I'm looking around for a travel bag. i dont mind the golf bags but i dont know which one would best suit me. i have a 132 board and 2 kites. i would also like room to fit clothes and maybe another board later on. what are my best options?
DaKine Airwagon. Gotta be the best bag out there. Golf bags don't really fool the airlines anymore.
Most of the golf bags should fit 2 kites and 1 board. I have a wipika one and the NSI, Best and Slingshot all seemed pretty similar. All will comfortably fit 1 board, two kites and some extras.
I have the Dakine Golf bag, and its great! I have flown a lot of times with it and have never incurred extra charges. You can get board, 2 kites, harness, bar, plus some clothes in and it will weigh about 22 kg. I have flown Malaysian, British Airways, Virgin Blue and Qantas within the last 12 months and have had no hassles.
-Take the fins off your board otherwise they cut through the bag (despite the padding- my bag is now repaired with gaffer tape)
-Take the straps off as well so that it packs down well.
-Turn up to the airport looking semi respectable (ie. not in boardies, tshirt, thongs/ jandals (ow) with 5 days growth and beach hair) be super polite, be organised (ticket/booking number and passport at the ready) and you will be amazed how far it gets you. ie. look like its not unreasonable that you are going on a golf holiday.
-Get yourself a good carry-on bag (one that matches the max dimensions) and put the rest of your clothes in that. I would think at least a week holidays worth of clothes + other stuff needed can fit into a carry on bag. Given the propensity of airlines to lose your stuff its also good sense as you don't have the hassle of lost clothes, having to wear the same jocks for 4 days until your bag turns up
- I think carrying two boards would be possible, but only take one set of foot straps to cut down on weight. I reckon you are always best trying to take just one board.
- You can save further weight by taking the minimum of clothes and buy cheap crap when you get there, which gets binned at the end of the holiday.
The trick is to give the impression that your check in is going to be quick and smooth to the counter person, if you are trying to force your bag closed and have a roll of gaffer tape to secure it, or have a vein bulging from your neck and forehead from carrying your bag to the desk, expect some grief.
I don't know how much they are in Australia, but they sell for about £110 over here. Not cheap I guess, but they pay for themselves in a few flights, and do a good job of protecting your gear. My Sol 139 fits in, but it has a little extension pocket that pops out if you need it, which extends the bags to 150cm.
On the other hand, I have heard of people using actual golf bags to take their gear. I guess if you cut out the club rack bit you could squeeze a board in. I have also heard of people using the just top bit off a golf bag to zip over the end and "camouflage" their bag. A guy on the kiteboarder forum has even gone to the trouble of cutting down an old golf driver to stick in the bag in case anyone doesn't believe him.
I think with the cost of fuel going up and up, airlines are going to look to enforcing their excess baggage policies in order to recover costs, so extra trickiness is going to be needed!
Hi Kiter zac,
There are a few others you should consider too. All of them carry 2-3 kites and 1 board. The Flying Objects wheelie bag, the Ozone Travel Bag and the Pat Love Travel wheelie bags are all excellent.http://www.pat-love.com/default.asp?lingua=en
www.flyozone.com/kitesurf/en/products/accessories/boardbag/
To see more about the FO bags, you need to visit their site due to the flash nature of the site, it is www.flying objects.com.au
Contact me if you are interested in any of the above bags.
Cheers and good winds,
Liquid Force Australia/Masterline have a great range of bags at nearly half the cost of others.
Contact them direct or any reputable LF retailer. Been using and selling them for 4 years now and they have been great and really inexpensive.
Nobile have a travel bag which they claim can take two boards and two kites or one board and FOUR kites, cost in the Uk is £59 approx $115. But as stated airlines now have wised up to golf bags being used and now charge for all excess baggage. Im coming to Oz in oct, flying Singapore airlines and am only allowed 20kg, I asked about golf clubs(lol) and was told 20kg total no extras unless I paid $60 per kilo over the 20kg. So I will only prob be able to bring 1 kite 1 board and 1 pair of jocks.
Previous post hit nail on head,pack light buy crap and dump before return.
I've got a slingshot ''golf'' travel bag - it fits a 142 cm board, 15 and 12 metre kites, 2 pumps, harnesses, bars, lines, wettie and a good amount of clothes. It's pretty heavy when loaded up but great if you want everything in 1 wheelable bag. I always worry though as it's got a lot of money worth of gear when full! I paid about $150 new for it a year ago in Brissie. When travelling internationally I ended up taking the kites on the plane though to bring the weight down - you're only allowed 20kg's unless you fly business class etc these days.
Cheers
Zac - not appropriate for me to advertise here as I am not a site sponsor.
Check out the Liquid Force Australia website and follow the link to the retailers and get some deals going.
Hey mate
i got a Flying objects 1 and i fit 3 kites and 2 board wetties towel and pump and a harness
I've never used or needed to use a golf bag yet, but a mate of mine packs a sand wedge and a few golf balls in his bag, the club is useful if there is no wind on the beach too.
lucky for me my wife and two girls are going with me to Oz in Oct, shame they cant pack as much as normal cos they are taking my pump,harness,bar, shortie, Shame.
Last year Quantas allowed me 32kg, but not anymore, more ways of getting money from us.
