seawolf

I;m planning to buy my own skis for the upcoming season. What type of container do I need to checked them as baggage? Any recommendations/tips? Are there hard shells for them? Thanks.

Gaucho100K

Hi Seawolf-- Ive done quite a bit of traveling with skis & golf clubs... As far as I can tell, the airlines dont really require anything special. For clubs, there are some great hard-cases out there (some are quite pricey), but for skis I havent seen any. In any event, even if you use the standard ski-bag, I would just make sure the bases are clamped closely together (try tank-tape) and you should be fine. Sadly, one or two weeks of lift lines after purchase, the enamel on brand-new skis is all scratched up anyway...

Have a great season !!!

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Gaucho100K

[This message has been edited by Gaucho100K (edited 09-17-2000).]

Dorian

Much of the northern hemisphere winter season I travel with my skis. The best tip I can give is to put two old small towels between the tips and the ends prior to putting them together. I use two ski "rubber bands" to make sure they do not separate.

Dorian



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Rudi

We have one soft ski-bag for two pair of skis (and polls). That way they count only as one luggage-piece when Gisela and I travel together. And as soft 'towels' (Dorian's tip) we use our ski-socks and other smmll-skiing-weare-stuff.

The Mile Dog

All the posters here are correct, and have some good ideas, let me expand with my experiences/suggestions. As for packaging, I have seen everything, many airlines even have bags for skiis in airports near too ski areas. I would not reccomend this as they are little more than a long/narrow trash bag. There are hard cases available, I would pick up a Ski or Skiing magazine and look in the back. I personally use a large double ski bag, as I usually bring 2 pair for myself, it even has enough room for my wife's skiis if necessary (gets pretty heavy though). As for padding, I also pack all my things that I don't mind wrinkled (ski socks, undergarments, etc.) around the skiis, protects them and cuts down on other baggage that can really add up for a long ski trip. So basically I would probably get a soft case and tie the skiis together and pad them. I would figure out how many skiis you need to carry and go to the store to CHECK IF YOURS FIT. I had long skiis (210cm) and they did not dit insome bags, also some singles have a tough time closing around large bindings. As for quality, thats up to you. I am on my 3rd bag as the airlines wrecked all the others. (no compensation of course) Not sure if you can get a ballistic nylon/guarenteed bag like my Briggs and Riley regular cases, otherwise don't spend too much and expect to replace it every 5 -10 trips. I know I wrote a lot, but have been through it and hope it helps! Let us know what you go with.

tartetatin

Hello seawolf,

Just a few additional items to add to the excellent advice above.

Hardshell cases are available for about 100 bucks, brand name of SkiTube. Polypropylene 2-piece shell that telescopes to fit the skis and has locking loops. Comes in 1-pair or 2-pair size, and has wheelies.

My experience has been that a ski or golf bag does not count towards your checked luggage max, but it is better to combine skis rather than carrying one bag for each person. We carry this to the ridiculous extreme in our family by using our K2 rolling four-pair (!) bag. It's a monster to move around, but they all stay together (or get lost all together ).

Speaking of carryon, don't check through your boots. At least en route to your destination, drag them into the cabin with you with other indispensibles. Easy enough to rent skis if your bag goes south, but much more difficult to rent a decent fitting pair of boots.

Definitely cushion the skis inside with towels, and secure all zipper tabs together with a lock or wire wrap tie. This way the zippers won't work open in handling.

Love the way ski town airports are set up to handle ski bags, as they have a special delivery door for them. On the other end of the spectrum is coming into a major European city like CDG, and having to wait for a train-missing-long-time for the skis to be brought up from the bowels of the terminal.

Rudi, I would assume ZRH has their priorities straight in dealing with skiers?

Well, have a great season.

Lori

Comicwoman

Why not carry them on? People try and get larger items into the bins and under the seats. And failing to find a space, insist that the FA find room in the closet.

belle3388

yeah, why cant they invent folding skiis like those fishing rods? click, click, they are long, fold, fold, they become short, easy to tote, carry, store....

seawolf

I don;t think I want to ski on folding skis. Last thing I want is to have them fold themselves while I'm going down a diamond.

belle3388

seawolf, you have a point there, how about just for the beginners and intermeditates only?

The Mile Dog

Lori,

Good idea about carrying on your boots! I'll be looking for you this winter wheeling those 4 pair of skiis through GRR, probably wont see that too often! (I'll be the one lugging 2-3 pairs in a shoulder bag) b.t.w. I am trying to take several trips to the rockies this year. Do you know of any good areas where one can ski 1/2 to 2/3 of a day and still fly back to GRR that day? Trying to maximize my skiing vs. vacation ratio. Leave Thurs PM fly back Mon PM, 3 days to ski 1 vaca day. The only place I have found so far is SLC.

Loren

tartetatin

Mile Dog / Loren,

I do think that SLC gives you the best opportunity for good connections from GRR, plus accessibility to 8-10 fantastic areas within one hour from SLC (faves are Solitude and Alta). Also, you might consider BZN. Small, easy to get out of, less than one hour to Big Sky. We're going on Feb 13 for a long weekend, and will ski both Big Sky and Jackson Hole. One more is FCA (Kalispell), half-hour from Big Mountain, MT, where you can stay slopeside at the Hibernation House for less than $100. Big Mt also has night skiing on a good sized chunk of the front side.

But back to the half-day strategy. Do think that SLC is the best way to get those extra 4-5 hours in. Seems like the last MT flights to MSP get off around 1pm, whereas you've got till 5 to get to SLC. Only trouble is that work thing on Tuesday morning, but you can catch up on sleep when you're dead, I always say.

good riding,

Lori

bhatnasx

I know this thread is several years old, but I was looking for some information on packing ski's & this thread had a lot of great tips, so I figured I'd bump it up.

Does anyone else have any good packing for a ski trip tips? I just got my first set of skis & am looking for ideas on packing to protect them. I got a padded ski bag & I will place additional padding with clothes, etc - but looking for any ideas/tips you may have.

Thanks!

cj001f

Just use the padded ski bag. Cloths can get cut from the edges, especially if they are repacked poorly by a friendly TSA agent.

altaskier

I've brought skiis on many domestic and two foreign trips, using a soft bag and my long underwear, sweater, etc. for padding. It's all gone smoothly thus far.

Denver is cool - they have a special luggage carousel for skiis (and golf bags, too, I suppose).