Checking skis at the airport -Need advice

[WeFourSki]

Hello everyone,

The 4 of us are heading out to Park City in a couple of weeks (mom and dad + 2 teens) from Boston. My question is with regards to packing our skis; We only own soft ski bags. Do I need to invest in multiple 'hard cases' in order to safely check our skis at the airport? How do others travel with skis? Can I wrap them in bubble-wrap and use the soft bags?

I have brand new Blizzard Bushwackers so there is absolutley no chance I'm going to leave them behind and rent!

Thanks for the advice. Bring on the Pow!

 

[wa-loaf]

I have a padded soft bag. Haven't had any problems. If you are really worried wrap some extra clothing around them and kill two birds with one stone.

 

[SKIQUATTRO]

i've used bubble wrap and a soft bag with 2 pairs in 1 bag..no problem...i also ship via ups directly to my hotel ahead of time so they are there when i arrive...i take a return shipping label with me and have UPS pick them up a the hotel when we are leaving....

 

[Hawkshot99]

I flew out to Park City on SouthWest 2 years ago. I had a padded double ski bag to hold the 2 pairs I tiik with me. Just checked them with my suitcase no problem, and picked them up off of the carousel in SLC. If I had to pay to have a extra bag go with me, I definatly would have them shipped them via UPS rather than carrying them plus my regular bags through the airport.

 

[gmcunni]

soft bags = no problems for me in the past.

 

[Puck it]

Soft no problem! But you will waiting a long time to get them when you get back to Logan. Logan back handlers are slow.

 

[snowmonster]

I fly out of Boston and use a soft bag all the time. I wrap my bindings in bubble wrap and put some sweaters near the tips to pad it a bit. Have fun and bring the snow!

 

[tekweezle]

Wrap the tips and bindings area in towels or extra clothing.

By the way, don't bother locking the ski bag. Tsa will clip your lock.

Sent from my Htc Incredible via tapatalk....

 

[EllenK]

I've flown with 2 skis+2 poles in my LL Bean soft ski bag before with no issues. However, if you do need to pay to check the bags b/c you are not on SW and your planning on paying both ways for 4 individual ski bags it may make sense to look into shipping them.
You can prob get a box big enough to hold multiple pairs of skis.

 

[drjeff]

i've used bubble wrap and a soft bag with 2 pairs in 1 bag..no problem...i also ship via ups directly to my hotel ahead of time so they are there when i arrive...i take a return shipping label with me and have UPS pick them up a the hotel when we are leaving....

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This. Except that I use Fed Ex and have an account with them so all I need to do is put that on the shipping label.

FYI, if you're skiing in the general Park City area and are going to ship your skis home, it gets real convienent to ski your last day at Deer Valley where they can ship your skis directly from the ski check at either the Silver Lake or Snow Park lodges! I just bring the my families ski bags with me that last day in the rental car, along with a towel from the hotel, and once we're done skiing just dry off the gear, bag them up and hand them with the Fed Ex shipping label which you can get right at the ticket window at Deer Valley to the folks in the ski check, and then 4 days later my skis show up at home. Just less hassle to deal with on that last evning as you're packing the rest of your stuff up!

 

[Cheese]

By the way, don't bother locking the ski bag. Tsa will clip your lock.
.

I haven't had any issues with 2 pairs of skis and a pair of poles in a soft bag.

I have two friends that have had issues so I suggest inspecting the bag before you leave the airport so you can file a claim if required.

Issue #1: Zipper busted and clothes missing from ski bag.
Issue #2: Both ski poles bent at 45* angles.

The second issue had us all baffled. With a set of skis in the bag for support, it sure seemed suspicious that the poles could have been bent this severely while in the bag. The airline did compensate my friend for his loss.

 

[tekweezle]

Probably got mangled by the bag handlers. Delta is screwed up a couple of bags of mines over the years. Had the rubber supports ripped off one bag, gaping hole in side of another. But they are a necessary evil as they are the only ones with a direct flight to slc from nyc area....

On a plus note, traveled on United recently and they did not charge me domestically for my ski bag in either direction.

Sent from my Htc Incredible via tapatalk....

 

[kingslug]

I bought a sport tube and it has worked a lot better than any soft bag. Its much easier to carry/wheel around and protects the skis better.

 

[bigbog]

........Issue #2: Both ski poles bent at 45* angles.

The second issue had us all baffled. With a set of skis in the bag for support, it sure seemed suspicious that the poles could have been bent this severely while in the bag. The airline did compensate my friend for his loss.

Sorry about results but wait a decade on the #2...may be forced into those tongue-lapping-snow radii by then.....

Great time WeFourSki....

