Top 17 Best Surfboard Travel Bags in 2023

Being able to conquer the magnificent ocean waves is indeed a thing to aspire after, and the most essential equipment to fulfill that passion is surfboards. People can either develop a bond with their surfboards or see them as precious belongings of high value.

However, transporting large and inseparable items like surfboards has always been quite troublesome. During your traveling process, especially for long distances, surfboards should be equipped with the safest form of protection to avoid external impacts.

Fortunately, there were brands that acquired this customer insight and came up with an idea to lessen the hassle in moving surfboards from one destination to another. It is known as a surfboard carrier for securing surfboards through their transportation.

Its firm carrying handles and the proper inner construction are definitely useful to protect our boards. A surfboard hard case is one of the most favorite options at present and its appearance is certainly covered in this article of the best surfboard travel bags.

My Top Picks

You should obtain information about the finest surfboard travel bags prior to your shopping time because instant decisions are not suggested in this case. As a consequence, below are some of the best surfboard bags I would like to reveal first.

• Best Overall: Pro-Lite Smuggler
  “Exterior wetsuit pocket, reinforced bag nose, simple strap stow.”
• Best Budget: Pro-Lite Rhino
  “Diverse sizing choices, slide-in opening, anti-corrosion zippers.”
• Best With Wheels: Dakine World Traveler Wheeled Coffin
  “Closed-cell foam, sustainable wheels, throughout foam padded.”
• Best for Air Travel: Curve
  “Internal tail strap system, firm velcro closure, inexpensive pricing.”
• Best Coffin Surfboard Bag: Pro-Lite Wheeled Coffin
  “Fits 5 shortboards, air-flow ventilation, large internal volume.”

Comparison Table

It is obvious that each surfboard travel bag has its own advantages, which makes it hard for surfers to compare them with each other and eventually filter out the best one. I have chosen a few fundamental criteria in this comparison table to support further personal evaluation.

The 17 Best Surfboard Travel Bags Reviews

I understand how impatient people can get when it comes to the most essential section of comprehensive product reviews. Therefore, without further ado, I hope you can choose the finest surfboard travel bag for yourself from these detailed reviews.

1. Pro-Lite Smuggler

(Best Overall – Editor’s Choice)

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This travel bag from Pro-Lite has a functional two-point system that allows a surfboard entrance from the nose and tail. Its zippers are entirely corrosion-resistant. There is 10mm of inner foam protection to gently embrace 6’0 surfboards inside.

In terms of carrying the bag, it includes a padded shoulder strap for extra comfort and a sustainable rubber handle. The false bottom enables the Pro-Lite travel bag to hold up to 3 surfboards but only shows 2 of them when being checked for air flights.

The surfboard bag is constructed with a surrounding rail guard to provide further protection. Its air-flow ventilation ensures your surfboards are cooled from external heat. An additional storage pocket is meant for including other surfing accessories.

2. Pro-Lite Rhino

(Best Budget)

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You can fill this travel bag with 1 to 2 surfboards at once. With such a number of surfboards inside, the entire carrier is still ultra-lightweight for airline travel. There is a wide range of sizing for surfboards length below average from 6 to 7 inches.

It is in the form of a soft and collapsible gusset with an outer shell made of premium 600 Denier Poly. The velcro closure is both quick and convenient but the brand Pro-Lite guarantees stuff inside will not stand a chance to fall out of the bag at ease.

Its extra stow pocket on the outside is meant for storing the strap and following aqua accessories when not needed. The highest price of under $250.00 is considered a bargain as this surfboard travel bag from Pro-Lite has great endurance through time.

3. Curve

(Best for Air Travel)

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The travel bag from Curve can accommodate one surfboard at a time. It has 20mm padded foam on each of the bag nose and tail to secure these vulnerable areas while transporting. A fin slot is available for bags of size 8’2 and up.

It is made with a minimal round bag nose for some certain sizing. The PK nylon zipper is manufactured in big tooth size and is capable of preventing later corrosion. This Curve travel bag is suitable to handle long and large surfboards up to 10 inches.

There is an integrated wax pocket at its tail. Its velcro closure provides a safety measure to protect boards inside. The bag includes a TPSS, which means a built-in strap that tightens around the board tail to keep it from being scratched by the zipper.

4. Curve New

(Best Appealing Outlook)

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You are sure to capture much attention with its reflective silver skin on both sides, which enables easier recognition at the beach. The Curve travel bag allows longboard entrance of up to 23-inch wide for users to slide them in without a hassle.

