When you first begin surfing, your number one priority is to choose the perfect surfboard. You spend hours looking for the right board for you and once you have it in your possession, you realise that you don’t want any harm to come to it. So it is therefore vital to protect your surfboard for all it is worth; this is where the best surfboard bags come into play.
Quick Verdict
Great level of protection with this surfboard bag
Air cooled to help prevent your wav from melting on a hot day at the beach
Why do I need a Surfboard Bag?
- Protection: When I’m not in the water with my surfboard, you will find it inside my garage. This is where my children are riding bikes and scooters around without a care in the world. Based on the fact that I love my children and don’t want to have to put them up for adoption due to damaging my boards – I ensure that each of my surfboards is safe inside a travel bag. This means my board can withstand the day to day knocks without any damage.
- Travel: Depending on your location and vehicle, there is going to be some type of travel involved in getting to the ocean. Now this may mean that you need a day bag, so that you can strap your board to the roof of your car nice and tightly without worrying about roof straps cutting into your surfboard. It might be that you are travelling by see or bus and need to check your surfboard into a departure area. Not all staff at the airport are concerned about out.of.the safety of your surfboard, therefore having a surfboard bag will ensure that your board is going to be safe as it is loaded on and off different modes of transport. One advantage to travelling with a surfboard is that you can also smuggle in your clothes to help reduce any weight concerns over your travel baggage.
- Storage: If like me you have more than one surfboard, then a travelbag, which allows you to store more than one surfboard inside it, is a worthwhile purchase as it can store your boards in one place without taking up too much roo and also offer that protection which we spoke about earlier.
Best Single Surfboard Bags
Northcore “Aircooled Board Jacket” Shortboard/Mini Mal/Longboard Bag
Surfing and innovation go hand in hand as designers are always looking for new and improved technology. Just look at how popular and improved the soft top surfboards have become in recent years.
This surfboard bag is designed to help offer the best of both worlds when it comes to long distance travel and day use. With 10mm padding in the nose and tail, you can feel reassured that this will protect your board while on flights due to the tough high end specifications. The mid section of the board is 5mm so will still offer plenty of protection for you board.
The “Aircooled” advertising comes from the tail vent that allows air to circulate in the bag. This is great from a day bag, as if you are out at the beach all day you don’t need to worry about the risk of wax melting due to high temperatures. It has all the standard features you would want, such as padded carry handles and shoulder steps. It also comes in a military style Olive which I personally think looks great. For me this is one of the best surfboard bags on out there and suits single board travels.
This ranges in sizes from 6’0” shortboard to 9’6” longboards, so you can certainly find the best bag for your board in this range.
Olaian Surfboard Cover
One of the more protected single use bags on offer, this single use travel bag offers great protection for your board with 10mm foam throughout the whole board. You will find this board bag very durable due to the polyester fabric on the outer section and the injected plastic fastening that is aimed at reducing the corrosive effect that salt water will have when putting your board in and out of the bag after use.
There are more than option available, but the one we looked at was perfect for a 7’3” board. Obviously if your board falls below that measurement there isn’t any harm in buying a slightly bigger bag. It also comes with a two year warranty so should there be any faults, you can always report them and exchange it for a new one.
Dakine Mission Surfboard Bag – Jon John Florence Model
We’d all love to surf with the style and skill of Jon John, however it’s not quite that easy. However, with this surfboard bag you can at least travel like him.
Aimed more towards the shortboard thruster market, this board bag has 10mm padding throughout, meaning you can chuck your board inside and then the airport workers can chuck your bag in the plane (as we know they are going to do!).
It has durable yet lightweight fabric and a heat reflecting energy shield on the bottom to help keep your board cool when indie the bag. There are separate internal compartments to store fins and wax and the standard shoulder pads, which feature a nice little feature in that they have a non slip shoulder pad, which is surprisingly useful.
This is a higher end bag and looks brilliant – so if this is important to you then definitely take a closer look. Probably the best high performance surfboard bag.
Northcore Addiction Shortboard/Fish Hybrid Surfboard Bag
Made for all your shortboard protection needs, this surfboard bag offers high quality at good value. One of the benefits to this bag and in fact the whole range, is that there are number of different sizes on offer. They range from 6’0” to 7’0” and are wide fitting so you will definitely be able to find yourself a bag to help protect your board too and from the ocean.
