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What's the best 1-2 board airline bag?

Y

YeahNo

OTF status
Jan 20, 2017
241
46
28
Kelly's Cove
I don't travel with more than 1 or 2 boards most of the time as my trips are family or work, so time is limited. Anyone have any experience with a really solid single or double board bag for air travel? I usually take a fish and or a step down, so everything is under 6'.

Or is it better to just take a bag for 3 boards and load up the extra space with towels/clothing for extra padding?
 
B

bigglesworth

Legend (inyourownmind)
Mar 8, 2017
492
543
93
I typically travel with 2 boards, stub thruster and regular thruster.

Pro-lite rhino has never let me down.

prolite.com

Pro-Lite Rhino Surfboard Travel Bag - Shortboard (1-2 Boards)

Weighing in at much less than a wheeled bag but packing in the same body foam and material the Rhino surfboard travel bag is perfect to have in your corner as you step into the ring with the airline check in attendant. This bag has 10mm foam protection designed for airline travel. Large...
prolite.com prolite.com

Not sure if this the best price, i advise shopping around.

edit: backcountry and evo sometimes have good deals on these
 
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S

Sharkbiscuit

Duke status
Aug 6, 2003
26,681
19,627
113
Jacksonville Beach
I have a pro-lite like the one above, also the Josh Kerr which is very very similar, the Creatures slim fit, an FCS 2 board bag, and a CI 2 board fish bag.

I like having a light boardbag, pool noodle foam all the way around the board if possible, strategic areas if not, with some foam on the bottom of the bottom board, and on the top board's deck.

Personally, I don't like the way the Pro Lites open. It's like an alligator's mouth or something, when I want that zipper from basically the nose to the tail, for maximum emptying/cleaning/aeration/access.
 
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R

rowjimmytour

Tom Curren status
Feb 7, 2009
11,534
5,831
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bigglesworth said:
I typically travel with 2 boards, stub thruster and regular thruster.

Pro-lite rhino has never let me down.

prolite.com

Pro-Lite Rhino Surfboard Travel Bag - Shortboard (1-2 Boards)

Weighing in at much less than a wheeled bag but packing in the same body foam and material the Rhino surfboard travel bag is perfect to have in your corner as you step into the ring with the airline check in attendant. This bag has 10mm foam protection designed for airline travel. Large...
prolite.com prolite.com

Not sure if this the best price, i advise shopping around.

edit: backcountry and evo sometimes have good deals on these
Click to expand...
+1 I own 6'3" fish/hybrid and pack board(s) with day bag and sock so far never been damaged.
 
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GromsDad

GromsDad

Duke status
Jan 21, 2014
54,796
16,676
113
West of the Atlantic. East of the ICW.
If I was only flying with a single board I would just have a beater board I didn't care about that I'd use for travel and I'd put it in a case like this: https://prolite.com/collections/surfboard-travel-bags/products/rhino-travel-bag

For two or more boards get the bigger case with wheels made for 3 or 4 boards. Go one size bigger than your typical board. These bags have the ability to sinch down when you have fewer boards in them. Now here is the trick. Since obviously you have a lot of extra space in the bag......go to Home Depot and get a sheet of XPS insulation foam, some bubble wrap, and the packaging shrink wrap warehouses use. Cut the foam to be slightly bigger than the outline of your biggest board. Put a towel or bubble wrap between the two boards and make sure that the noses and tails are well supported. Now shrink wrap the two boards together so structurally they act as one board. Now sandwich the boards between two layers of the rigid foam and shrink wrap that all together so it acts as one structural unit. Pack any voids with bubble wrap and put a lot of extra around the nose and tail. Now put all of that in the board bag and sinch down all of the straps. Take the roll of shrink wrap with you so you can use it to pack for the return trip.

I've never had more than a minor ding using this proceedure.

An added benefit to packing this way. On my most recent trip I flew an airline with a strict 2-boards per bag policy. Because of my very extensive packing I was able to get away with 4 boards stuffed in the bag. The airline counter asked me to open the bag so they could count the boards. I played along and politely complied and told them calmly that I'd stuffed the hell out of the bag with packing material to protect the boards. They unzippered the bag about two feet and started looking at all of the packing and zippered it back up. Inside I had a 6'6, 5'10, 5'9 and a 5'4. Bag was an older version of this Pro-Lite: https://prolite.com/collections/surfboard-travel-bags/products/wheeled-coffin-3-4?variant=18536611207
 
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Iceman

Iceman

Phil Edwards status
Apr 1, 2002
6,263
1,059
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NorCenCal
I have the Prolite Smuggler bag. It's nice because it's cut to a general surfboard shape so you don't always need extra padding around the rails to keep it secure, and each board has it's own slot. Great for 1 or 2 boards plus all gear, and it "hides" the third board if you have it.
 
