Do you check or carry-on ski boots ?

the.hellion.

the.hellion.

Member
Flame me for the repost if necessary, though I did search...

My boyfriend and I were talking about this and I'm on the fence. I'm going to visit my boyfriend in Colorado for 6 days and bought a bag with boot pockets, just for this purpose.. I say that my snowpants, jacket, helmet, gloves, goggles are all in the checked bag... can't the boots go too? His argument is that the boots are the most valuable part of the package (true), thus they should travel with.

Your opinions ?
 
carry on your boots , you don't want to loose them , cramp as much stuff as you need in the ski bag so you bag fees are minimal.
 
This is exactly what I do but I always have to limit it at 50lbs. I usually have one checked ski bad, a carry on and my personal item (my boots). It all really depends on what airline you are flying with. I would take the boots with you so you don't loose them though.

 
Happy feet = happy skiing. You can always get tj max outerwear and rent skis. I usually ship all of my stuff to a buddy close by or my hotel. Its a risk but I usually do it a couple weeks in advance of travel.
 
When I flew Alaska, they defined a single ski bag as (1) bag meant for skis AND (1) bag meant for boots

They charged $25 with no overweight (both totaled in at 68lbs) or oversized fees. WINNING
 
Carry on the boots. I've gotten away with bringing a backpack as my carry-on bag and ski boots as my 'personal item.' Check your airline's details, but with WestJet, your personal item could be a laptop, ukulele, chihuahua in a kennel, basketball, a purse and so I brought my ski boots and there was no issue. Then I pack my roller ski bag with all of my cloths, so I don't need a suitcase. You can get by on rental skis and shitty outerwear, but losing a good-fitting pair of boots can ruin a trip.

 
If you are gonna go on a plane to go ski somewhere, you need to bring the boots. Boots are pretty much the one part of your ski setup that you can't really just rent, because they wont fit the same as your boots, and you will not be able to ski the same. I have always been told that the golden rule of ski travel is always bring your boots on the plane.
 
This is why I always check the boot and ski bag. On pretty much every airline they count together as a single bag. Some airline stipulate that you only put skis poles and boots in the bags, but in practice I've never seen this enforced, I always crammed as much crap as I can into each. Most airlines require that the combined weight of both bags is less than 50lbs though. The only time this does not apply and I may carry on boots is Southwest, since they don't charge checked bag fees on anything anyways.
 
I've always done carry on, never had a problem. Shit, I don't even put them in a bag, I just run the booster straps through a strap on my backpack and let them freestyle dangle
 
Thanks e'rybody !

Now , I forgot to mention I have layovers for both flights and I'm not bringing skis. Just boots. Does this change opinions at all ?
 
if you aren't flying with skis then your boots become the most important part of your package (though they are important even with skis). So I'd say use them as one of your two carry-ons
 
So... Just to wrap up for those folks keepin' up at home... I'm going to carry on the boots for the flight over and probably check them on the way back. I was unaware of the ability to rent the softwear out there.
 
I guess I've been lucky. 8 international trips, checked my boots all 8 times and I've never lost any luggage.
 
If you have special boots, that you bought new and love the way they fit, then always carry them on. You can always get the other stuff you need if it gets lost, but your boots are the most important part.

That being said, if you have crappy hand me down boots that already don't fit that great, check em. If they get lost, oh well, you can probably rent a better pair anyway.
 
There are two kinds of skiers: checkers who are going to lose their boots, and carry on-ers who already lost their boots and learned a valuable lesson.
 
i have travel insurance so if anything gets lost i get re reimbursed. im in need of new ski boots and am flying home to WA from norway tomorrow morning. i think i will check them...
 
This was what made the decision for me.... Though I'm not super stoked on running through the aiport boots a-bangin' behind me all amateur-hour. I want to ski so badly it's worth it.
 
Just like everyone has said, bring your boots with you. Just sling'em over your shoulder and they won't be too inconvenient.
 
It's so worth it to deal with your boots danglin for a few through the airport and be able to use your own boots when you get there. I've carried boots on a countless number of flights just with the booster straps, and have never had any sort of problem
 
carryon don't pay for extra bags, if they try to get you to gatecheck them at the plane for some reason ie: they are strapped to your backpack and wont fit underneath seat in front of you or overhead bin just put em on
 
i dont have a boot bag so i usually put mine in a small suitcase carryon and shove whatever small shit i can fit in there too. that and a backpack for my 2 carryons. i put all my clothes and shit in my ski bag (checked bag) with my skis. never had to deal with dangling boots that way
 
invest in a carry on suitcase that is like the exact size you're allowed to bring on flights. i was able to fit a few days worth of clothes, XL saga snowpants, and my full tilts in one of them. then you can also use a backpack or stuff clothes around your skis. i only checked my ski bag when doing this twice last winter and never had a trouble with airlines or with fitting all of my stuff into my luggage.
 
thru south west you get two free check luggages.. a ski bag + a boot bag counts as one. then you can still check another.

I always check boots never really thought about losing them. its nice to not have to carry shit onto the plane
 
yea southwest counts skis and boots as 1 bag but i carried on my boots instead for the same reason as everyone, you cant replace boots. They ended up losing my friends luggage with boots in it once, i rode Breck by myself that day.
 
i just walk through with them and then my bag has spots on either side that i can clip my boots into. No one at the airport has ever mentioned a thing about me bringing my boots with me
 
CARRY THAT SHIT ON. especially when you're rocking the boss daddy surefoot set up. You can always demo skis. Boots that aren't yours will never be comfortable.
 
oversize charges can still apply... yes even for southwest. i have gotten charged $50 before to check my 181 jmos.

it's a stupid rule because the cutoff is short enough to allow many snowboards, but disallow many skis.
 
I've been checking 176 skis in a pretty large bag along with boot bag and an extra luggage all for free
 
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