Packing Tips for Shred Trips!

treynolds - 13 July 2009 08:32 AM

Yeah I just picked up a Burton Wheelie Gig, looks the goods and I’m sure it’s going to hold everything I need to take, which is mainly.

- 2 board jackets
- 2 board pants
- 1 pair boots
- 1 goggles
- 3 beanies
- 1 152 board + bindings
- 3 sets of street clothes
- Toiletries

Now I think that’s over kill for a 2 week holiday but it all fits, haven’t weighed yet though.

Actually, about right, if you’re concerned, ditch one of the jackets.

rider26 - 13 July 2009 09:24 AM

Wheelie Locker anyone? So good for big international trips.

Is this big enough to have as the only bag to use when doing a season + a few stops along the way?

Yes, the wheelie locker is big enough to fit everything you need in it, BUT then it’s too big to take on a plane. If you fill a wheelie locker, you’ll be over the weight limit bigtime. Easier to take a wheelie gig and another ‘normal’ piece of luggage. A backpacking/travel pack is a good option so you can carry one and wheel one.

I think the only reason Burton created the wheelie locker was for their team - who get their luggage allowances paid so they don’t have to worry about overfilling their bags.

Ditto on spreading your stuff over two bags. On the other hand, depending on how anal the people at the check-in counter are, you might be able to get away with an extra kilo or 2.

There’s plenty of stuff that you can simply buy once you reach your destination. Do you really need to pack that extra board?

Oh, and given that you (two posts up) are stopping along the way, keep in mind you’ve going to have to schlep your stuff, through the airport, through the train station, getting to your accommodation. Are you going to be comfortable with moving your stuff around potentially long distances?

As long as carry on will fit you can get more gear through that outlet. I’ve never personally gone snowboarding overseas but I know my
older brother had issues of 500g a couple of years ago that they were trying to charge for. He ended opting to put on a few layers of socks
and some more t-shirts. Just be aware that some check in staff might not be too bad but there’s a chance you’ll get one that is the opposite.

There has been things changing with the baggage rules the past couple years. It has been a couple years since I’ve flown.

I have the Burton Wheelie Bag and about 4 or 5 years ago I flew in the US with a VERY stuffed Wheelie Bag. There was no extra charge. But that was then, and like I said Things have changed a bit.

All these comments were super helpful considering I’m leaving in 5 days from Canada to Australia for the year. I have bought myself a two compartment roots bags, it’s a little heavier since it’s got wheels but that thing can hold a lot of stuff. I’m flying Air Canada and my experience with them and overweight baggage has been pretty good.
Also I travel a lot so I always pack about 2 weeks in advance and then re-pack a few days before, you get rid of a lot of things that you truly don’t need to take. I tend to over-pack but I always seen to pack a lot in a small bag without it weighing too much. So just make sure you are paying attention to what you really need to take with you.

In the past 12 months alot of airlines are really cracking down on overweight luggage (given the state of the aviation industry, they need to make as many $$ as they can). Whereas overweight bags used to attract a fixed fee, some airlines now charge $x PER KILO. This can prove to be quite an expensive exercise.

Always check each airlines baggage weight restrictions! A simple search of the airlines website will tell you what the limits are. No good turning up at the airport and finding out you are 10kg overweight. You *might* get away with it, but there never guarantees on this. Ignorance is no excuse, especially to a checkin counter manned by a possibly grumpy airline employee.

We bought a little device that helps weigh our luggage—-> http://www.bagworld.com.au/shop/brands/Balanzza-Digital-Luggage-Scale/

If you have simply bathroom scales, another technique is to:
A) stand on scales by yourself and record the weight
B) stand on scales by holding your luggage and record the weight

Now subtract A) from B) and you should be a good idea how heavy your bags are.

I’m about to head over to Canada for a season and am getting a bit overwhelmed with luggage options!
My plan was to take one fairly decent size backpack, along with a large suitcase (or wheelie bag like the double deck).
I didn’t consider taking a board bag because I’m not taking a board, however I am planning on buying a board over there, and am now wondering whether I take a board bag (with no board in it on the way over) instead of the double deck…
Clearly I will need to buy some kind of bag when I buy the board, so maybe I should just get that now. I just can’t imagine it will be anywhere big enough for all my stuff. Can anyone offer any advice on this?

Also, if I do go for the wheelie bag option, can anyone share their thoughts on the following three that I’m considering:
1 - Burton Wheelie Double Deck: looks good (and sounds good by this review) but 92L and 5.4kg, so smaller and heavier than option 2
2 - Dakine split roller: 100L and only 5kg. Bigger and lighter than the double deck - does anyone have any reason why it would not be as good as the double deck?
3 - Burton Wheelie Sub: 121L 6.78kg This seems pretty heavy and although the space would be good, could you really be underweight with this bag?

