Poll for the best ski travel bag?

[SkiJay]

For those of you've traveled with your ski, has it ever been damaged, and what kind of a travel case/bag was it in?

[TylerR]

Damage happens. Never had an airline fail to pay up when it does.

[SkiJay]

Knock on wood . . . .

[klindy]

I have a sport tube I use all the time. In fact I wore one out. I brig my skis with me probably 30 trips a year so that would be close to 75 segments (each with a "load/"unload". I've never had my skis damaged although I have had the case returned open and, on a different trip, noticeably damaged (see picture).

 

However in soft cases I've had several incidences of damage. I've had a fin bent over, zippers and bags damaged and a hole literally burned thru the bag probably from a conveyor belt. The hole was semi circular, thru both layers of fabric, thru the foam and thru the fabric of the slalom bag. The slalom bag had a hard plastic insert on the bottom which saved the ski.

 

The worst damage I had was in a soft three event bag. It must have fallen off the baggage cart and run over by something. The tip end of a jump ski was broken and the tail of a slalom ski was crushed. The bottom of the slalom ski looked like a broken egg shell.

 

For me the hard case is the only way to go unless I want to bring my jumpers.

 

 

[rayn]

Knock wood. And to be clear I reluctantly answered in fear of that changing. .

[Skoot1123]

So far so good - but I have only tabled with it 4 times.

[wtrskior]

I use a sport tube, never had any damage to it, although at MCO found the box open on the conveyor belt and the pin missing, only time its ever not been at the oversize. I now have a string on the pin and a bungee clipping both pieces for backup.

One of the reasons I went for the sportube is many airlines only cover damage when your gear is In a hard case.

[Chef23]

I may have been lucky but I primarily use wheeled soft sided bags either a Masterline 3 event bag or a Dakine snowboard bag with wheels. I half think that luggage handlers are less careful with hard bags like Sporttubes.

[Ed_Obermeier]

I use a Masterline soft one event bag, wrap the bagged ski with a yoga matt and my life jacket. No problems in 9 years but don't travel with it too much. If I had it to do over again though I think I'd go with the Sporttube or similar hardshell case.

[BRY]

I have used both but with soft bags the TSA undid everything, then shoved it all back in the bag with the ski zipped in on top unwrapped. Seemed to come out OK but moved to SportTube. Lost a pin twice and had pins just through one hole, then went to TSA approved cable locks. Seems, but I don't know, that with a TSA lock they have to make sure it is locked and secured. So they take more care to ensure locked and through both holes with TSA approved lock.

[SkiJay]

I always remove the fin for travel. That's one less lever to pry on. It also avoids knocking notches into the fin if it gets wacked up against the adjustment screws.

[lpskier]

Someone mentioned that Sport Tubes are susceptible to pinch or pinch and poke type damage on conveyor belts. I've never used one, so I have no experience one way or the other. I have traveled extensively nationally and internationally with a Masterline one event wheelie and I have never had any damage to my gear.

[Chuck_Dickey]

Love my Sport tube, sure wish the TSA could figure out how to re-lock it correctly!

[thager]

I have used a variety of ski travel bags including a regular ski bag, a 10" PVC tube, and an O'brien soft bag with a hard inner box. No problems with any of them. The tube is the most durable but is the hardest to get around. The O'brien bag is working nicely. All variations are packed with as much soft equipment as possible.

[popof]

I travel with this

 

 

 

 

 

 

Construction pipe (30$) inside a Dakine rollbag (that I can also use for snowskiing)

 

And my ski has never been hurt.

 

I did the exact same thing (Dakine bag + construction pipe) for my sister, and her Goode Maikai is all well in spite of a HUGE crack on the pipe (probably fell from the plane while loading or something ran it over...go figure).

 

Downside to it: kinda heavy, probably around 15 pounds empty.

 

Upside: It is versatile. Once on location I can take the pipe out and only use de much lighter ski bag for moving around to and from the lake etc..

 

 

[GAJ0004]

I have a fin firkin. It fits over the ski on the outside of a soft case if you put it on backwards. If I were traveling I would get a slightly bigger case so the fin firkin will fit inside and wrap the rest of the ski in extra padding in the case. My trick ski ends up getting wrapped inside my life jacket and wetsuit shorts.

[DmaxJC_ski]

I have never had an issue, I wrap my ski in a blanket inside the sport tube then pack my towels and life jacket and all my gear in there.

[h2oski]

Soft bag with the fin removed and wrapped in towels.