Hi all, I'm off to mentawaii islands next month and I'm unsure if I should bubble wrap my boards or just use towels, will be taking 3 boards and have a fcs travel bag. Any thoughts

towels and rashies have always worked for me. never had any rail dings in transit

I also picked up some nose and tail protectors made from high density rubber.. you can get them as pin, square or swallow tail.. definitely worthwhile purchase

http://www.thesurfboardwarehouse.com/p-1025-prolite-nose-tail-guards-br-pin-fish-swallow.aspx

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Sham1984 said..
towels and rashies have always worked for me. never had any rail dings in transit

I also picked up some nose and tail protectors made from high density rubber.. you can get them as pin, square or swallow tail.. definitely worthwhile purchasehttp://www.thesurfboardwarehouse.com/p-1025-prolite-nose-tail-guards-br-pin-fish-swallow.aspx

+1

I did that trip in 09, Sham is on the money. I stuffed cloths and anything soft around every part of the board.

Boat or land camp?

www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/Surfing/Shortboards/Im-goin-to-the-Mentawais-in-Sept/

I cut the corners out of cardboard boxes & tape them to the nose & tail. Then tape 2layers of bubble wrap around the rails & bottom of the board. Towels were great for stuffing between fins back when fins weren't detachable, but don't do much to protect anything else unless your like wrapping them round your nose/tail.

When I do my indo trips I don't take any luggage except for my board bags. I just pack all my clothing and any other soft kit into the board bag to pad it out. Reduces my baggage cost and protects my boards. Win/win.

If it's a film trip then yeah, different story. If I'm going to any more remote places I'll take a bail-out-bag as carry on, other than that, everything goes into the board bags.

I have always traveled like Suba and never had a problem with boards....just make sure the nose and tails have some clothes around them and the rails....and she will be sweet. Heaps easier these days with removable fins systems....when I first started my o/s adventures I would make fin protectors out of big hunks of polystyrene - used to be so messy!!

For my board with glassed in fins I considered just buying a chunk of foam from clarke rubber and cutting the fin slots in it.
I am inherently lazy and ended up just using clothes. Never had a drama. Those fins lasted a lot of plane trips before I broke one off in Yallingup...off to the graveyard for that board.

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subasurf said..
For my board with glassed in fins I considered just buying a chunk of foam from clarke rubber and cutting the fin slots in it.

I am inherently lazy and ended up just using clothes. Never had a drama. Those fins lasted a lot of plane trips before I broke one off in Yallingup...off to the graveyard for that board.

I got a Balin one, $40. Worked well

I also just throw everything in my board bag. Usually I try to stuff the nose and tail of the bag but getting pretty lazy these days.

Then just a back pack carry-on. Sweet!

I tend to get paranoid when travelling light and put pipe insulation around the rails held on with packaging wrap, then pad with towel etc.
Never a problem with many flights involved.