SURFBOARD BAG LENGTHS AND WHICH BAGS TO TAKE

The length of your Surfboard board bag, depends exactly on which boards you plan on taking. Basically, the board bag length is to suit boards that length and smaller. While you can sometimes fit in larger surfboards, why bother? If you have a 6'8" Surfboard, then grab yourself a 6'8" surfboard bag or as close to it as you can.

Surfboard socks on the other hand give you a bit of leeway. The general rule is that you can throw a sock on anything with about 3 inches of leeway either way. So if your surfboard sock is 6'7", you can get away with using it generally for 6'4" to 6'10" boards. But it's important to know that these bags do not provide much in the way of padded protection and we would only recommend these

SO YOU KNOW HOW MANY BOARDS YOU NEED TO CARRY?

Choosing the correct surfboard capacity for your board bag can be confusing. With a huge range of bags out there including Single Day Use Board Bags, Universal Double, Triple, Quad Surfboard Bags with Wheels and Multi-tour bags. The question is: which one do you need?

Single Day Use Bag

These bags are great for just one board at a time. We would recommend these for every day use or travel.

Double Surfboard Bags

These bags are for transporting two surfboards and generally have a divider inside.

Quad Surfboard Bags with Wheels or Quad Wheelies

These boards are great for air travel  especially when you have connecting flights. They can take 4 boards generally and have built in wheels to help you get around the airport terminals.

Multi Tour Bags

These bags are for your hardcore surf adventures. With a general capacity for 3 boards including their fins or 6 boards without fins, you can basically bring your whole quiver with you and even throw in your extras like towel, wetsuit etc.

TIPS

#1 Surfboard Baggage Allowances vary from airline to airline so it's important to do some research before you leave. Whether you're taking one board  or a whole quiver of surfboards, it's important to have a rough idea about how much each airline charges for surfboard bag before you get to the airport. Make sure you also have a good understanding of what you need on your trip before choosing your boards.

#2 Fly with a reputable airline. Some airlines have a worse rep then others when it comes to flying with Surfboards, consider your options and check out their baggage policies.

#3 Get the right bag for you boards. You want to make sure the board bag isn’t too small or too big. Too small and it won’t allow for a little wiggle room, too big and your boards will more than likely be damaged due to the extra movement. Look for something approximately 4 inches bigger than the biggest board you are taking, and make sure to secure the boards tightly with the straps inside.

#4 Pack em' right, keep em' tight! Make sure your rails, tip and tail are covered. For rails a good tip for extra safe coverage is pool noodles. Cut down the middle and then attach them to your board, hold them in place with little duct tape if needed. Cover the tips and tails with as much padding as possible, this could be wetsuits, boardies towels or just plain old cardboard. Next make sure your fins are removed and stick a towel and wetsuit between your boards for a little extra padding. It's never a bad idea to tape your bag with fragile stickers, carriers are lugging bags in and out all day and anything extra to prevent rough handling is recommended.

#5 Check out the Baggage Allowances and fees and charges for a variety of flights and destinations through Air Asia simple to use Fee Calculator.

#6 Also have a look at Qantas for their Sporting Equipment rates and charges. Sideways.com.au has a huge, well priced range of Surfboard bags  to suit your needs and we have decided to put together a Surfboard Bag Guide to ensure you get the right bag for what you want to do with your surfboard.