Travelling with my bag

Hey, I'm going back to my country and I don't know what to do with my board/bindings in the bag. Should I leave the board with the bindings on, or should I remove the bindings, strap them to the boots?
Everything goes in a Butron Gig Bag so there's no much protection :S
Any advice from experienced riders?

make sure you have cushion between the board and bag...like your boots and jackets/pants to protect the bindings.

Or else remove everything and put it in its own smaller bag

I've always travelled with the bindings attached to the board, but then i stuff the rest of the bag with my jacket, pants, etc.  In the future I will probably detach the bindings and place them in a separate bag so my board doesn't get scratched. 

A good friend of mine used to work at the airport as a baggage handler and has told me countless horror stories of how your luggage is actually handled. Bags were constantly being dropped off the carts, tossed in with no regard to what "might" be in them, and sometimes worse with bags that were somewhat of a pain to handle for disgruntled employees (your 5 foot board bag). I realize that this doesn't happen every time, but I'm not willing to risk opening my bag to find a cracked binding after flying across the country to ride. Now I take my bindings off and try to put them in my carry-on if possible. Also be sure to generously pad your deck with towels, jackets, clothes, etc as stated in previous posts.

I leave the binding on when I travel. If I have multiple boards or I just want extra protection I put some cardboard between the board or between the board and the bag itself. I also have my boots and helmet on top of the board to prevent things from crushing the bindings.

Originally posted by kenmanh You're getting me worried about the baggage handlers. Is there some kind of rubber lining that we can buy to wrap the edges of the snowboard before putting it in the bag? I suppose the base and top is pretty well protected with towels and clothings but a good wack on the edge from angry handlers can really damage the edges. Or is the chance of this happenning in a good bag very very low?

Not trying to scare anyone, I just would hate for a fellow SS'er to travel across the country on a big trip, just to open the bag and find their gear messed up. I have never worried about edge damage after I wrapped the board in towels (like a mummy), and stuffed in my jacket and pant above/below it. Don't wrap the board directly with your jacket or pants though. Learned this the hard way after I found a nice gash in my jacket, luckily it was on the removable hood.

EDIT: The cardboard approach is something I have also used time to time, I saved the cardboard sleeve Sierra shipped my board in for this reason.
EDIT2: YES, I realize that many of you have never had a problem with damaged gear in transit, and Im glad. I just am not willing to risk my 500 dollar board to some baggage guy thats pissed off at the world, especially when it could be prevented in 2 extra minutes of packing.

When i travel i actually keep my bindings in the original box they came in, it actually fits ontop of my board in the bag. The bindings are the only thing i really worry about on planes. Oh and when i'm travelling with two boards i pack bottom board in the bag in the cardboard it actually came in from sierra 

Wow you guys all worry too much. Think about what you do to your board in the park and in the trees and honestly tell me if you think that type of stress is going to happen while traveling. If your bindings break because your bag fell off a 4' cart then they were poop to begin with. Throw the thing in the bag and dont think twice about it.

Originally posted by Buckshot Wow you guys all worry too much. Think about what you do to your board in the park and in the trees and honestly tell me if you think that type of stress is going to happen while traveling. If your bindings break because your bag fell off a 4' cart then they were poop to begin with. Throw the thing in the bag and dont think twice about it.

I was pretty much gonna say the same thing. I've never traveled with a board before as I'm very new to the sport, but I've flown all over the country for work and I know it's not the same, but I've never had any kind of damage to my luggage. I would be much more worried about tearing your gear up on the mountain or in the park than on the ride over.

Your bag is only as good as the padding you put inside. I keep my bindings on and stuff everything I can inside to use as padding. I put a layer of clothes along the base and everything else on the topsheet. Got a Burton space bag and it works fine.

I leave the bindings on and put it in a Dakine padded bag with the boot pockets on each end and enough other stuff in there to fill it and prevent pressure on the bindings. I have a neoprene Burton board sleeve that I put on it for padding around the edges, but didn't do it last time I flew and I think the sharp edge of the board is what cut a gash in the side of the bag. Won't make that mistake again.  

I once was a ground crew/baggage handler. 

Originally posted by Kenmanh Is there some kind of rubber lining that we can buy to wrap the edges of the snowboard before putting it in the bag?  I suppose the base and top is pretty well protected with towels and clothings but a good wack on the edge from angry handlers can really damage the edges.  Or is the chance of this happenning in a good bag very very low?

Pool noodles dude!

I used to ship out a lot of really heavy subwoofers and if I didn't have retail packaging, I would use a pool noodle with a slit all the way down around the rim of the speaker.

I buy a bunch off-season and use them for all kinds of shipping.  

Edit- I need to read farther down :)

Originally posted by hempy Originally posted by Kenmanh Is there some kind of rubber lining that we can buy to wrap the edges of the snowboard before putting it in the bag?  I suppose the base and top is pretty well protected with towels and clothings but a good wack on the edge from angry handlers can really damage the edges.  Or is the chance of this happenning in a good bag very very low? Pool noodles dude!

What you guys reckon for a helmet? In board bag or clipped to your hand luggage / backpack?

Originally posted by aubzaubz What you guys reckon for a helmet? In board bag or clipped to your hand luggage / backpack?

Originally posted by jdc329 For a helmet, I got a Smith Holt.

I think he means, 'What do you recommend for traveling'. As in where to put it, not what kind of helmet

i got an old hockey helmet with a mask maybe i should rock that next season

for a space saver, just wear your helmet. not even joking

The pool noodle idea is awesome!

i got a dakine snowboard bag on here on sale its like 2 metres long is that overkill or should i just shove everything i have in there. i just dont know how much its ganna cost taking it overseas

I would like to separate the Bindings and the snowboards, because it is easily packing and use the boardsleeve to protect the board edge.