Traveling with DW gear

Travel Info
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Frequent flyers: What are your tactics for keeping your DW gear safe? What board bags work the best? Where do you stash your paddle? Do you pack your foils in the same bag as your board? Please share your tips here for keeping your gear safe!

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Last time I flew with my DW board, I used a 7-6 coffin surfboard bag. I already had the bag and bought the 7-4 KT Dragonfly knowing it would fit in there for travel. I also placed the paddle alongside the board. Plenty of room to stash some wetsuits and clothes around the paddle and blade for extra protection.

I stashed the foils in the bag carrying my winging gear for those trips.

Here’s a link to the board bag

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Thanks for sharing, Andy! After my last trip to SoCal with my prone board getting dinged in 4-5 spots I’m highly skeptical of traveling with gear now. If I’m understanding you correctly, the foils traveled separately from the big board bag? Did the bag end up being overweight with all of that stuff in there, or did you find it just right? Thanks for the link to the bag, I have a 7’4 Dragonfly as well and will give this one a try!

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I am putting my foil board inside a boardbag I had made, and wrapping that in cardboard, foam etc and putting that into another longboard bag. Hoping the combo will help in allowing extra cardboard than just the one bag. 2 piece paddle will go in the longboard bag, but I’m worried about that causing dings. Foils etc in the unifoil bag separate.

Honestly lots of luck, it depends on the specific airline and the person handling the gear, as at a certain point it will ding no matter what you do.

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I think the bag was under 50 pounds, but most airlines will still charge for oversized baggage for surfboards.

Correct, the foils were in a separate bag. I ride unifoil gear and would consider having that be another checked bag on it’s own. Still space for extra clothes/gear if needed.

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Useful info here on board size limits, downwind boards definitely starting to nudge the boundary on length limitations.

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I wonder about having the 4ft of the nose of a downwind board detachable… having 5ft and a 4ft piece would be pretty convenient, keeps you well under the length limits for any airline, and having the break in front of your front foot means nearly no real structural hassle.

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