The pocket stash can be treated as a board bag for storing wetsuits and other aqua accessories on the go. As usual, the brand Curve provides their surfboard carrier with a big-tooth zipper. It has a great price that does not even cost over $70.00.

=> Check out the Top 10 Best Windsurfing Wetsuits here!

This travel bag from Curve has variable sizing from 7 to over 10 inches. There is a comfortable and long shoulder strap for your convenience in terms of transportation. Its reinforced nose and tail are capable of developing a higher level of protection.

5. Pro-Lite Wheeled Coffin

(Best Coffin Surfboard Bag)

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Its gusset is 10-inch long so the inner volume is amazing, which explains why this Pro-Lite coffin travel bag carries up to 5 shortboards without effort. Inside the bag, there are durable seat belt straps with clips to keep the surfboards in place.

On one side, an identification badge like on regular suitcases and two extra pockets are available. The rubble handles are engineered on the top and side bag and underneath it is a set of wheels for convenient carriage. Its 10mm foam interior is highly refined.

This surfboard travel bag from Pro-Lite includes a separate inner pocket to store board fins and other surfing accessories. Its ventilation helps air-flows to gain better entrance and cool down surfboards inside. The shoulder strap is easily adjustable as wish.

6. Dakine World Traveler Wheeled Coffin

(Best With Wheels)

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The Dakine surfboard travel bag can contain up to 4 finless surfboards with its 11-inch sidewalls. It is entirely padded with foam interior and there is a total of 3 divided sections inside. Its YKK molded zippers perform brilliantly in heavy duties.

600D diamond ripstop polyester is the prime material of this travel bag with an advanced streamlined fit, which helps to reduce excess weight and promote a longer lifespan. The bag has a closed-cell hull structure to ensure a high level of surfboard guardian.

It includes a premium set of wheels for this travel bag to be treated like a regular suitcase and provide effortless transportation. The compression straps are attached to prevent the surfboards from slipping out. Its safe rail protection is integrated.

7. Dakine Regulator Triple

(Best for Heat Reflection)

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The Dakine surfboard travel bag offers safe and durable closed-cell foam protection. Your board fins and wax can both be stored in an internal accessories pocket. It has a fine closure with a molded zipper that is ideal for heavy duties and long-distance traveling.

The heat-reflecting bottom of this travel bag from Dakine is practical to prevent overheating that may damage surfboards inside. 3 surfboards can fit into the bag at once with two dividers inside. Its padded shoulder strap is comfortable for frequent carriage.

8. Pro-Lite Finless Coffin

(Best for Extra Internal Room)

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Wheeled travel bags are known to consist of a lot of storage rooms but in case you are uninterested with them, choose the coffin bag from Pro-Lite instead. Its print panels are custom-made by the brand. The tri-fold design is convenient for storage.

The side pockets are meant for tying down its shoulder straps with a few loops. Its anti-corrosion zippers have been molded to endure external impacts without being damaged. The hang tag of this Pro-Lite surfboard travel bag is in a fixed size.

In order to secure up to 3 surfboards, there are powerful inner seat belt straps to keep them in position. It has great ventilation for uninterrupted air-flows. The empty bag itself is already lightweight. Its velcro closure is guaranteed to be quick and safe.

9. Pro-Lite Session

(Best for Fins Storage)

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The Pro-Lite surfboard travel bag is spacious enough to contain board fins thanks to its expanded tail gusset and does not put any stress on the fins. You can have much convenience as this bag has a slick flip top that allows surfboard entrance and exit with ease.

Its wax and key pocket is equipped on the outside. The ventilation system is indeed useful in allowing more air-flows to the bag interior and cool down surfboards inside. Most boards with their width around 23mm can fit into it, depending on their thickness.

The semi-reflective bottom skin of this surfboard travel bag from Pro-Lite provides fine heat resistance. There is a rail guard available around its non-corrosive molded zipper. Among multiple applications, the bag is said to be most suitable for day use.

10. Wave Tribe

(Best for Eco-Friendly Users)

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There are dense Japanese YKK zippers that are able to resist rusting. Its reflective alloy mesh combined with hemp help promote a high level of heat protection and optimal interior cooling. The design of this surfboard travel bag allows glass-on fins.

Its outer shell includes 25mm rebound foam to shield the boards inside from intense pressure. The grizzly bear brown shade and its natural core material are definitely attractive to eco-friendly surfers. Thick padded foam is equipped at its nose and tail.

