Preparing a SUP for travel

OK, I am sure this has been covered, but can't find it...

Is it sufficient to wrap a board in bubble-wrap and stick it in a board bag (either the Naish bag or the fancy Flying Objects travel bag)? Of course, it will have a paddle in there too. (Do I even need bubble-wrap inside the FO bag?)

I do still have the cardboard packaging from one of the boards when new. Is that going over the top? It does add a bit of weight.

(On previous trips I took mals and just double-bagged them - board bag within a board bag.)

adding a rigid sheet (cardboard) in the outer layers help spread the impacts (i.e. the corner of a hard suitcase).

Another trick are cheap yoga mats, often in a dense and light foam.

But as aus301 did, I guess the best solution is just having cheap & light board bag(s) inside the heavy travel-grade one.

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colas said..
adding a rigid sheet (cardboard) in the outer layers help spread the impacts (i.e. the corner of a hard suitcase).

Another trick are cheap yoga mats, often in a dense and light foam.

But as aus301 did, I guess the best solution is just having cheap & light board bag(s) inside the heavy travel-grade one.

Thanks - I replied as you were posting.

Yoga mats are a good idea.

Regarding the cardboard, I was wondering where the boards are most vulnerable (other than nose and tail) - the edges or the deck/bottom.

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cantSUPenough said..
Thanks!

How was your trip? That's where I am going (can't wait!).

I am trying to fit two sups in the FO bag. Plan A was to leave them in their bags and stick them both inside the FO bag. It doesn't fit - too wide...

Trip was awesome. I spent 8 days at Kandooma.

We got some great swell, although an odd wind direction for the time of year which made some spots like Riptides a bit difficult. But Kandooma right was firing pretty much all week, with at some stage though the day only 2 or 3 people out.

If you are somewhere with daily boat transfers to different breaks, keep your boards in the bag for the boat. The only day I didn't my board got dinged up on the racks on board the boat, which aren't really designed for anything the size of a SUP.

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SUPing said..
I recently bought a new board which was unfortunately damaged during transit on the widest part of the rail. I've spoken to a few people all of whom have confirmed this is probably the highest risk area.

I think I was unlucky however it wont harm to wrap them up as snug as possible because I've seen 1st hand what goes on once your luggage disappears behind the check-in/outsized luggage conveyor belt flaps & lets just say that there is ZERO finesse with the way all luggage is handled!

Thanks. That makes sense - they either bang the ends of the board into something, or drop it thus damaging the widest part. You would think in this day and age a little more care would be taken...

Sure wrap your board well but try and keep it as light as possibly otherwise the baggage handlers will be forced to man handle it and kick it around and this is where the damage is done 99% of the time.

I'm the same as aus301, just returned from the Maldives. Did a minimal rap, real basic and not a ding.

Probably luck of the draw I reckon. I saw that 1 guys mal, had coped a fair old flogging from his flight. Take some duck tap for the repair work.

Thanks everyone.

I will have two boards in one bag, so weight will be an issue...

But with some bubble-wrap, extra nose & tail protection, cardboard on the bottom rail, and crossed fingers I should be OK... I hope...

oh yeah, take stuff with you to fix the dings when you get there.

Especially seeing as we are on epoxy boards, there was stuff where we were for fixing poly, but not epoxy. Never travel without a roll of duct tape, and some ding stick/kneed it sort of stuff. I saw a few boards turn up that were in need of serious tape work after the flight over.

Also take a spare set of fins, so easy to loose one on the reef. And spare leg ropes, won't be able to get anything SUP suitable over there.

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aus301 said..
oh yeah, take stuff with you to fix the dings when you get there.

Especially seeing as we are on epoxy boards, there was stuff where we were for fixing poly, but not epoxy. Never travel without a roll of duct tape, and some ding stick/kneed it sort of stuff. I saw a few boards turn up that were in need of serious tape work after the flight over.

Also take a spare set of fins, so easy to loose one on the reef. And spare leg ropes, won't be able to get anything SUP suitable over there.

Now you are making me anxious What did they do wrong - or is it just luck of the draw? I was thinking that all my cardboard was going over the top, now I am not sure.

I do have some FCS instant repair putty (one tube) and two little "puka patch" ding repair kits, but I will need to double check if that is OK for epoxy.

The DUCT tape is packed. Plus fins and leggies. Now, about that baggage weight limit...

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JoffaDan said..
Which two boards are you taking?

Well... That is a question I have asked myself many times...

My hope is to take all three...

I have 50 kg baggage limit, and if I can squeeze them all in I figure why not...

I want to take the Minion - on the right waves it is a ton of fun. And I would like to push things a bit. But at 7'10 x 29" I know that if the conditions aren't right (it gets windy this time of year) I will struggle.

And I want to take my 8'8" X32 - if the conditions are crappy, or if it is big (the rocker gives me a comfort factor), then it will be the go-to board.

