Sportube Series 2 Ski and Snowboard Case

Used this to fly with 2 sets of skis & poles and it worked perfectly. My husband has a pair of 194 Volkl Gotamas, which is a large ski. Mine are a 169 powder ski, so a bit disproportionate when you're using one case for both pairs. We had no issue whatsoever packing them up. Everything felt secure and well protected. The way the case works, it gets sized to fit the longer of the two pairs of skis, so I was a little nervous if mine would slide end-to-end during transit. But when we went to unpack, everything was in the exact position we had put it in. The handle and wheels were great. I would say there are two downsides: 1. The lock that comes with the case was a little too flimsy for my liking. If it gets knocked off during transit, the entire case comes open. We bought the sportube cable lock for that reason, and it seems much more secure. 2. The case is a little tougher to fit into a vehicle than a soft-side bag. Obviously that's because it's rigid, but you don't realize how you're able to manipulate those soft-side bags when space is tight, which isn't an option here. But if you're flying with your skis, you've probably done this before and are not driving up the mountain in a Honda civic, so as long as you get an appropriately sized vehicle, it's not an issue. Also be aware that there's not much room for anything else in this case. You can't stuff in your helmet or boots. It fits 2 sets of skis and poles (probably a few more sets of poles, if you have extra for some reason). If you usually stuff your bag with clothing and gear, it's just not going to work with this case. Depending on how wide your skis are, you can probably get some clothing in there, but not much. We'd been traveling with a soft-side bag for a few years, which has worked well on car trips. Checking that on an airline became less appealing as our skis would get dinged up here and there. With the amount of jostling that baggage goes through on airlines, there's no better way to go than a hard shell case for skis, and this one is excellent.

The SportTube has met all of my expectations. I needed one that would hold 2 pairs of skis and poles, which it does beautifully. Add to that the wheels for easy rolling and, best of all, the fact that the tube's length can be adjusted so that it will accommodate whatever length skie one has. This is especially great as, now that ski lengths are sized so much smaller than in the past, a typical ski bag would have over 12" of wasted bag at the end of my 163cm skis. After 2 ski trips with it, it shows no damage, and appears to be pretty "bullet-proof". The SkiTube really consists of two pvc/plastic tubes, one slightly smaller in diameter than the other that slide, one inside the other. It has a built-in handle that is quite long, to facilitate easy gripping for lifting/pulling. It has a TSA acceptable closure/lock, and will also accommodate various keyed or combination locks (not included). The SkiTube comes with a shoulder strap that attached to the handle, but I found the SkiTube a bit cumbersome to carry (although no moreso than a regular ski bag). An optional handle to attach to the end of the tube to facilitate pulling is offered as an option, but I did not get this and so far, have not wanted for it either. The only drawback to the SkiTube is that, since it is rigid, it can't be folded up like a regular ski bag, and so takes up quite a bit of space. However, dealing with the storage issue is insignificant, compared to the security, protection, and ease of transport that it offers.

This case is sturdy and does exactly what its suppose to do. Easily holds two pairs of skis and poles PLUS additional items. My wife and I can fit two pairs of shoes or boots(not ski boots), packs of hand warmers, and other small objects into the tube. We end up saving a lot of weight in our suitcases by packing the sportstube with various items. the skis are held into place by velcro straps and the skis themselves are kept together by included straps. The sports tube can easily have the length adjusted to fit various size skis. Two small wheels at the bottom help roll the tube around. The case and its contents have survived trips to Switzerland, Austria, and out west to California so for. HOWEVER, with that being said there is one serious issue with the sport tube. Every single trip has resulted in the sport tube not making our destination on time. I am not 100% what the issue is but 3 trips and 3 lost sports tube is no coincidence. Our trip to Switzerland, our sport tube was lost and made it to Zermatt two days later. Our trip to Austria, sports tube arrived two days later. Our trip to Mammoth mountain, the sport tube arrived a day later. An airport counter agent told us this is common with hard sided cases shaped like this one. The cases fall off the conveyor belts or get stuck. I dont know how true that is but something is clearly an issue with air travel and this case. I love this case but I will not use it anymore because of the risk of our skis not making it or being delayed to our destination. FYI, TSA will open and check the contents of this case every time. They did for all 6 legs of our trips.

Should have invested in this decades ago!

The Sportube requires that you nest your skis like shoes in a shoe box then slide them in. The first few times this can be a chore when compared to throwing your skis in a zip up bag but once your skis are in it they could not have better protection. If you have cheap skis get a cheap bag but if you have made a significant investment in your gear get this. The one thing I like the most about this is that, in a pinch, you can use it as a rooftop box. I throw a pair of bungee cords in my bag and when we get to our destination airport the Sportube goes on the roof. This has allowed us to rent smaller cars at ski areas and save money considering that you usually only drive your skis around to and from the airport.

This case adequately fits my need to have a groomer ski and a semi-powder ski for traveling and their corresponding poles. I am not sure what other reviewers are talking about when they say that this case does not fit fat skis well. I had the opposite experience. I fit my pair of 194cm long, 111mm underfoot 4frnt devastators, my pair of 176cm long, 84mm underfoot dynastar powertrack 84s, a pair of scott 720 poles (w/ groomer basket), and a pair of scott riot poles (w/ powder baskets) fairly easily into this tube. I admit that 111 underfoot isn't the widest ski out there, but this case may be able to fit 2 pairs of devastator-sized-skis in there based on my relative ease of packing in the powertracks and the devastators and 2 sets of poles. I do agree, however, that this case would NOT fit two 120mm+ underfoot skis with wider 5-point sidecuts up top. They'd just be too wide up top to fit. However, regardless of width, this thing is ENORMOUSLY long if it needs to be. I fit my 194cm long skis w/ a lot of room to spare if needed. I can't imagine needing to fit a ski much longer than this unless you're going off a ski jump. The advertised expansion length is 210cm, though, if you need it. With both sets of skis and both sets of poles all packed, this case weighed 47 lbs. This is below the American Airlines limit of 50 lbs. that I was concerned about and it will be acceptable to fly with. It's worth noting that my set up should be WELL over the average weight of 2 skis/2 poles. The 4frnt devastators are extremely heavy big mountain skis AND my powertracks have a demo binding rail on them. I haven't yet traveled with the case as I just received it, but I currently own and have used a sportube series 1 for a year and have found the protection to be of the highest degree. I no longer even remotely think about my skis when I travel since I know they are absolutely safe, which is the ultimate goal of a hard case. Dimensions of the 4frnt devastators: 142x111x137 Dimensions of the powertrack 84s: 123/84/106

i used this for a ski trip out to Colorado. This is perfect for taking you skis flying and also works well for keeping the car clean if you dont use a roof rack. It is a little cumbersome to take you skis in and out of, but it works. Will be pretty heavy when loaded down with 2 skis, I can manage it fine, but my gf would struggle. Pros will definitely fit 2 pairs of full size skis. Solid design, nice handle for dragging this through the airport. appears like it will hold up to many years of abuse.

Love the bright orange color- really easy to spot in a sea of sport cases at Denver airport :) tube works great and is very sturdy- never have had any issues with damaged skis