The travel bag has integrated pockets to bring along board fins and ankle leashes. It has a wide range of sizing for multiple surfboard styles from mini/retro, shortboard to longboard. This board carrier is replaceable within the product warranty from its brand Wave.

11. Dakine Surf Daylight

(Best for Water Resistance)

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It is good to know that this surfboard travel bag from Dakin is both heat and water-resistant. The bag is made out of premium polypropylene and nylon with a minimal design. A comfortable padded shoulder strap and solid rubber handle are available.

Together with its durable 0.25-inch interior foam padding, this travel bag includes a corrosion-proof YKK loop zipper. The fin slot also has a zipper closure for the safest storage level. Dakine has provided the board bag with an incredible sizing variation.

12. Dakine Shuttle

(Best for Optimal Tail)

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Just like other surfboard travel bags from Dakine, this one is made out of premium tarpaulin material that performs brilliantly to resist both heat and water. Customers who wonder where to find a water-resistant board bag should definitely include it on the list.

This bag tail holds snug around surfboard tails inside to ensure boards will not slip out of it at ease. Its coil zipper can avoid corrosion and stands through heavy duties without breaking apart too soon. There is one strong carrying handle in the middle of the bag.

13. FCS FunBoard Dayrunner

(Best for Contoured Fitting)

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It is less than 4 lbs, which is a lightweight travel bag to minimize transportation effort. There is a 3D rail protection that removes redundant seams and offers a non-stop layer of dense foam. This bag delivers a great variety of sizing options from 5’6 to 8’0.

The strip applied to it is called the contoured ‘armadillo’ with excellent ventilation and keeps this bag fit snug to surfboards inside as well. You can make use of a firm rubber handle in the middle along with two small handles for stable bag carriage.

14. FCS Day All Purpose

(Best for Short Surfboards)

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Its largest size is only 6’7 so owners of shortboards would be interested in the FCS surfboard travel bag. The high-density foam padding of 5mm thick is more than an ideal solution to endure continuous daily use without quick and serious degradation.

The rail protection of this surfboard travel bag is built to have a contoured foam to its shape. Its shoulder pad has two ergonomic layers for maximum comfort. The FCS famous ‘armadillo’ strip helps enable ventilation and tightness around surfboards inside.

15. Surfica

(Best for Long Surfboards)

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As you can see, the Surfica surfboard travel bag is manufactured in large sizing up to 10 inches so it will suit with longboards better. Its tarplin material provides the board with a semi-reflective silver skin for better recognition in crowded locations.

The bag from Surfica is capable of accommodating one surfboard at a time. It has a coil zipper, which is widely known to highly resist rusting. There are two carrying handles on each bag side with a removable shoulder strap. Its padding is of 8mm closed-cell foam.

16. Abahub Premium

(Best for Effective Protection)

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The Abahub surfboard travel bag has a PE shell that is water-resistant. Its reinforced nose and tail with 600D nylon are for more protection of those vulnerable areas. An external pocket is available to store surfing gears and it has a secured zipper closure.

Its big tooth YKK zipper is sustainable for extended use. The bag tail allows users to put the entire surfboard together with fins inside so there is no need to remove them. If you wish, there is a zippered fin slot inside. The straps of this bag are upgraded to have buckles.

Double stitching is made around this travel bag to enable a longer lifespan. There are two air ventilation holes are at two ends so the boards will not go overheated. The wide padded shoulder strap delivers extra comfort for long-distance carriage.

17. Sticky Bumps Single Day

(Best for Pointed Board Noses)

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This surfboard travel bag from Sticky Bumps has a PE bottom that is heat-shielded in replacement for air-flow ventilation. It is absolutely wonderful to bring along for day trips. Its #10 zipper provides large access for most surfboards to get in without effort.

The 5mm-thick foam padding of this bag is in a closed-cell design. It is seen as one of the rare surfboard travel bags that have waterproof padding. There is a PVC layer at the bag nose to secure board noses from impacts. Its detachable shoulder strap is convenient.

How to Choose the Right Surfboard Travel Bag?

I cannot deny that there is a high chance you are not into my list of the finest surfboard travel bags. Therefore, I would like to provide you with a detailed buying guide so you are fully aware of what to concentrate on while shopping for a different one.

