Taking surboards on a plane - ever been damaged?

[dacosta]

Hey, im going to Barbados this summer for 2 weeks, staying really near a surf shop that rents loads of boards. Ive heard a lot about boards being damaged by baggage handlers and airlines not paying you for damage fees etc but i just wanted to know how common this actually is. If there are boards to rent is it just not worth taking mine. Its a nice board, 6'6 'Black and White' fish. It just means that if i have it there, i can rent a longboard for the week, and if its bigger i can use my shortboard, if its smaller i can use my longboard. Simple. Cheers

[drowningbitbybit]

"Ever not had a board damaged?" might be a better question.

[twerked]

depends how well you pack it and the travel bag and so on. take the fins out, obviously. my boss wraps the rails with that foam pipe insulation stuff. then i guess you could get a bunch of bubble wrap, and then shove tshirts/boardshorts/other clothes around it for some extra protection. he just went to australia with his family to work for 6 months and took 4 boards. i don't think any of them were damaged

[corran]

Its common.

The airlines make you sign a waiver that says if they damage it its your problem (but then also charge you $200 to take the boards in the first place.

You really have to wrap them very very well if you want any chance, and even then...

Long discussion here: viewtopic.php?f=4&t=13046

And a solution: http://imaginesurfboards.com/eng/splitboards.html

Corran

[Banks]

I've been pretty lucky although i haven't taken more than 2 boards at a time on a flight. A sock over the board(s), then wetsuits wrapped over nose and tail, place inside travel bag, then inside another larger travel bag with clothes inside... always works fine for me. although if you're pretty worried i defo recommend using that foam pipe insulation on the rails!

[RJD]

Uh taking a longboard to Aus next month, will pack it as well as I can and hope...