 

[snowmonster]

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
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This. Except that I use Fed Ex and have an account with them so all I need to do is put that on the shipping label.

FYI, if you're skiing in the general Park City area and are going to ship your skis home, it gets real convienent to ski your last day at Deer Valley where they can ship your skis directly from the ski check at either the Silver Lake or Snow Park lodges! I just bring the my families ski bags with me that last day in the rental car, along with a towel from the hotel, and once we're done skiing just dry off the gear, bag them up and hand them with the Fed Ex shipping label which you can get right at the ticket window at Deer Valley to the folks in the ski check, and then 4 days later my skis show up at home. Just less hassle to deal with on that last evning as you're packing the rest of your stuff up!

Thanks for this. I'm probably heading to UT at the beginning of a business trip. Thinking of shipping the gear back to Boston so I don't have to lug it around to other places on the itinerary. DV was always on the UT hit list so I guess I'll have to move it down to the end of the ski trip.

Probably got mangled by the bag handlers. Delta is screwed up a couple of bags of mines over the years. Had the rubber supports ripped off one bag, gaping hole in side of another. But they are a necessary evil as they are the only ones with a direct flight to slc from nyc area....

On a plus note, traveled on United recently and they did not charge me domestically for my ski bag in either direction.

Sent from my Htc Incredible via tapatalk....

Delta has served me well although they've consistently put holes in my ski bag every time I travel. There's a baggage shop near where I live that does good business patching up my bag everytime I return. Oh well, at least the skis are in good shape. That's all that matters.

 

[drjeff]

Thanks for this. I'm probably heading to UT at the beginning of a business trip. Thinking of shipping the gear back to Boston so I don't have to lug it around to other places on the itinerary. DV was always on the UT hit list so I guess I'll have to move it down to the end of the ski trip.
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No problem Snowmonster. I know that some folks think that a great deal of the ammenities that DV offers are way over the top, but many of them are geared around making it as fun AND CONVIENENT for you to have as much fun as possible, and that sure works in my book! Plus, there's PLENTY of terrain at DV that is far from being "mega buffed, Bogner Clad cruisers"

 

[snowmonster]

^ I have no problem with amenities. At some point in your life, you want or even crave those amenities. There's a market that DV serves and, judging from how it does in the SKI poll (cue the argument about advertising dollars), it seems to serve that market well. Having said that, I wonder where I can get my hands on a nice Bogner one-piece? Something in silver, perhaps?

 

[mlctvt]

I just got back yesterday from a 1-week trip to Park City. In our group of 51 people about 1/2 brought their skis in soft ski bags. Nobody had any damage issues using the soft bags.

DV was my least favorite of the 3 Park City resorts, Deer Valley, Park City resort and the Canyons. We skied each place 2 days.
My wife and I now call DV "The Stratton of the West" .
We just disliked the overall vibe, and super flat overgroomed trails. More people posing in the lodges than skiing.
Although we did find some nice bumps on Empire and the Daly Bowl and surrounding woods were very challenging for us.

 

[snowmonster]

Thanks again for the reco, drjeff. Skied Deer Valley on the last day and sent the skis home via FedEx. Ski bag just appeared at my office two minutes ago. Nice.

I regret skiing DV only one day. I felt there was a lot more to explore. Didn't get to hit the Lady Morgan chair and Daly Bowl. Perhaps, next year. Lunchtime food was great!

 

[drjeff]

Thanks again for the reco, drjeff. Skied Deer Valley on the last day and sent the skis home via FedEx. Ski bag just appeared at my office two minutes ago. Nice.

I regret skiing DV only one day. I felt there was a lot more to explore. Didn't get to hit the Lady Morgan chair and Daly Bowl. Perhaps, next year. Lunchtime food was great!

No problem SM! I know that ski check Fedex services aren't exactly something that one actively seeks when checking out what a ski area offers. Heck, it was my families 2nd or 3rd trip out there before we even realized they offered thats service (just happened to be at ski check when we saw someone handing their ski bag with a Fedex shipping label to the crew there and we asked about it)

DV is just one of those areas where so many people that haven't been there before just go in with a certain preconceived notion that it will be all just buffed cruisers, Bogner suits, and lots of extra touches offered service wise (and it can be for sure), but it's also got plenty of really well designed falline trails and a decent amount of ungroomed bowls and tree skiing that is some really good stuff, and tends to change some of the preconceived notions that one has. Lady Morgan Bowl is one of my favorite areas, the only thing I don't like about it is the exit, where you have a LONG flat to deal with before popping back out just below the top of the Lady Morgan Express (then again after the trek out, I always use that as an "excuse" to make a quick stop in the Empire Lodge and reward my physical activity with one of Deer Valley's pastry chef's phenomenal offerings