Packing your board for a plane ride...

went down to El Salvador this past august...used foam pipe insulators for the board rails then wrapped the hell out of em with bubble wrap. then put each board in a sock. probably over did it but it was my first time flying with boards and they didnt get dinged at all.

 

it's better to over do it then the opposite & end up w/ busted boards.
here's what i do:
start w/ pipe insulation on the rails, then (if the board has glassed on fins, like my bonzers do), a little block of foam over the fins for impact (mostly side impact) protection, then stick the board in a sock. i then wrap the nose & tail areas of the board w/ towels. i throw all my extra crap, like rashguards, trunks, reef booties, etc...around the boards for additional padding. i also have a cut up noddle (you know, those things old ladies float around the pool on) & i stick pieces of that in the bag around the nose & tail areas. strap them in (most coffins have internal tie-downs) & pray! that's the basic method i've employed going to costa rica, panama, california, & the maldives w/ great results. worst i've gotten is a nice long pressure ding on the bottom of a board coming back from the maldives this past summer. looks like the edge of a suitcase scraped along it. such is life.
that's packing them into a 7' wheeled coffin. since never travel w/ fewer then 2 boards, anything less then that didn't makes sense to me when i bought it. if you're schlepping 1 board, you can prob. get away w/ one of those shoulder-strap jobs that's kinda like a day bag w/ extra padding. hope you don't have to walk too much, tho. the wheels are a nice touch when you're doing the bataan death march.

 

The key to it is starting with a quality travel case and there is only two companies I trust. Destination Surf and DaKine. I have a DS 7 6" Double Taco and the most protection I've used on the boards in the bags is some home made foam nose and tail blocks (which DS now makes). Otherwise I have just put my boards in their day bags. I've never had a problem and the thing has been all over the world. I know I don't want to lug around a hundred pound travel bag filled with crap.

 

I agree with all stated above by the Po. Only think I have to add it look into thse inflateable nose and tail guard I belive Dakine makes them or FCS I can remeber I know guys who use them with great results . You can also get one of the inflatable travel bags too

 

I flew jet blue air in December and could not have had a better trip. Waived the board few on the way there and 50 bucks on the way back. I had two boards. Put pipe insulator on the rails and towels folded on the deck/bottom. No dings at all.

I would fly jet blue again no questions asked.

 

I just flew continental to and from Puerto Rico and I didn't have any problems... a little pipe insulation and a lot of clothes strategically placed will do it. Just be smart and plan it out, you'll be fine.

 

Put boards in individual day bags then bags in coffin. Towels under nose to protect rocker. Just did it for Costa trip, four boards in two coffins no problems.

 

I have traveled to CR with my boards a couple times on Continental and have never had a problem with damage. I have the dakine world traveler and just pack all my clothes and towels around the board in the bag. Definitely worth it to bring your own board! Enjoy your trip!

 

Just went to PR. used a reg day bag (meant for one board) stuffed a 6'0 and a 6'4 along with 2 kiteboards. aside for the minimal padding in the board bag I stuffed one towel by the nose and one towel by the tail.... boards were fine

 

Have done many trips to the DR, Nica, Barbados. Usually take bigger boards, so I go with the coffin.

The pipe insulation is truly a rail saver. Use blue painter's tape to affix it to your board; anything else will leave tape marks on your stick if you're going through the tropic airports (board bag spends hours sitting in hot areas like cargo hold & tarmac). Also, don't use the pipe wrap that is self-sticking; buddy of mine did that on a trip to Barbados & then spent 3 hours slowly peeling the black goo off the board.

Here's how most boards (including mine, until I learned) get smashed: the board gets smashed on the deck by the corners of suitcase getting heaved into the cargo hold of the plane. I utilize a layer of cardboard over the deck to disperse the impact of the suitcase corner. Works.

As others have noted, the tail & tip padding is crucial.

I don't like putting towels & clothing in there as padding for two reasons: those items can easily shift, exposing your board, and it makes the bag heavy as hell. It's a pain in the neck to lug a coffin through airports, so make the thing as light as you can.

Make sure you lock that beast with those little TSA padlocks. I made the mistake of not locking my coffin on one trip to the DR & the only thing that arrived was a board....fins, wax, leashes, everything else had been locusted by the baggage monkeys.

Be very, very nice to the check-in agents. Because the fees are 150 usd on AA per board. And you do not want to give the airline reps any cause to open that bag & start counting sticks.

 

Everyone has hit the main points but a couple additional ones
I use that cellophane wrap (it is like saran wrap) to hold the pipe isulation on - no glue on it so it is easy to get off
Going to Nica I usually stuff partially deflated soccer balls at the nose and tail of coffin bag to protect those commonly damaged areas. When I get to the coast I reinflate with a small portable hand pump and give em to the kids - they always get a big smile

 

I took two boards to Hawaii in a single Ocean Earth coffin bag and wrapped both boards in bubble wrap. I didn't get any dings from baggage handling. I can't say the same for the reef at Haleiwa though.