Board bags/cases

During the summer months we travel by plane to various locations and I have learned the hard way about flying with surfstyle boards. Also, I think that if you ever have to travel with boards, a good bag or case is worth it's weight fiberglass and resin.

The first bag is sold by FCS, affectionately reerred to as a coffin, this one holds up to three boards no longer than 7 feet in length.
General appearance:

The coffin above, has a liner for one board and then the other two boards fit on either side of the liner inside of the larger bag. Zipper closures, a mesh pocket to hold misc items and several velcro closure pockets. It's well thought out and put together well also.

This model has wheels to allow rolling in airports or on paved surfaces.

Down side is that it's huge, even the smallest coffin is 6 feet in length, typically 1 1/2 feet more than most wakesurfers. Also, as a soft side bag it's one of the BEST and MOST expensive ways to have your boards RUINED by baggage handling employees of major airlines. In order to put 2 or more boards in the bag you'll need to remove fins. Also, this particular liner was too narrow to fit my Walker Team model...it's around 21 inches wide - not uncommon for a wakesurfer but wide for a 7 foot shortboard. I would think this might be a good option for folks taking a long 2 day drive and needing to drag boards inside to a hotel/motel room...and not much else in the wakesurfer arena.

My FAVORITE for traveling is this Santa Monica Surfcase. It's a hard case designed for 1/2 boards. They custom manufacture the case to your specifications, so it takes a few weeks. It's made from some type of plastic and includes a minimal amount of padding on the interior - which is not functional by itself.

Overall look:

This case will handle up to three surfstyle boards and close to 6 skimstyle boards. The case is molded and has built in handles, it also uses readily available skateboard wheels and bearings to ease handling through airports. It came with a shuolder strap, but for the most part that just got in the way and caused airport ticket staff untold grief. Just leave it at home.

Wheels:

Specific areas are reinforced and plastic is pop rivited in place. It's really well done, and IMO is the only way to travel via plane with boards. Not cheap, it's heavy and if you are at all SHY, you'll not want to be lugging this baby through an airport - everyone will stare and point Good conversation starter though, especially when traveling to the midwest - when asked what's in "that" the response of surfboards will leave folks curious.

To travel effectively, you need to bubble wrap the boards and stuff the whole mess into the case, along with more bubble wrap at the ends.

Easy buckle closure, with velcro safety straps. If you plan to fly with your boards, this is the real deal.

I like this bag for general protection of a skimstyle board. Grabbag board bags manufactures it - that is our own Sean Ward.

General appearance:

Double stitched, it also has three ways of carrying - back straps, shoulder strap and a simple handle. Thoughtfully designed. The following shows all the various handles:

This bag also has generous storage, if you choose to remove fins, or want to bring towels, extra dry clothes, the zippered compartment is large enough for just about anything you want and it'll be secure.

I think the Grabbag Board bag would be an excellent choice for folks trevlling with a solid skimstyle board that didn't dent or break easily. Easy to carry, solidly built and with lot's of handy features. It won't work for anything not a pintail, nor would I recommend it for PolyU and Glass boards.

My favorite for protecting those custom graphics, or like this Limited Edition 4-skim is the board sock. Again this is an offering from Grabbag boardbags. It's made from a soft corduroy with elastic at the end, along with a cinch cord to pull tight around the end of the board. The nose has reinforced end.

It's thin enough that it won't effect the board fitting in a tight rack, like on my Wakedesigns. After you're done with your session, slip the board in the sock, and put it in your rack to avoid scratches or rub marks.

This sock also came with a shoulder strap, but I think for on the boat, I'd prefer it didn't. For a single board, it's overkill and the strap mostly gets in the way.

Overall a great way to protect any 4'6" or so wakesurfer on the boat.

General appearance:

Jeff-

I think this is the first thread I've noticed where someone actually held a discussion with themself. Where do you travel/fly to "wakesurf" that you really need to devote entire thread (not to mention you posted 7+ responses to your own thread) on travel bags for "wakesurf boards"? I'm all for equipment protection, but I think this might be a little overboard...you think?

Nah - I talk to myself all the time. Last year alone, we traveled from California to Florida, Minnesota, Oregon, Arizona amongst others for contests. If I am able to get the INT League to put the contests together this summer, we'll hit probably 12 more states.

It's sharing info, many folks lurk without posting and long individual posts are difficult to read with pictures included, individual posts IMO provide better organization.

First time in this forum dukeboy or is this just your natural demeanor?

Dukeboy, its called a product review.

Jeff, don't stop the good work. I personally find your threads informative and helpful.

yep, Jeff its time to make your own blog ;-D

Jeff, I enjoy your threads. Keep up the good work. I've turned into a "lurker" lately, but will be posting in the future.

Jeff, are you going to try to surf the hard cases?