Airport Damage on Edges

[nvsnowlion]

Anyone else have a board come off the plane with a big ding in the edge? I use a padded bag and still I got a ding, an indentation, which is to deep to just file out. Other than buying a hard case, what do you do to protect your edges from travel damage?

[lafcadio]

Someone once suggested wrapping pipe insulation around the edges while traveling. You can buy it at most hardware stores and it's fairly light and easy to work with and pack. It generally comes in lengths up to 6 feet, so you'll probably need two for each board.

See here for other ideas: http://alpinecarving.com/misc.html#airlines

[lowrider]

Cut out a profile larger than your board from a piece of press board (masonite) Largest object gets the impact. Also wrap board with jacket, pants, shell etc . Notice more hard shell cases but hard to find for long boards. Foam helps but if you watch baggage handlers the velocity of the toss would require the foam to be about 6" thick.I tape up the handles with packing tape when i check the bag to prevent the ability of handlers to swing the bag and generate increased tangential velocity. Fun to watch them toss bags onto the conveyors but not when it's your pride and joy. Did you file a damage claim ?

[philw]

I used to use pipe insulation, but a hard case works way better. I used to trash those soft bags all the time, sometimes on the 1st trip with them. Try using one once the baggage handlers rip the handle off it - totally useless, and you may be only on the 1st leg of a long trip like I was. Once I bought a hard case, this was all history, and my case is maybe 10 years old and still going strong - the best and oldest bit of gear I have. But if you're going to suffer, the pipe insulation is the easy way to reduce that problem. The edges will rip your bag, even if they don't get damaged themselves.

[nvsnowlion]

[QUOTE Did you file a damage claim ?[/QUOTE]

Due to the weak winter I was playing it safe and brought my third choice (rock board with many base welds). So I did not file a claim. I am a novice traveler and really did not expect this kind of thing when using a padded bag. I am going to put this in the "experience" column and learn from it. Thanks everyone for the suggestions. It has given me a great place to start.

[Mike T]

Hard case AND pipe insulation (says Mike T while waiting for connecting flight while his favorite stick is thus packaged)

[lafcadio]

For those using hard cases, any recommendations?

[Mike T]

Hard case AND pipe insulation (says Mike T while waiting for connecting flight while his favorite stick is thus packaged)

Of course, none of this helps if the airline loses your friggin' SportTube!!!!! One less-than-one-year-old, one-of-a-kind Coiler (the bright green one I rode @ SES), 1 pair Sidewinders, and a bunch of dirty but important laundry (base layers for riding)... I really, really hope it turns up.

[www.oldsnowboards.com]

Plain old cardboard.

Padded snowboard bags are NOT enough protection against under paid bag handlers. Worse that UPS and FedEx.

They throw them on top of the carts and or tugs. Then drive foolishly fast, often loosing the load. The next guy or next cart then runs over the package. Witnessed this several dozen times over the years.

"Burrito Method" works good for travel, it is free and works really well.

[nvsnowlion]

And I was wanking about a ding... Hopefully the rest of your week is much better than today.

[piusthedrcarve]

For those using hard cases, any recommendations?

Sport Tube series 2. YYZCanuck has them.
Max width is 28cm... if you want to travel with POW or Softboot boards, this is too narrow. They have series 3 for those.

[lonbordin]

Masonite... that's brilliant!

[Mike T]

Fortunately the SportTube and contents showed top at my door this AM, seeming none worse for the wear. United Airlines, in case you are curious.

[nvsnowlion]

That sure is great news. And they gave you a new grey hair on your dome to remember your trip by.

[Mike T]

That sure is great news. And they gave you a new grey hair on your dome to remember your trip by.

LOL - the few remaining hairs on my dome are gray already!!!!

[Scuff]

I have been happy with my sport tube, and have recommended it to racers on our team to help protect their shiny metal investments during travel.

The Sport Tube model that's designed for 2 sets of skis works well for my alpine boards, and expands to accommodate over 185CM
(Height is a bit of a squeeze, so I remove my bindings and any plate system before packing) The Sport Tube designed for freestyle snowboards is kinda huge..(Wide)

Even then, I STILL recommend using the foam pipe covers around the edges!! and also stop and inspect your boards AT the airport to make sure no damage has occurred.
A few years back, one of our riders was using a sport tube, and TSA REMOVED and inspected the boards, and must have dropped the board, or laid the board up against when it fell..
denting the edge.. He could have filed a damage claim at the airport, but he didn't notice it until that night when unpacking.

[queequeg]

Of course, none of this helps if the airline loses your friggin' SportTube!!!!! One less-than-one-year-old, one-of-a-kind Coiler (the bright green one I rode @ SES), 1 pair Sidewinders, and a bunch of dirty but important laundry (base layers for riding)... I really, really hope it turns up.

That sucks! I hate giving my boards to the airlines. I only put boards under the plane if I have a direct flight, and if I do I always make sure I show up early for it. Otherwise: I always send via FedEx, since at least then I can actually insure it for the value of the contents. What really pisses me off about airlines is the overage fees for heavy snowboard bags. My overage fees for my flights to aspen actually exceeded the price of my airline ticket. That's the last time I fly united with snowboard equipment. Bunch of sleazoids.

Actually: a quick question about the sporttube: how much does it weigh? I have a very difficult time keeping the weight of my bags under 50 lbs. With four boards + bindings + softgoods, I didn't even bother this time. My soft bag is quite large, has held up, and can probably accomodate a 200 cm board but it seems possible that a sporttube might be lighter (and easier to carry for that matter).

[Marc Hall]

Best thing to put on your edges for transport/shipping are those black foam insulation for hot water pipes. never had damage wiith.

[kjl]

The pipe insulation is great - also, it comes already cut down one side so you can just slide it right on. When I travel, I usually:

1) pipe insulation on edges, also on tip and tail.
2) nylon straps to hold pipe insulation in place
3) pack tight in hard case so it doesn't slide around/bang around in there (sportube).
4) ship a week in advance with fedex (seems less likely to get lost/broken/delayed). I have had fairly good luck flying with gear, but even so it's just too stressful for me to deal with gear getting bumped to the next flight due to weight, or lost for a day or two, or whatever. Also, lugging giant boxes or bags through the airport and messing with it is generally a huge pain in the ass, too.

It might even be cheaper shipping than paying for extra bags at the airport now, anyway.

[jp1]

Jose, my Sportube weighs 17lbs.

[queequeg]

2) nylon straps to hold pipe insulation in place

I like using shrinkwrap. I sandwich all my board together, and shrinkwrap. Then put the pipe insulation around and shrinkwrap that. Makes the boards wider so that any impact on the side will be distrubuted across several boards rather than one, after the pipe insulation.

Jose, my Sportube weighs 17lbs.

That seems pretty light! I'm thinking I'll get a sporttube next year.