Safety First With a Surfboard Travel Bag

When you are in a hurry to get down to the beach, it is natural to throw your board in the trunk, boot or back seat, but we all know what that could lead to – a lot of regret! Damage to surfboards, especially happens to boards that are lights and once you hit a couple of bumpy patches in the road, things won’t go down well for your board.

In a case like this you will need something for day use, however, what about when you decide to take a surf trip across the ocean? This is another story altogether. Sometimes you don’t have control of your board because you have to deal with other people on the plane who won’t be so kind on your board. You will need something with a little more protection.

This is where a surfboard travel bag is really useful. These can be used for long trips on the road, for bus trips, which are highly recommended or even train travel so it is definitely something worth investing in. You may think that it is just another expense, but in the longrun you will be paying more once you find a “nice” little chip.

Surfboard bags for travel – what to look for

First of all, you have to realize that this is something quite different to your regular day bag. The material is thicker and it has more padding. Usually it has double the amount of foam, so I recommend you should look for something that has around 10mm foam to be on the same side.

There are obviously different sizes, so look for something that suits your board. There are bags that are best suited to longboards, not forgetting shortboards, which all have a slot for fins. It’s probably best to take your bag off to the surf shop and check it out, rather than going to the mission of measuring it out and all of that palava.

Most people ask if these bags are heat resistant, which definitely a good question – the answer is yes, however make sure that your bag you are about to buy is aluminized. This will tell you that it is not afraid of the hot rays of the sun. However, still, if you leave your board in the car too long it may not be such a good idea. In my opinion, this is simply irresponsible. If it is on the beach, you will be fine – but it should be on the water, J.

Some people also prefer to look around for a bag with extra compartments so you can just chuck your wetsuit in there or things like surf wax. It’s not a bad idea so you are not dragging everything around with you.

One more thing, you will probably have to pay extra for this, depending on the airline, although last time I checked the average price was around $75, and that is probably cheaper than hiring a board. Beside, you really need your own. It’s best to do your research and have a look around at which airline is best suited to carrying surfboards – hope that helped!