So that leaves the Speeed 8'10"... But it is fast and fun. I would hate to leave it at home... And if I wreck the X32 (I wrecked a board on a previous trip) then I only have the Minion.

Plus I struggle to get the X32 and the Minion (plus padding) in the one Flying Objects bag - the width of the X32 is a bit much... But the Speeed and Minion fit.

But the three boards, bags, and padding are getting up around 40 kg. I don't have to carry them far, but that leaves 10 kg for clothes, fins, leggies, etc. I figure I can get under 10 kg (with some carry-on).

So, a long answer to a short question...

(First world problem?)

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cantSUPenough said..

aus301 said..
oh yeah, take stuff with you to fix the dings when you get there.

Especially seeing as we are on epoxy boards, there was stuff where we were for fixing poly, but not epoxy. Never travel without a roll of duct tape, and some ding stick/kneed it sort of stuff. I saw a few boards turn up that were in need of serious tape work after the flight over.

Also take a spare set of fins, so easy to loose one on the reef. And spare leg ropes, won't be able to get anything SUP suitable over there.

Now you are making me anxious What did they do wrong - or is it just luck of the draw? I was thinking that all my cardboard was going over the top, now I am not sure.

I do have some FCS instant repair putty (one tube) and two little "puka patch" ding repair kits, but I will need to double check if that is OK for epoxy.

The DUCT tape is packed. Plus fins and leggies. Now, about that baggage weight limit...

One guy with a short board had a heap of damage around the nose of the board, but by his own admission he didn't pack the board as well as he should have.

I only took one 8'2 x 28 and that was all good for everything I rode, from slow waves at Quarters to fast and steep stuff at Riptides and Kandooma.

As this topic appeared at the top of the forum

The truth is SUPs would have to be the strongest boards being flown around the place,

Yer yer you hear of horror stories with superlight surf boards and the occasional completely wrecked board ,but at most surf locations there is someone doing ding repairs with a fast turn around , general not expensive either.

Stress less travel more ..................

Got more chances of scoring dings / a gouges in the water.

My last epic session paddling in on dark , i cut the corner on the dropping tide getting in , i knew i was doing it, but did it anyway pronging over the shallows in waist to knee deep water , sure enough there was only a small scrap and crunching noise , i put 2 small gouges on the bottom of the board, fat and square ,i reckon if you did this every session it would be worse than scoring a travel ding

Don't buy bubble wrap. Get some of the 5mm foam that's used to make covers (between the cloth etc) and wrap it in that. You can cut swimming noodles as well for the rails. Much better than cardboard which can get wet once you're there and is useless on the trip home.

Lots of other good advice in previous posts re rails being most vulnerable. Make sure you check the boards once you arrive at the airport as insurance may not honour the policy if you wait til you're on the boat or resort.

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cantSUPenough said..

Kami said..
Do as king of the point said and don't forget to protect paddle shaft, sliding it in a plastic plumber pipe . Then lay that on the deck side of the board. I used to put my "Dragon fly "fishing rod with the paddle too

EPS blank cut out from shaper workshop is good too and better than cardboard or bubble pack.

I have a Ke Nalu paddle that allows you to remove the paddle with a hair dryer (it softens the glue) - maybe I should do that; take the bend out of it. As long as they have hairdryers where I am going...

But I am not sure what you mean by "EPS blank cut out from shaper" - do you mean the entire outer area that remains after they cut out the board shape?

Yes, this is what I mean. Outer areas from outline cut out to protect rails from falling from top of the tarmac trolley and specially the ones looking as blocks cut out from tails and nose banks profils. It's looking like a mini skate board ramp: they are so good to protect nose and tail

Better to get a Minion or OZ made board to get those kind of useful shaping wastes.

Hi Australian SUP Community —


Seabreeze always has some interesting SUP stories I like to keep up to speed on. I came across similar topics & just wanted to clarify on some confusion that seems to be going on in the Australian marketplace. I founded both Puka Patch & Rail Saver Pro, a Puka Patch product.

Despite what some might hear, Puka Patch is Rail Saver Pro & is why we have kept the name whilst the other like-branded name has since been changed to RS Pro…

I hope this helps with the confusion & integrity of the original Rail Saver Pro, a product that has been widely accepted through the Australian marketplace, launched many years ago by my Australian distributor Watershack Pty Ltd. On the subject of Jimmy Lewis -

Jimmy has been a supporter of our product since the beginning & still supports the Puka Patch Rail Saver Pro exclusively to this day.

The pictures posted in these forums stating Jimmy apparently switching to RSPro were from one of Jimmy’s international distributors without the support of Jimmy himself.


There’s a saying in the innovation world that the greatest form of flattery is when someone copies you, so I guess for many years now we’ve been doing something right by providing a quality product that continues to evolve. Confusing a market by copying your name to build another product is not flattery & definitely not innovative.


If you have further questions, please do not hesitate to contact my Australian distributor : rob@watershack.com.au

Thanks, Jon Mosher - Puka Patch & Rail Saver Pro