So what is the best travel bag out there for two boards? Since continetal charges the same for one or two (as long as they’re in the same bag), I figure I’ll be taking two boards with me to Costa Rica this summer. For some reason, continental won’t take three boards in one bag, but two is fine…In case anyone is wondering, one board is a 5’10", the other is a 6’2". What bags do you all recommend? And, would you trust your speed dialer to continental baggage handlers? Or is that a dumb question?
That’s going to be a great trip. I have had great luck with my Da Kine bags. Board, bubble wrap, sleeping bag, extra rail pads, padded board separator, and zip it up. As far as taking your favorite board, don’t even think about it.
Just came back from Mexico via Continental and my boards are intact…
I actually had 3 boards in my FCS coffin, and they didn’t charge me extra… I think if the whole thing doesn’t exceed 23kilos, they don’t really care how many boards are in the bag. I was flying from France, so it might be different from the states.
for safety I hadded bubble wrap on the rails and nose and tail.
I’ve flown Continental to Costa Rica before and didn’t have a problem (even with my favorite Jim Phillips single fin). I had a 6’5" single and 6’3" thruster with me.
I made an inner sleeve out of bubble wrap for each board, put a thick thowel in between them and made sure to pad the nose, tail and rails really well.
Destination makes a pretty sick double bag called the Double Taco…it has an inner padded divider for each board. It has really good padding as well as room for other stuff as well.
Just make sure everything is padded well, its always nice to have your favorite board with you, especially if the conditions are epic.
This is tougher for international trips but when I go between California and Hawaii I stuff all my clothes and an empty duffel into my boardbag too. I use them to protect the boards in critcal areas. When I get off the plane all I have is a boardbag and carry-on.
Oh yeah… My boards always get socks before going into the travel bag.
I really like Dakine bags, I have an Ocean and Earth double longboard bag too which is also very nice. Lots of bubble wrap! A good thing to consider for South American travel is having some tie loops on the bag, and tie down straps with you. I am always putting boards on the roof down there.
Two times to Rica with Continental, and they haven’t opened by bag to check for two boards yet.
But, I worry a lot more about slippy fingered locals steeling stuff than the baords at the airport. I have had a couple of pairs of sandals, and a pair of sunglasses stolen that were hidden up in the trees, and last time I was at Nosara, a guy had his board stolen right out from under his nose.
Yeah… straps are essential. I take long ones for lashing the bag to whatever… cars, my other board bags, carts at the airport. I also take a short set that works on existing roof racks. I frequently travel with lots of boards. A good longboard coffin bag with wheels makes a nice base for strapping other bags to. I can easily carry six boards by myself this way. My record is sixteen boards on a single trip… $1,200 just for the boards. A friend was giving me a ride to the airport to help me shlep my boards. On the way he said “there’s no way you can deal with those boards by yourself in Oahu”… then he called the airline and got himself a ticket to come with me. I ended up giving him a board for helping me. I couldn’t have done it by myself.
I’ve heard about petty theft at Nosara, but we’ve been lucky there. My theory is the sandals get snatched by shop owners who want to sell you new ones.
only one certified by the Gekko State’s wave hunting team for combat.
this is due to guitar horror stories and airlines. Remember FedEx football, UFC UPS, Demolition DHL, and Postal Polo are regularly played. A $600 Andalucian guitar smashed. But as Visa says, its priceless. Sure there’s insurance but the luthier who made it isn’t around anymore. His son rocks but it isn’t the same. Ah well. Same goes for surfboards.
Though it isn’t the fault of the company, like the guy at at gas station register isn’t responsible for a 40 being cheaper than a gallon of gas (40oz of alcoholics) . . . its the overall due to the system (of a down).
I’m going to travel with a board I can stand to lose.
Yes thieves they are like the bionic man or woman. Better than they were before. Better, quicker, faster. But a third eye or keeping stuff in hands length or tied on to you . . .
LOL I can see a guy carrying around his board case with it hand cuffed to him.
but like kendall says use a sock and some floatation tubes and bubble wrap so your case should be big enough to accomodate your boards with that too.
the problem with coffins is the damn end weight and managing the traffic as you make your way through the airport although they make nice sleeping bunks/bags if you’re short on accomodations…
always assume and prepare for the worse (repair kit)
in the end no matter what you got to remember it’s just a surfboard
so don’t kid yourself as you can always get another…
Is your trip a 2 week vacation or are you spending some serious time down there? Rental car or bus and backpacking?
These questions should HUGELY influence your course of action.
Edit: A coffin bag filled with all your stuff and no rental car is a bad idea, especially if you’re going to be doing it for a long period and moving around a lot…ask me how I know. :0)
i would NOT advise taking a repair kit with you…buy one when you get there if needed…there is a growing risk of your baggage being searched by security…repair kits have hazardous materials in them! if you are caught sending undeclared hazmat on an airplane you could face some serious financial difficulties in your near future…maybe even some freedom issues if you catch my meaning.
this is a big problem in the industry…guys are just shipping resins and additive F and all sorts of stuff without declaring it…even very small amounts need some sort of marking.
i work for a company that does training for this sort of thing. best to not take a repair kit with you on the plane.
Coffin with clothes packed around your boards, duffle bag as stated above for convenience should work out great.
When I went I took some epoxy fiberfill suncure, thought it was ok to take through. My bag was searched (at least a paper placed inside said it was) and it went through ok, maybe I was lucky though??
I use plumbers tape on my dings when I’m limited on boards to surf. I’ll tape it surf it and when I’m out of the water I take the tape off and let it dry as much as possible, then tape the dings off again when I surf. That way my dings are dry right when I get home so I can repair them.
I just got the Destination shortboard coffin as a gift. It says will fit 3 boards, but more like two if one board has glass-ons. Nice, thick 10mm foam walls that should protect the rails, but I’d pack clothes into the gap between boards/wall. Or rolled up bubble wrap. oh, it also comes with foam board separators that should allow you to forego bubble wrap on the deck.
The best repair tape I’ve found is the aluminum tape that’s used for ducts - not “duct tape” which isn’t rcommended for ducts (?) It’s aluminum foil with a sticky side. It’s absolutely waterproof and lays really flat on the board. It’s also shiny and looks cool One challenge is getting it off when you’re ready to fix the board for real.
Noosara has surfshops where you can get a repair kit. Going through customs with petro-chemicals maght not be such a good idea.
That’s what I got right now, except mine is black with with “FlexFix” in white-ish letters. Seems to be working pretty well. I have it on 5 dings right now, 4 on the base and it’s staying on without problems. The stuff I have is easier to remove from the sounds of it. A few have been covered by it for at least a couple months.
My Hawaii boards get no ding repair love because I don’t have a shop here, and SHIIITTTTY neighbors. (They put the hammer down on us for BAR-Bin, it’s been all down hill from there) Anyways…I got it from home depot, seems to be good stuff.
One challenge is getting it off when you’re ready to fix the board for real.