Traveling in style

One of the best investments I’ve made is travel luggage. Depending how often you travel with your gear, you need to get your gear there safely through the airlines. It is wise to get good luggage because guess what…it lasts! Before I picked up new luggage this year, I used my Dakine board bag for the last couple seasons of traveling.

I decided on Burton for my luggage, I love their soft goods and the luggage is exceptional. When picking out luggage, I wanted something with wheels and enough to fit a couple boards plus my gear.

I didn’t pay full price for either of my luggage which is always excellent. I bought the Wheelie Locker early on in the season when I could use my instructor discount. The Wheelie Double Deck I found at 50% off from Wave Rave Snowboard Shops (amazing deal, good store!)…and I grabbed it up as soon as I could.

06-07 Burton Wheelie Locker
Color: Distressed Plaid
Retail Price: $259.95

Features:

• Holds multiple boards up to 166 cm in length
• Lower board storage provides instant access to a single deck without having to unpack the entire bag
• Fully padded board protection
• Double Deck construction seperates the bag into two compartments for easy gear access
• Compartmentalized upper deck
• Removable boot and binding bags
• Removable tuning pocket
• Fleece lined goggle case
• Volume-enhancing CRAM stretch zones around the zippers
• Lockable, contoured zipper pulls
• Comfort cush telescoping handle
• Custom skate wheel assembly
• Overall dimensions: 65″ H x 17.25″ W x 8″ D

Pros:

• There is literally a spot for everything in this board bag. I can put my snowboards in the bottom in a hidden snowboard location plus put my bindings in the main compartment and my boots in the individual boot holders.

• Wheels…anyone who travels with board bags come to realize that carrying your board bag on the shoulder crammed with 50 pounds+ of gear is a pain and wheels are the way to go.

• If you are at the same airport, same terminal as someone with this board bag in plaid I am impressed. Everytime I have flown I can spot my luggage everywhere and quickly. I call it my ugly plaid luggage…to me it’s ugly, but damn it is nice to spot.

Cons:

• Manuvering with the board bag is tough and usually I have to wait for people to move out of the way to get around a crowded airport.

• You end up tipping more…if you get help with your stuffed burton wheelie locker. This usually happens at the Park and Rides where the kind shuttle driver who is 80 years old has to pick up my snowboard bag to bring it to the shuttle or to my truck. I end up tipping him double because of the weight with my gear inside and the fact that even I struggle with it. I always tip… working in the service industry makes you a nice tipper.

• It is ugly plaid…If you want stares at the airport, this is it. I have luggage that stands out at the airport faster than a white one-piece outfit in a field of poo.

06-07 Burton Wheelie Double Deck
Color: Distressed Plaid
Retail Price: $209.95

Features:

• Double Deck construction seperates the bag into two compartments for easy gear access
• Hideaway SnakeStack external backpack attachment
• Zippered Quick Stash compartment for travel documents
• Shoe pocket
• Removable laundry bag
• Volume enhancing CRAM stretch zones around the zippers
• Comfort cush telescoping handle
• Lockable, contoured zipper pulls
• Custom skate wheel assembly
• Overall Dimensions: 28.5″ H x 15.5″ W x 14.5″ D

Pros:

• With the two compartments, you can sort your clothes and zip them into place without having them flop around all over the place. I like the organization of it.

• No matter how much I pack into it…there’s still room. I tried to pack my dog in the luggage but she wasn’t having it.

• It has wheels and is ugly plaid. I can see this bag as it drops onto the carousel at the airport.

Cons:

• Good luck with the 50lb weight limit that airports impose. I’ve been over it but because of my killer charm…they let me pass without paying the fee. But it’s very easy to reach that limit in this luggage.

• It is ugly plaid…ahh yes.

Some of my own pictures of my luggage, I plan to take one eventually with me hauling them at the airport (just you wait and see)