Tammy
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
I recently purchased the Sportube Series 2 to transport my skis to and from the East Coast over Christmas while visiting family. On a scale of 5 stars, I'd give it a solid 4 out of 5.
The tube is pretty beefy in terms of construction. It's made out of a very sturdy plastic. There are two parts--or sleeves--of the tube where one slides tightly over the other. The ends of each tube have a layer of foam padding. It secures with a sturdy metal pin; you can also buy a sturdy TSA cable lock from Sportube to secure the two sleeves. I would not recommend using a regular TSA cable lock since the cable will crimp. You can also use two longer-cabled TSA locks to lock the case: one through a hole in the top sleeve and another through a hole in the bottom sleeve over the metal pin.
Loading the skis into the tube was a bit of a learning curve. First, you have to retain the brakes with some sturdy rubber bands. Next, take apart the two parts of the tube. Then, place the skis--bases facing out, tip to tail-- into the bottom sleeve portion of the tube, and stack the bindings of each ski so they fit into the tube like shoes. There is a Velcro strap on the inside of the bottom sleeve to better secure the skis in the tube.
The Series 2 Sportube is supposed to be able to carry 2 pairs of skis as well as 2 pairs of poles. I'm not so sure about this. Even with the brakes retained, I noticed that there wouldn't be a whole lot of room for another pair of skis. I think that if I were able to have put two pairs in there then there would not have been enough space for anything else. I'd be a little skeptical on some of the fatter powder skis fitting in there as well. On this trip I only packed one pair of skis (75mm underfoot) along with my poles, goggles, and a pair of ski pants.
I checked my skis as baggage on the way from MT to the East Coast. No huge problems occurred. Skis and other contents arrived in one piece.
On the way back, I shipped the Sportube back home via UPS ground. That worked okay as well, just slower.
After my trip was completed and the Sportube was delivered back home, I only noticed two major problems. First, the Velcro straps severely frayed where the ski edges contacted them. Second, the padding on the bottom tube shredded under the tip and tail of the ski. The skis were fine though. Next time around, I'll reinforce the Velcro straps and add more foam padding at the ends.
Bottom line: despite some inconveniences, the Sportube will indeed protect your gear.
The tube is pretty beefy in terms of construction. It's made out of a very sturdy plastic. There are two parts--or sleeves--of the tube where one slides tightly over the other. The ends of each tube have a layer of foam padding. It secures with a sturdy metal pin; you can also buy a sturdy TSA cable lock from Sportube to secure the two sleeves. I would not recommend using a regular TSA cable lock since the cable will crimp. You can also use two longer-cabled TSA locks to lock the case: one through a hole in the top sleeve and another through a hole in the bottom sleeve over the metal pin.
Loading the skis into the tube was a bit of a learning curve. First, you have to retain the brakes with some sturdy rubber bands. Next, take apart the two parts of the tube. Then, place the skis--bases facing out, tip to tail-- into the bottom sleeve portion of the tube, and stack the bindings of each ski so they fit into the tube like shoes. There is a Velcro strap on the inside of the bottom sleeve to better secure the skis in the tube.
The Series 2 Sportube is supposed to be able to carry 2 pairs of skis as well as 2 pairs of poles. I'm not so sure about this. Even with the brakes retained, I noticed that there wouldn't be a whole lot of room for another pair of skis. I think that if I were able to have put two pairs in there then there would not have been enough space for anything else. I'd be a little skeptical on some of the fatter powder skis fitting in there as well. On this trip I only packed one pair of skis (75mm underfoot) along with my poles, goggles, and a pair of ski pants.
I checked my skis as baggage on the way from MT to the East Coast. No huge problems occurred. Skis and other contents arrived in one piece.
On the way back, I shipped the Sportube back home via UPS ground. That worked okay as well, just slower.
After my trip was completed and the Sportube was delivered back home, I only noticed two major problems. First, the Velcro straps severely frayed where the ski edges contacted them. Second, the padding on the bottom tube shredded under the tip and tail of the ski. The skis were fine though. Next time around, I'll reinforce the Velcro straps and add more foam padding at the ends.
Bottom line: despite some inconveniences, the Sportube will indeed protect your gear.
