What kind of luggage would you use to pack some 25" northern lites snowshoes for an airline flight? I will be snowshoe dayhiking.
1. Duffle and pad the snowshoes with cardboard or other material
2. Wheeled upright with structured walls giving more protection
3. Hardside luggage all around

Edited by jshann on 01/12/2013 17:34:42 MST.

First sounds the best to me. A thick sheet of cardboard between the shoes ought to protect them.

I don't think anyone can answer this question as well as you can, after a little testing.

Many of the snowshoe manufacturer s make cases, much like a duffle bag if you already have one that fits. Strap the snowshoes together bottom to bottom.

A thrift store suitcase would give more protection if you can deal with the bulk. You could stow boots and poles in with them. A cardboard box would do. Throw a roll of tape in for the return trip.

I assume you are checking them.

Wrap in cardboard, secure with duct tape or bungie cords. Throw in a roll of tape to secure them again on the return trip.

If there's been an election recently, take down some of those corrugated plastic campaign signs. They are waterproof, and you'll be improving the viewscape. Some say "Lose 20 pounds in 20 days" and I don't feel guilty about removing those from power poles either.

I used to use big roller duffles back in the day of 70-pound bags. But 11-12 pounds of roller duffle is a big fraction of a 50-pound limit, so now, I mostly use soft duffle bags (2-3 pounds each) which also pack more efficiently into the rental car trunk.

A few times a year, including last week in Hawaii, I bring 1" wide, 12-foot-long, 1000-pound-strength straps from NRS rafting supply. Too much luggage? Throw two big duffles on the roof and run a strap around them and thru the door jambs. The car doors close just fine onto the straps and your passengers don't have luggage sitting in their laps.

I use duct tape over the teeth, taping longer on top of the teeth so that there ends up being a bit of a tab. I then usually place the snowshoes in towards the last on top of my gear, teeth up, so that the curve conforms to my bag.

I pack all my stuff in a gigantic duffle bag and check it.

John,

My gf and I just returned from a snowshoeing trip in Yosemite, and went with option #2. We had a lot of gear, and everything went into a single semi-rigid wheeled upright, and we had no problems. I just turn the snowshoes teeth/crampons towards each other and called it a day. I do the same with actual crampons. You could use a bit of duct tape to hold the shoes against one another if you wanted, but we didn't. After packing our boots, trekking poles, and other junk, everything was snug, with no movement. I definitely don't think a rocksolid hardshell is necessary, and in my experience, I find them more prone to breaking actually. I've had hardshells crack after a few trips due to their lack of flex. One drop on the corner of a hardshell, and there I was with a $50 voucher from Jetblue as compensation :/ You're probably taking trekking poles too right? Those alone make me hesitate with using a duffle...I can just see TSA man-handling leading to bent poles.

(Holy hell, deleted b/c double post)

Edited by Konrad1013 on 01/13/2013 03:38:58 MST.

(Holy hell, deleted b/c double post)

Edited by Konrad1013 on 01/13/2013 03:39:28 MST.

(Holy hell, deleted b/c double post)

Edited by Konrad1013 on 01/13/2013 03:40:43 MST.

(Holy hell, deleted b/c double post)

Edited by Konrad1013 on 01/13/2013 03:41:19 MST.

wow- the extremely (extremely) rare quad post! :)

definitely don't try and bring them on the plane as carry on- they get one look at the crampon bindings and you'll make their whole day :)

I went with a wheeled duffle after finding one at Target (Embark brand) that matched my laptop backpack ; ).

http://www.target.com/p/embark-drop-bottom-duffle-bag-black/-/A-13234967

It is basically a wheeled upright in duffle shape and has a little structure (protection) in the bottom 4 inches or so. It worked fine. Another on the trip did do just a duffle and had his snowshoes in an MSR snowshoe bag with trekking poles attached. He packed his in the middle of the duffle and had no problems either. Thanks for the suggestions.

Edited by jshann on 01/24/2013 21:30:07 MST.