checked luggage.

I think we're only allowed one carry-on and one personal item, as well. And the dimensions are strictly regulated (don't know what they are offhand).

When I go on a ski trip, I put my boots and enough clothing for one ski day in my Transpack, and carry that on board. That's my carry-on, and yes, it fits in the overhead. My personal item is my computer bag. So even if they lose my skis, I have clothes, boots, and my computer. :smile:
 

Pequenita

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Wow you guys are allowed lots of carry on in the US - We are only allowed 1 carry on with tightly controlled dimensions and weight (which is checked at random)

Dimensions for Jet services1 should not exceed 118cm (46.5"). This generally means baggage should be no more than 57cm (width), 37cm (height) and 24cm (depth) for an overnight bag, laptop bag or briefcase or 60cm (width), 11cm (height) and 114cm (length) for a suit pack or garment bag. Dimensions for customers travelling on Link2 services are 105cm which generally means a bag should be no more than 48cm (width), 34cm (height) and 23cm (depth).

and one personal item (slimline laptop - nothing else in bag; or handbag; or duty free goods.

Hence when we ski our boots go in checked luggage.

You've never seen Rachel pack/travel. She's the lightest traveler ever.
 

abc

Banned
I figure that what I do with my skis (i.e., put them on my feet and then jump up and down on them all day, ski over rocks and branches, fall down and smash them into each other, etc) isn't any worse than what's gonna happen to them in an unpadded ski bag in an airplane.
Agree 100%.

I mean, even if they drop it from the conveyor belt, that's no higher than some of the jumps I (accidentally) land (or NOT land), and with my full body weight on top of it!

I admit routinely throw my skis from my shoulder onto our eastern snow which is harder than concrete. They seems to take it all with grace. :smile:
 

Jilly

Moderator
Staff member
You've never seen Rachel pack/travel. She's the lightest traveler ever.

Yup, and yet she has everything she needs.

Last trip out west, 1 backpack with ski boots, jewelry and net book. 1 smaller backpack that I use as a purse, under the seat, 1 large Atomic wheelie that is checked and the sport tube. And as always I had one too many street outfits!
 

2ski2moro

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
By any chance can you take a photo of that label and post it? I'd like to do that, but you're right: I have no idea if they're inclined to read it.

What I did was copy the photo off the Sportube website and paste it into a label using Microsoft Word. I printed it and stuck it on the tube. I also tie my pin to the handle so that it doesn't get lost.

sportube.png
 

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