1. Padded Ends

An internal foam padding is the basic requirement of a surfboard travel bag, but its ends padding is also relevant to protect expensive boards inside through transportation. The extra foam is often filled both at the nose and tail of a travel bag.

It is necessary for the padded foam to be large enough to wrap around these areas of the carried surfboards. A surfboard travel bag with foam padded ends is ideal for long-distance traveling for the mentioned areas are seen as highly fragile points.

According to my personal experience, the integrated foam for ends padding should be as thick as possible since you cannot foresee the results of a severe collision. The nose and tail of a surfboard can crack up any moment during situations like that.

Therefore, I would recommend you to choose a surfboard travel bag with padded ends to increase the inner board protection level. So far, the thickest foam ends padding from surfboard travel bags being reviewed in this article is around 20mm.

2. Shoulder Strap

Other than the rubber handle, a lot of users are keen on using the shoulder strap on a surfboard travel bag to move it between close locations. Most shoulder straps available are well-padded to enhance comfort for their customers.

A standard shoulder strap ought to offer length alteration for optimal carriage. There are countless people who use surfboard travel bags and their shoulders are clearly not the same. The strap should be detachable as well considering some people do not require it.

Some surfboard travel bags provide a stow pocket to tie down this shoulder strap without making it separable from them. It is an effective solution though, a strap can cause disturbing flapping sound in the wind if the travel bag is placed on top of a car.

3. Air Ventilation

The foam padding in surfboard travel bags is meant for protection but if it comes along with intense external heat, it will influence the overall condition of surfboards inside. Most surfboards are prone to get overheated in unsuitable environments.

In order to prevent board deformation over time, you should take into account a surfboard travel bag with a fine ventilation system. The ventilation would allow better air-flows to cool down its whole interior and makes sure surfboards do not turn too hot.

In fact, it is not difficult to find an air-vented surfboard travel bag but I personally recommend the ones from Pro-Lite. There is a total of 5 Pro-Lite surfboard travel bags that appeared in this article and they are all engineered to have air ventilation.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Here are some frequently asked questions about surfboard travel bags.

Is It Correct That Surfboard Travel Bags Are Waterproof?

This is not entirely true. A few surfboard travel bags can provide water resistance, which means they do prevent water infiltration to some extent but not as impervious as being waterproof. Under all circumstances, it is advised to be careful with aqua environments.

What Is the Maximum Number of Surfboards to Fit Into Them?

The largest board quantity a travel bag can accommodate is 5 depending on their length, width and styles. Since surfboard varieties are almost countless on the market, there is a high likelihood for them to have different width at the same length.

How Do I Store Surfboard Travel Bags When Not Needed?

Most surfboard travel bags are manufactured to have a soft and collapsible gusset so they are covered without hassle, especially the ones with a tri-fold design. Just fold the bag from their top to the bottom and wrap them up to store in air-dried areas.

Concerning the solid coffin surfboard travel bags, users have no other choice but to lean the entire cases against a large wall. Anyways, in both cases, there should be additional storage bags/cases to cover the board carriers from dusting and external impacts.

Is It Alright for the Bags to Have No Internal Seat Belt Straps?

There are still internal strapless surfboard travel bags available on the market at present, but they are proved not to be the safest protection method. During long transportation, the bags would definitely get unwanted dings and be shoved around without straps.

The internal set belt straps are meant for maintaining surfboards in position, even if the travel bag collides with pressure. A lot of bags provide spare rooms for other accessories so they cannot fit snug to the boards. You should not buy a strapless board bag.

WindSurfingMag Overview

When it comes to transporting surfboards through multiple destinations, there is no other measure that is able to defeat the effectiveness of a surfboard travel bag. Most board bags are equipped to provide their users with the highest level of convenience.

Out of 17 premium surfboard travel bags presented here, the best overall is certainly the Pro-Lite Smuggler. Should you require a set of wheels to treat it like a suitcase, it is best to get the Dakine World Traveler Wheeled Coffin.

For the most optimal storage for board fins, most surfers would definitely go for the Pro-Lite Session. The Surfica is approved to be the most ideal for owners of longboards due to its large sizing variation.

I hope you can acknowledge more useful information about the best surfboard travel bags being reviewed in the most comprehensive way in the article. There is also a buying guide from A to Z for new customers with little experience in this field.

If you find this article beneficial for yourself and other people who are intending to buy a surfboard travel bag, the sharing button below to Facebook and Twitter is completely free! I would love to know your personal opinions in the comment section as well. Thank you for reading!