The Brave Ski Mom

Building a new generation of skiers and snowboarders.

Packing Your Ski Gear For Air Travel and More

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packing for ski trip

All of this is going in my handy-dandy ski boot backpack. And when I come home, it’s a great place for dirty clothes.

brave ski mom logoFrom the Brave Ski Mom mailbox…

Dear Brave Ski Mom,

We are going on a family ski holiday and we want to minimize baggage costs and enhance the likelihood that it arrives and is in one piece!

Keep up your awesome blog, I love it!

Thanks,
N

Dear N, 

Thank you for asking! I am always happy to answer all reader questions (seriously — send them my way).

You caught me on the perfect day, as I am packing to fly with my skis and gear. Here’s how we do it. By the way, while we’re focusing on air travel, I pack the same way for road trips. The only difference? I don’t pack the skis and poles in bags. They go in the rocket box atop my car.

Airline Rules

Rules differ by air carrier, and are subject to change, so always check directly with each airline. As of this writing, the major airlines will allow you to check most of your gear if you pack it in purpose-made ski bags and ski boot bags.

If you show up with boots in a suitcase or duffel bag, you will pay an individual bag fee. If you show up with boots in a boot bag, but you don’t bring skis, you will pay an individual bag fee.

But if you show up with boots in a boot bag and skis in a ski bag, your gear counts as one bag and you pay the charge for just one bag.

This is the rule on both Delta and United. Just be sure the combined weight of the ski and boot bags does not exceed 50 pounds or you’ll pay extra.

As for American Airlines, they also require ski and ski boot bags. Bring both bags together and pay the fee for one bag.

American has a special twist though. While you can put your helmet in the ski boot bag, you can’t pack anything else in your bags or you will pay an additional bag fee. The American website says they will open your bags at the airport to check.

kulkea and transpack ski boot bags

This is a sharp-looking array of ski and ski boot bags. But one of them won’t work for air travel. Make sure your helmet is packed in the bag

Like many airline rules this one is silly, as ski boot bags are designed to hold other gear like mittens, goggles, face warmers, and the like.

But the silliest rules belong to Air Canada.

I expected Air Canada to have a generous bag policy, but I was wrong. Like the other airlines, skis must be packed in a ski bag. But on Air Canada, it must be a rigid or hardshell shipping case. As for boots, you will not pay a second charge for your ski boots in a ski boot bag so long as “the bag contains only boots.”

If the ski boot bag contains anything else (including your helmet) or “is designed to contain other items,” the ski boot bag and ski bag will be charged separately.

Give me a break.


Ski Gear Packing Tips

I believe in ski boot backpacks and, as you might have already gathered, I pack my other ski gear in this handy bag.

Here’s how I do it, starting from the bottom of the main compartment.

  • Puffy Jacket
  • Après Skirt
  • Helmet (with goggles, mittens, neck gaiter and face mask stuffed into helmet)
  • Ski Pants
  • Boot Dryer
  • Socks
  • Ski Coat

Ski boots go in the individual side pockets, surrounded by baselayers, socks, a beanie and additional base layers that don’t fit into the main pocket.

Since this bag will be checked, I pack sunscreen in a plastic bag to prevent messy spills. I also pack hand warmers.

As for my ski bag, this is obviously where I put my skis and poles.

I like ski bags that have straps to keep poles and skis from moving.

packing for ski trip 2

Once the skis and poles are in the bag, there’s still a lot of room for coats and pants. Just don’t put anything heavy in here.

If you run out of room in your ski boot bag, the largely empty ski bag is a great place for your coat, ski pants and other awkward items. These large soft items will help cushion your skis. But don’t overpack the bag. Remember, the combined weight of the ski bag and ski boot bag cannot exceed 50 pounds.

When your ski bag is packed, tighten down the outside straps and make sure your name and phone number are on the inside and outside of both bags. Keep your checked luggage claim tags, just in case.

All the Other Stuff

One of the great (among so many great!) things about a ski vacation is you don’t really need a lot of other clothes.

ski and après clothes

Some of my double-duty clothing, circa 2013. I’m still wearing most of these. 

I try to wear boots, jeans and a sweater on the plane and I plan to repeat this basic outfit most evenings, with a few variations.

I also bring a second pair of pants, yoga pants and another sweater. I like my clothes to do double-duty, so I wear my baselayer tops at least once under sweaters before wearing them for skiing.

Other necessities? Swimsuits, flip-flops, slippers, pajamas and so on.

Enjoy!

More Ski Vacation Packing Tips: 

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Comments

  1. I’ll add a plug for the Skboot brand boot bag that is designed much like a roller bag. Traveled again recently with it. Will never go back to a boot bag without wheels.

  2. Since this website focuses on family skiing my comments apply to that scenario.

    A separate bootbag and single ski bag means lots of pieces of luggage. If you did that for 4 people, you’d have 4 ski bags, 4 boot bags and a couple of general bags. Since kids can’t haul their own ski bag, that’s not something you can shlep around in one go.

    I pack two double ski bags (1 pair of boots in ski bag), one large duffle bag(other boots and clothing) with backpack straps, two small wheeled carry-ons and one carry-on with backpack straps(helmets, clothing).
    Kids paul their wheeled carry-on, parents each pull a wheeled ski bag and have a bag on their back.

    Southwest is a good ski airline, they give you 2 free checked bags per person, much better than most airlines at no or 1 free bag, and if you have a child 6 or under, you get free early boarding, so you can choose nice seats.

    My other tip would be to take less ‘civilian’ clothes. You will only wear these for a few hours every night. So if you normally wear a pair of pants for 3 days, you could use it on a ski trip for 9 days. If they get dirty, wash them at night and wear your tights/long underpants/pj’s for breakfast.

    Only bring (t)shirts that are suitable for a ski base layer, there are tons of great looking merino t-shirts or button-ups that look like fashion wear, but perform as active wear.
    Same for sweaters, bring a fleece or merino one that looks good enough to go out, but will also function under your ski shell.
    If you bring more than one sweater or vest, make sure they can layer on top of each other.

    • Thank you Slim! I appreciate you taking the time to comment so thoroughly. That’s a great reminder about Southwest. I live somewhere where Southwest is not an option without a 4-5 hour drive and many resorts in Colorado are not served by Southwest.

      Southwest is a terrific option if one is skiing Tahoe (fly into Reno) or Utah (fly into Salt Lake City). However, if you fly Southwest into Denver, you’re looking at renting a car and a sometimes busy drive. For some, the tradeoff of getting two free bags per person may be worth the drive! For others, it might not be. Still, you are absolutely right!

      As for packing and baggage, these are great tips and I think you for sharing them. Your philosophy about getting your clothes to serve multiple purposes is dead on. Plus, I agree, you’ll barely wear the “civvies” anyway. Thank you so much for sharing your wisdom on this topic! Cheers!

    • Thank you Penny! Glad you are finding these post helpful! That makes my day!

      As for goggles over glasses, I am not a good resource for that. Her optometrist might be able to help. Maybe?

      Have a fun on your big trip!

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