First-time poster here! My girlfriend and I are planning a trip to Hawaii this fall and I know I would be distraught if I wasn’t armed with my prone setup. I am certainly planning to bring a (non-foiling) shortboard with me. I have traveled with surfboards numerous times in the past and have experience packing to survive the brutal baggage handling practices of most airlines. However, this would be my first time traveling with foiling gear and I am really nervous about the possibility of my precious foiling gear getting lost, stolen, or damaged. Fellow foilers understand that a single prone foil setup is probably worth as much as my entire quiver of surfboards.
I was wondering if anyone had any tips for traveling with foil gear.
Is there such a thing as surf/ foilboard insurance?
What about renting gear in Oahu? Possible/affordable?
Anyone use those apple airtag things? (Not sure what good it would really do).
A little off topic, but this will also be my first time to Hawaii. Would love to hear about some good foiling spots, must see/do travel destinations and ideas, the best food, etc. We are certainly planning on spending at least a week in Oahu but are open to checking out some of the other islands during a second week if budget permits. (I may open another topic on this if the response is strong. Might be cool to have a foiling travel subcategory!).
Thanks for the reply @Hdip. I would be bringing a Lift 4’6" board, axis foil setup (probably a 1000HA and 860 surf, probably just one mast and fuse to keep the weight down). I wouldnt mind coming home with extra gear if a craigslist deal popped up .
Good call about carry on for wings. I will have to double check size limitations but might be able to fit wings in a carryon bag.
100% agree check Craig’s list and marketplace. Gear cost way more here at home and is hard to come by. Was able to fly a bag full of bubble wrap there and everything was well wrapped up going home.
Hey - Fortunate enough to Maui quite often and Oahu every other year. For Hawaii I’d actually recommend bringing foil and renting short boards. Here’s my rational…
Shortboard rental is cheap and there’s lots of good options on North Shore especially. You can get a weekly rental for <$140. Depending on the size foil board you ride… I put my 4’6 board two masts and lots-o foils all in a golf bag.
I’m on Oahu now. Flew over from mainland. I just bubble wrapped my stuff ( lift gear ) in with my prone board in my usual travel bag. Had no issues. TSA went through them and still no problems.
Yesterday was first proper day here. Foiled at lanis on the right side. Was small for surf standards but a bit big for my foiling. Head high by California forecast. Probably called knee high by local
Sunset was really nice last night as was the wing spot over by mokuleia. Really wish I had my wing stuff here.
Thanks for the tips guys. Looks like I can check a surfboard bag on American Airlines for $30. I plan to take a shortboard and my foilboard (and lots of bubble wrap and pipe insulation on rails!). Getting ready to see how much I can squeeze in there and still be under 50lbs.
Anybody planning to be in Maui towards the end of next week?
Ive been browsing the Surfline guides to find fun spots to surf on Maui and Oahu. Can anyone recommend some good, foil friendly spots? Hoping to find some mellow, maybe waist to stomach high, foiling waves. The dream would be a spot with long lines, light crowds, enough depth to not beat my gear up too badly. A bonus would be a great beach nearby to keep my girlfriend comfortable and entertained while I’m out having all the fun.
I’m headed to Oahu 11/10-18, staying north shore 4 days and in Waikiki the other 4.
I’m bringing wing and prone setups and I hope to score some fun sessions. I’ve got a few contacts on the island and they’ve pointed me to some spots, but non on the north shore yet. Im hoping the wave at turtle bay is foil friendly while I’m there.
Awesome! Ill be on Maui November 3rd thru 9th and then Oahu November 9th thru 16th. Let me know if you want to meet up and prone sometime. I dont think ill have room for my wing stuff unfortunately.
White Plains might work for you later on this week, depending on how the south swell shapes up. There is another spot further down that can be really fun when its on, but its finicky and the beach isn’t much fun to hang out on. Adam Bennetts scored a pretty nice day there last week: Foiling with Mister Bennetts - YouTube
The only time I traveled was with a no limitz mast that doesn’t have a removable base. I wrapped it in a towel and stuffed it in the board bag so the base hung off the back of the board, along with the one wing, foil, etc. tsa rearranged it and I had a hole in my board from the base. Next time I’d use an axis or cedrus where you can remove the base, so everything that is too long to fit in the other bags is at least flat. Then I’d strap them against the board.
Quick recap on my trip. Ended up bringing prone and wing gear (4, 5, and 7M) and 525, 725, 925, and 1125 foils. I ended up using every piece of kit except for the 525 (because I didn’t commit to toiling a big day).
Despite traveling with my wife who doesn’t like Watersports, I got on the water 5 of 8 days and had sessions on north, east, and south shore. The local foiling ohana is so epic and shared so much knowledge with me while I was there. I got to meet a bunch of legends and shared some really fun sessions.
This fall timeframe is a good time for Oahu as the trades, N and S swells all come into play and I got to enjoy the trifecta!
Staying at turtle bay, I saw three chargers send a DW SUP foil from my balcony with binoculars. It was hectic paddle out with a rising 8’ swell and on guy almost got impaled by the foil when bailing last second off the side of the SUP. The ground swell at one angle and the trade swell at another made takeoff look impossible at first. One by one they gained balance enough to get going, with the last guy taking at least 30 minutes.
.