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frenzyflyer
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best travel bag

Postby frenzyflyer » Sun Dec 09, 2007 10:08 am

Hi,

I want to buy a travel bag to bring all my kiting stuff around(by plane).

I want to fit in it 2 kites, 2 boards, 2 bars, 2 wetsuits, 2 lifejackets, 2 pumps and 2 harnesses.

What bags could I buy to fit all of the stuff with ease. I also want a very padded one for protection.

Thanks

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justsomekitingdude
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Postby justsomekitingdude » Sun Dec 09, 2007 10:20 am

Its clear that you will need a pretty big one which will end up being heavy. That being the case you will be hauling rather than carrtying the bag. Whatever bag you buy make sure it has decent wheels and enough clearence that it dosent drag in soft sand or rugged terrain. Otherwise its harder to haul + you will get wear along the edge that drags ...... unless it has some sort of protective plate. I have a fairly large bag myself and use it all the time. It is spot on fo the load you have described except for the fact that the wheels are tiny making it a pig to pull in the soft stuff .... and theres no edge protection and it wore through in 6 months !
hence I wont recomend it.

Hope that helps :D

Happy Days

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Me!
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Golf

Postby Me! » Sun Dec 09, 2007 1:37 pm

Slingshot or dakine brouuu ! Thats tha shittt ..

http://buyslingshotsports.com/s.nl/sc.2 ... ry.3943/.f

:wink: !

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Postby Goldmember » Sun Dec 09, 2007 1:52 pm

If taking your stuff by plane is primary reason for getting the bag, I would first suggest checking out the baggage rules of the airlines you are likely to fly with.

My experience with kitegear is on KLM, TAP, Malaysian and Arke. All have different baggage rules and I have found myself packing things in various different combinations depending on the airline to escape or reduce baggage charges.

Some of the things to keep in mind are:

1. Airlines rate sports equipment differently. Sometimes golf bags are free outside baggage allowance. Sometimes free if they fit under your normal allowance. Sometimes a flat fee, which can be different for different types of sports equipment. Hence, sometimes the kite 'golf' bag idea can get you around this. Sometimes kite stuff is actually not taken (see British Airways from a few months ago, although I think this has now changed again).

2. Airline uses piece system (mainly in USA - 2 pieces up to xx pounds each) or Weight system (Europe - total kg limit). If total overall baggage weight, this is normally 20kg, but Arke has a comfort class where you get 25kg and I get 30kg on KLM with FF card).

3. Individual Bag Length. If it goes on the baggage conveyor, never a problem, but most kite bags are 140 or 150 cm long which do not fit, so they then want to know what is in there. For surfgear, Arke has cut off at 165cm, so if under this length and fits under your kg limit, then not a problem. Otherwise you need to work out if cheaper to pay extra kilo charge or pay a flat fee for sports equipment. Factor here is do you have a wave board or just twin tips.

4. Bag Weight: In any case, all european airlines will not let you take any one bag being over 32kg. I have a Dakine Airwagon which I can recommend due to good build and big wheels, but when it had 3 kites, 2 boards, 2 bars, harnesses, wetsuits, pumps ect, it gets over 32kg, so have to put stuff eslewhere anyway. But one 32 kg bag on TAP was OK and only had to pay 50 euro return (they lost it both ways however...) On KLM, a single surf bag over 20kg gets very expensive. Hence on KLM, not good to take the airwagon.

5. Destination. Different rates to inside europe and outside europe. Again this varies between airlines.

6. Travel Partners. whether you go alone, with 2 or in a group can also change how and where you pack things and ....this varies between airlines.

7. Get Creative. Other ideas are to remove the fins and pads from your boards, tape them together, wrap in bubble wrap and pack them in cardboard. In which case they could be considered as 'art'. Good if 'art' travels for free. Kites and bars then go in a big hold all tote bag which fits on the baggage conveyor (less chance of being lost...hiring a board for a day or 2 is a better option than hiring everything). Also you can try having a nice conversation with a sales or marketing manager from the airline in advance and getting an exemption....again depends on the airline. Also begging and negotiation at check-in can work as well. Although this seems to be less effective nowdays.

