Travel Bag Review
Foilers by their nature are curious and adventurous people. You would not be foiling unless you had that in you. It is that attitude that will inevitably lead to a desire to travel to new and exciting foiling destinations. You will need a trusty travel bag for your foil board and gear. If you are like me, you will adapt what you have at first from surfing, but this will lead to another adventure to find a better travel bag.
I started my journey like most others and just stuffed my foil board into a surf case. Of course, it was over a foot too long and things just flopped around. I was always looking for someone to make a bag that was my ideal bag. Here is my experience with three bags that I have used and the good and bad of each one.
Standard Surfboard Travel Bag
I already had this bag from years before, so it cost nothing. It is a Sticky Bumps coffin case that I purchased on Amazon for a reasonable price. It is 5’8” x 19” x 8” deep and had a more rounded nose area. I wound say that if you ride longer foil boards this would be fine. It has wheels so it can be dragged through the airport or your hotel with ease. The negative aspect of this type of bag is the length. If you ride a smaller board the bag will flop all over when you are trying to pull it by the front handle. I just bent the front of the case over and taped it down which gave extra protection to the front of the board. If you do not do that the board and other contents in it shift around a lot.
I received this bag as soon as it came out. I thought that it would get me out of all those ridiculous surfboard bag fees that the airlines liked to charge at the time. The first time I used it I was able to just check it in like a normal bag. The next trip the airlines had discarded the fees and were just charging like a normal bag. This bag is well built and can take a beating. I used it about a dozen times before the airlines decided to really see how much abuse it could take. I think it got caught in the conveyer belt. My foil board rail cracked from the incident, but the bag stayed intact and all my other stuff came out ok.
The Good
This bag is built tough. It will last a long time assuming it does not get caught in the baggage system.
It is a deep bag and will let you stuff two boards and a full foil set into it.
It has wheels so you do not have to lift 35 plus pounds around the airport or hotel. They roll very well and do not get in the way.
It looks cool and hides that you have a foil board and equipment.
The Bad
It is too narrow. My boards are almost twenty inches wide, but the bag is only 18 inches wide on the inside. This always leaves the rails against sides of the bag which are protective, but I worry a baggage guy will drop it on the side and impact the rail.
The handle on the side of the bag is not removable. I believe that this is the fatal flaw that caused the bag to get caught in the baggage system.
No pockets to store foil components. I usually just put my foil wing bag inside the Foil Board bag, but this makes it hard to fit two boards in since the thickness of the boards along with the foil wing bag is too much. I would like to be able spread the components around but keep them secure.
This bag really got me excited. It was hard to judge via the internet, but it checked a bunch of the boxes that my Armstrong bag did not.
The Good
Well-constructed. The walls are thick and padded. It uses strong zippers and is sleek on the outside so it will not catch anything.
It is 24 inches wide on the inside from side to side. I am able to put my board in a day bag and then into the bag with room to spare on the sides.
There are compartments on both sides that help to further protect the rails of your board. I stuffed my fuselage and tail wings in these and some bathing suits to further protect my board.
It has lots of storage pockets. I was able to put all my wings and fuselage in multiple pockets and I still have plenty of room for more.
The Bad
It has no wheels. Dragging a thirty-to-forty-pound bag around the airport or a hotel is not fun. Wheels would make this much easier. On my most recent trip I used a lightweight luggage carrier that I strapped to the Foil Bag, but it was awkward and unstable. I had to take it on and off which was annoying as well.
The tail zipper opening. I am sure Larry has a van that he uses and needs the rear access to the board, but I cannot see much use for this in general. You still must open up the whole bag to get to all the pockets which would have your foil components. I can see the utility of it, but wheels would be better for travel in general and in much more conditions.
Mast storage is not good for an all-in-one mast. The pockets on the lid are great but they are to the sides. If you stuff a Cloud9 mast in one of the pockets the base of the mast will hit your board edge when you close it. This is not good since it could crack the board from the luggage guys throwing your board bag to the ground, which I have witnessed multiple times. I put the base of the mast at the very front of the board, so it protects the front on the board and let the mast lay down the center of the board. I can put another board in, so the mast is in-between. There is not a good way to secure the mast in that position. If there was a slot in the middle with the opening at the front it would allow the mast to stay in the proper position.
It needs a handle on the front of the case for dragging it, pulling it out of a car and when I get wheels onto it.
Summary
Which is the best foil bag right now? I am going to have to go with Larry’s bag. The width and pockets are great and make travel with the foil easy. I think the lack of wheels is a major flaw, but I am working on a solution to that and will update this article when I figure it out or if Larry takes my advice.
If you have any suggestions or know of a better travel bag please email me at Surfdocsteve@foilsurfing.net