Cheers in advance!
jacs

I’m a bit of a minimalist when it comes to packing, I try to keep it as simple as possible to avoid nasty airline fees.

My opinion is to go with the Dakine, for the following reasons:
1) That’s what I’m about to buy
2) Lighter and smaller is a very good thing. You’ll fit everything you need and nothing more, and a light bag helps you take a little bit more.

To give some background, my Wheelie Cargo has just died after about 5 years of service. Well, it hasn’t really died but a wheel has blown up and isn’t really replaceable. I’ve had great use out of it, however I’ve been left a little disappointed with Burton’s quality on their snowboard travel bags. I’m on my second Wheelie Gig and have found they start to wear very, very quickly. On the other hand, my friends Dakine board bag (low roller I believe) seems to be designed better for durability and is also lighter. Based on this, I’m keen to check out Dakine. I think I might even go for the small split roller, because that’s all I really need.

On to your point about luggage ideas. Are you going to be doing any decent length trips away during the season, where you’ll be flying? If so, a board bag will come in really handy as you can pack everything into it for a shred trip (I think I’ve said earlier in this thread I did a 3 week trip to Japan with just a wheelie gig). If so, wheelie gig + small split roller will be good for the season. When I did a season in Fernie I used a wheelie gig and hiking pack, about 70L. This was good because only having one thing to roll keeps you pretty mobile. I had a much smaller carryon pack as well and had that on my front the few times when I had to lump carryon, pack and board bag through the airport. I flew to Tahoe for about a week and was able to leave most of my stuff in Fernie and just travel with the wheele gig. It seemed to work out pretty well.

If you don’t really think you’ll need a board bag during your season, I’d say head over there with your Dakine Split Roller (In my mind you’ve already bought it!) and check out your options at the end of the season. To get home you just need the cheapest, most basic, small board bag you can find to get your board(s) home. Shops should have a few left at the end of the season, or even some cheapies from previous seasons. No matter what it’ll be cheaper in Canuckistan than it is at home. I don’t reckon you need wheels for your board bag if you’re going straight home - throw almost all your stuff in your roller, just board & bindings in the other bag, wrapped in 1-2 towels and it’ll be right.

Hope some of that helps

Enn Zed.

I’ve got the Wheelie Sub; it’s such a good bag. I was actually admiring it today as it’s been such a pleasure travelling with it over the last week or so. I’ve travelled overseas with it a few times. It’s super strong and sturdy, you can fit heaps of gear into it, and I’ve never paid overweight charges with this bag. That said, I also know the Dakine Split Roller well and it’s a really good bag too. Go with whatever works best for you.

Thanks so much for your advice, much appreciated.

I went and checked out my options in the flesh and found that the burton bag seems to have sturdier handles and seems to be made out of a strong, heavy canvass fabric. It also stands really solid. The Dakine fabric seems to be thinner, but the guy in the store said it’s really good quality. THe zips on Burton seems stronger and bigger, and I like the front pocket on the Burton better than those on the Dakine too.

The Dakine kinda looks a bit top heavy (empty) and like it might fall, but the guy said he’d never really heard of that being an issue. When I asked the salesman which one he thought was better out of the two, he said they’re pretty much the same thing quality-wise, but the Burton comes with a lifetime (I think) warranty and the Dakine doesn’t. That being said, he reckons the Dakine is a better option, because he said he’s had a least 20 customers who have had their wheels pop off the Burton. Even though they’ll get replaced under warranty, that doesn’t help when you can’t wheel your bag around!!

Just thought I’d share in case anyone was interested

I’ve had two board bags, a DaKine without wheels, and a Burton wheelie.

The wheels on the Burton bag make it far heavier, so even though you get to wheel it around the airport, platforms, sidewalks, it is a noticeable weight difference. The Burton bag is already showing signs of wear, the fabric near the wheels has started to fray, the areas where the zippers go around corners is getting stretched,  and the edges of the board has eaten part of the inside lining. Overall, I’m slightly disappointed, although the bag has gone to 3 continents, including Africa, and has stood up to a fair amount of airplane and train abuse.

I really liked the simple padded DaKine bag I had before, it lasted 8 years before the fabric tore through, and although I had to schlep it around (no wheels), it felt lighter overall.

Burton’s luggage has a lifetime warranty too.
Ive busted a handle once from improper handling by airport staff.
they fixed it with no problem.

Packing before the trip
Airport Tips
Customs Tips
Car Trippin’ Tips
Sending stuff home

Anything else?

RE. Sending stuff home, I am going to Niseko shortly and intend on posting my gear back to AUS in my wheelie bag as I am continuing my holiday off snow. Anyone done this before? Any tips on where/how to make it happen?

Thanks