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Y

YeahNo

OTF status
Jan 20, 2017
241
46
28
Kelly's Cove
Thanks for all the feedback. I've only used a Dakine coffin bag from about 10-12 years ago (its bulky, abused, and worn out, hence the need for a new one), so input about different bags is awesome. Thanks all!!
 
Iceman

Iceman

Phil Edwards status
Apr 1, 2002
6,263
1,059
113
NorCenCal
Not sure if this was a consideration or not - wheels.

I've used a Dakine coffin with wheels, and now that I have a bag without, I would never get one with wheels again. The wheels automatically add a bunch of weight and bulk to the bag. In any situation besides walking through the airport, it just makes it more of a pain than anything.
 
GromsDad

GromsDad

Duke status
Jan 21, 2014
54,796
16,676
113
West of the Atlantic. East of the ICW.
Sharkbiscuit said:
Personally, I don't like the way the Pro Lites open. It's like an alligator's mouth or something, when I want that zipper from basically the nose to the tail, for maximum emptying/cleaning/aeration/access.
Click to expand...
One thing I've noticed on a couple of the board bags I have is that the zipper does not go quite far enough. Like you said, the alligator's mouth. Literally if the zipper were just six inches longer than what they used the bag would be so much easier to pack because the zipper stops short of the wide point or mid point of the bag. I've run into instances where I couldn't fit a second board into the bag because the geometry of the zipper's length or placement in relation to the wide point or mid point of the bag was wrong.

By the way, I've bought several board bags from here and they often have very good specials on board bags. https://www.surfsource.net/store/category/board-bags
 
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C

Clayster

Miki Dora status
Oct 26, 2005
5,682
1,284
113
I have a prolite wheeled coffin bag. I leave my boards in their day bags, and put them in the coffin. It's bullet proof, but can be heavy, so you need to pay attention to weight or the airlines will gig you.
 
daave

daave

Gerry Lopez status
Dec 28, 2002
1,162
526
113
Agree prefer the slimmer non-wheeled bags over the wheeled coffins. I'm not a pro - traveling with (and paying for) all those boards seems like a nightmare.
 
LifeOnMars

LifeOnMars

Michael Peterson status
Jan 14, 2020
3,164
2,106
113
YeahNo said:
I don't travel with more than 1 or 2 boards most of the time as my trips are family or work, so time is limited. Anyone have any experience with a really solid single or double board bag for air travel? I usually take a fish and or a step down, so everything is under 6'.

Or is it better to just take a bag for 3 boards and load up the extra space with towels/clothing for extra padding?
Click to expand...
I've taken a single board in a day bag with bubble wrap and extra padding. I'd get the bigger bag anyway, 3 boards sounds about right. You may want to pack wetsuits and other crap inside. It's always nice to have some extra space, learned that the hard way by overpacking and stressing the zippers on a few different pieces of luggage. A triple board bag ain't going to put you over the weight limit and gives more flexibility of use.
I like Dakine bags, Creatures makes good stuff too.
 
D

Dekerwild

OTF status
Jul 28, 2017
337
344
63
Faringer said:
I travel with one board because I don’t like having too many things to carry around.
Click to expand...
And what would that one board look like? most 7-14day surf trips have a sliding scale of waves....

6-8ft cranking with 10ft sneaker sets for 3 days
4-6ft swell dying but still a pulse for 3 days
3-4ft getting softer by the minute but crumbly mush point surf for 3 days
2-3ft grovel waves might as well surf cause I’m on vacation 3 days

What magical boar will fill the stock ?
 
R

rowjimmytour

Tom Curren status
Feb 7, 2009
11,534
5,831
113
54
Dekerwild said:
And what would that one board look like? most 7-14day surf trips have a sliding scale of waves....

6-8ft cranking with 10ft sneaker sets for 3 days
4-6ft swell dying but still a pulse for 3 days
3-4ft getting softer by the minute but crumbly mush point surf for 3 days
2-3ft grovel waves might as well surf cause I’m on vacation 3 days

What magical boar will fill the stock ?
Click to expand...
 
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