Anyway, just some things to think about before shelling out 150 euro for a travel bag. Especially if you are going to travel often and on different airlines. In which case you may find youself becoming more of an excess baggage geek than myself. Unlikely, but you never know...

Enjoy your travels.

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Postby harleyboy » Sun Dec 09, 2007 7:37 pm

I have a NSI golf bag. Fits two boards (spleene session 141 and a LF 136), 2 kites, 2 bars, pump, 5/3 wetsuit, some small odds and ends. It is full with that. I don't think I could squeeze another kite in there unless I used some compression bags to tighten things up a bit. The fit wasn't super tight at all. If I really want to get more in it I probably could have but then you start putting unneeded stress on the bag.

The golf bag angle seems to work well for me in NA. I have never been charged extra as the airlines I travel on seem to think what I have are golf clubs. I just keep calling it a "golf bag"...I never say there are clubs in it or not.

I have had a bit of an issue with the NSI bag. It ripped along the zipper after first use which I wasn't happy about. They offered to repair it but after I found out that another person from my same shop had the exact problem (after first use) so I asked for a replacement. They basically told me to screw off and either take the repair or ask my shop owner to give me money back. I don't know what the ramifications are to the shop owner. I am going to fix it and see what happens.

Not trying to slam NSI too hard here but I am bringing up a customer service issue that I think could have been handled differently. My guess is a bigger company may have stood behind the product a bit more? Not sure. Maybe someone has experience with Dakine with regard to damage.

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Postby Dave_5280 » Mon Dec 10, 2007 1:56 pm

If you want to get the biggest bag available, it would probably be the Dakine Airwagon, but you may be charged extra for the size and weight. It is over United Airlines size limit, but I flew to Maui and back recently and wasn't charged after telling the ticket agent, when they asked, that it contained no surf equipment and golf equipment (I put in one club in case they checked) and beach gear. I was over the weight limit coming back but they let it go. I think big bags have that problem, you can fill it up, but it will be hard to keep under the weight limit.

If you want to try to avoid extra charges, get one of the golf style kite bags and see if all your gear will fit in one and determine the weight. If that doesn't work for all the gear, pack the rest into other regular bags, or maybe a second golf style bag (if allowed by the airline).

There are a number of choices for the golf style bags, including the already mentioned NSI, but also, Naish, Best, Cabrinha (new), and others. Some of these come in two different sizes for length so check to see if it will fit your boards. The number of manufacturers making these bags has been increasing.

If you search the forum you find a lot of good tips on how to talk to the ticket agents to try to avoid extra bag charges.

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Postby FredMurphy » Mon Dec 10, 2007 2:22 pm

I recently got the Dakine BTS and was very happy with it on a recent trip to Brazil. My girlfriend and I both kite, so it easily took 4 kites, 4 bars, 2 boards, 2 harnesses, 2 impact vests and other bits and pieces. 45kg in all so it was ideal that it split in two for the flight.

Once split, you have the option of a wheelie bag or a lighter non-wheelie bag for when you have less to take. We used the non-wheelie when loading up one kite and board each for 4WD day trips to remote beaches.

The padding on the bag is limited to the wheeled bit. IMO that is good as it saves weight. Towels, impact vests and clothes are perfect for protecting your kit without wasting you weight limit on the bag itself.

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Postby scklandl » Mon Dec 10, 2007 3:05 pm

Yup, Im with fred.

the dakine split bag is the way to go. I only used the wheeled half on a trip last week and one half can easily be stuffed to the almost standard 50 lbs mark, and thats only half the bag! so a bigger none split bag wont do you anygood.

if you do need to take alot more crap with ya, fill up the top bag too and when you get to the counter split the bag into your
TWO carryons. Makes a clean travel system.

frenzyflyer
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Gear: Best Waroo Pro 07 13m and 7m + 2007 55cm Best Bar
North Rebel 07 10m + 08 5th Element bar
Custom Board 135cm
North Jaime Pro 2005 129cm
Litewave 115cm
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Postby frenzyflyer » Mon Dec 10, 2007 8:26 pm

justsomekitingdude wrote:I have a fairly large bag myself and use it all the time.
what bag is it?

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Postby Jurriaan » Tue Dec 11, 2007 3:04 am

Just ship the bag with yourself!
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