Up, Up, and Away: The Best Luggage for Flying with Your Ski Gear

If you give a mouse a cookie, he’ll want milk to accompany it. If you’ve spent the time, energy, and money investing in your own ski or snowboard gear, chances are you’ll want the snow to accompany it. After all, what’s the point of investing in your gear if you can’t reap the rewards? When you’re chasing snow and taking a flight to get there, you also need the bags to transport your gear. 

As ski travel enthusiasts, we know flying with your gear on a destination ski trip can be daunting. Between navigating the checked bag policies, staying organized, and managing storage space with your crew—there’s more than enough to consider—especially if you’re an over-packer appropriately prepared for whatever the trip might bring. Lucky for you, we’ve done the heavy lifting for you—literally—by field testing the best travel gear on the market and narrowing down the easiest luggage systems for traveling with all your ski and snowboard gear. With our baggage recommendations, you’ll pack easily—and can happily remove “stop at the rental shop” from your day one vacation to-do list. 

So, let’s get to packing. 

Our Favorite Luggage Systems for Traveling with Your Ski and Snowboard Gear: 

The Best Luggage System For Shorter Trips (Three Days or Less): 

The Gear Bag: 

• For Skiers: The Snow Roller Pro 70L in Falu Red or Black Out
• For Snowboarders: The Snow Roller Pro 127L in Black Out (Falu Red and Moss Green are currently sold out)

The Suitcase: 

• For Light Packers: The Ramverk Carry-On in Black Out, Fogbow Beige, Sprite Lightning Red, Parhelion Orange, or Green Ray
• For Over Prepared Packers: The Ramverk Checked Luggage Medium in Black Out, Sprite Lightning Red, Parhelion Orange or Green Ray 

The Personal Item:

• Hugger Backpack 20L in Black Out, Falu Red, Moss Green, Fogbow Beige, or Blue Hour (currently sold out).

If you typically embark on ski vacations for only a few days, you have the luxury of building a lighter luggage load. For skiers, we recommend packing gear in the Snow Roller Pro 70L—this will fit one pair of skis, poles, boots, gloves, a helmet, and goggles. Snowboarders will need the Snow Roller Pro 127L, the bigger, longer, and deeper version of the same bag. It has an adjustable length, so you can fit your board, boots, gloves, helmet, goggles, and ski clothes in it and then tighten the end to keep these belongings in place.

With all your gear tucked away, you can use your suitcase and personal item space for everything else. For your everyday clothing and other essentials, the suitcase you need depends on what type of packer you are. If you’re comfortable with only bringing the basics, get the Ramverk Carry-On. If you have trouble parting with your wardrobe, opt for the Ramverk Checked Bag (available in small or large). These suitcases are both remarkably light but sturdy enough to keep your belongings safe, should you decide to check them with your gear. 

We love the 20L Hugger Backpack for personal items. While there are many sizes to choose from, we think the smaller 20L bag is best for shorter getaways to the mountains. It has a large compartment for carry-on essentials and a back sleeve for your laptop, should you need to work—ugh.

The Best Luggage System For Longer Trips (Four Days or More)

The Gear Bag:

• The Snow Roller Pro 127L in Black Out, Falu Red and Moss Green 

The Suitcase: 

• For Light Packers: The Ramverk Checked Luggage Medium in Black Out, Sprite Lightning Red, Parhelion Orange or Green Ray 
• For Over Prepared Packers: The Ramverk Checked Luggage Large in Parhelion Orange, Black Out, Fogbow Beige, Sprite Lightning Red, or Green Ray 

The Personal Item: 

• The Personal Item: Hugger Backpack 30L
• The Personal Item Best for Additional Storage Space: The Roamer Duffel in Black Out, Parhelion Orange, Falu Red, Blue Hour, or White Out. 

When you’re lucky enough to spend more than a few days away, we recommend bulking up on storage space to accommodate more essentials. The 127L is the best option for snowboarders and skiers on long trips. As mentioned above, it can fit a pair of skis or a board, boots, poles, a helmet, gloves, and a surprising amount of ski clothing.

Like the weekend luggage system, the suitcase you choose largely depends on how much off-mountain apparel you plan to bring. If you like to bring plenty of apparel options, the Large Ramverk Checked Luggage has enough room to accommodate all your dressing desires. If you’re a minimalist through and through, the medium size is for you. 

Your final piece of luggage will again come down to how much space you need or how much you want to pack. If you still need more storage space after opting for the largest suitcase available (no shame here), then the Roamer Duffel is the perfect piece to round out your system. With straps that allow you to carry it as a backpack and as much storage as a spacious duffel, this option is both a carry-on and a personal item. If you don’t need that much space, the Hugger Backpack is a great midsize alternative. Like the Hugger 20L, the Hugger 30L has a large center compartment and separate sleeve to keep your laptop safe. We love how structured this backpack is, making it a great place to keep fragile goods, like your nice camera(s), safe. 

You can’t go wrong with any of the luggage suggestions above. You can mix and match pieces from any system to create the best collection for you and your needs. If you have any questions about the bags mentioned, please don’t hesitate to contact us at hello@intopleinair.com. We’d be happy to help outfit you for your next adventure!