With 5mm of padding and a waterproof inner and outer this bag is a suitable option for the everyday surf bag. It has durable heavy duty zips and a carry sling, so if you need to transport you board around over a long distance it will help you share the load.
A great budget surfboard bag.
FCS Day Runner Funboard Surfboard Bag
Available in multiple different lengths, this is a very cool design option created by FCS. With a high density 5mm padding through the bag, you get a good level of board security. As with most of the day use bags we have reviewed, you can expect a velcro fin slot to help with transport, as well as a padded shoulder strap and grab handle to help you ferry your board around.
The benefit of this board bag is the number of size options available. They range from 6’0” to 8’0” so you can be sure to find a suitable option for your various boards.
Basic Barry Longboard Surfboard Bag
Topping out at a whopping 9’6” this longboard surfboard bag will allow you and your longboard to get from A to B with relative ease.
Similar to its sister version (the Shortboard/Fish Hybrid), this Basic Barry surfboard bag is an excellent product for a travel or day bag. If you need to strap your board onto your roof rack, you can have peace of mind that the board will stay ding free due to the 5mm padding on offer. There is a velcro fin slot to store your fins while in transit. It is waterproof and very durable so you will get everything you need form this board bag at a very reasonable price.
Best Multi Surfboard Travel Bags
Olian Double Surfboard Travel Bag
The Olian range is designed by surfers and you can tell, as this bag is efficient and useful for anyone wishing to transport more than one surfboard around with them. The capacity for this bag will allow up to two shortboards that are no longer than 7’0” in length. It has a coffin design for easy opening and closing. There is plenty of content protection with a 10mm outer foam and polyester fabric. It also has a board separator to help the boards causing damage while pilled up in transit. The internal strappings also allow for your boards to be locked down tight – which is ideal when you are moving around as there is less chance of your rails being damaged as the bag is handled.
Ocean and Earth Triple Coffin Shortboard Surfboard Bag
A strong contender for best multi surfboard travel bag due to its high level of protection, it’s size and general all round usefulness. This board bag will allow you to travel with up to three 7’0” boards (if they are small maybe you can squeeze in an extra one).
Some of the nice features available with this board bag are the extra protection on high impact areas. For example you have 25mm within the nose, rails and tail. It also has double thick gusset padding, so you will struggle to find a more protected board bag. There is a hanging hook feature so that you can store your bag off the ground should you need to. This might be useful when you are storing your gear in the garage for when you aren’t using the boards.
There are extremely comfortable shoulder straps – which are needed if you are lugging three boards around with you. It also has compression straps to help shrink the bag to size to keep everything compact and in place.
FCS Travel 2 Surfboard Bag
A slight hybrid in terms of a multi board travel bag. This bag has capacity for a maximum of two surfboards. With a coffin style design, the full length zipper allows you easy access when it comes to putting your boards into the bag. This is important as it means you can fully protect each board by ensuring that the protective lining can be stored securely around the board as you stack them on top of each other.
The polyester skin of the bag provides a durable outer core and the 10mm padding through the nose will mean the more fragile areas of your boards are well protected.
Dakine Recon Double Surfboard Boardbag
One of the best looking travel bags you will see in the list, Dakine really knows how to make their board bags look the part and it’s hard to argue against this bag. A thick polyester skin will help keep this bag in one piece for a long time. The heat reflective energy shield bottom to help prevent your wax from melting. As standard, the shoulder strap is baded as is the carry handle to make this easy to transport. As there are two boards to be stored there is a secondary sleeve to ensure both boards get to their destination without being dinged up! It comes in a range of sizes so can take boards from 6’0” to 7’0”.
Ocean and Earth Double Coffin Shortboard Surfboard Bag
Just like her sister “board bag”, which were reviewed above, this is a quality multi board bag that can be used to ensure two surfboards are safely transported around. I won’t over egg the details on this one, as the review for the triple is very similar to this surfboard bag. The best features are the increased amount of protection you get, with the 20 mm protection on the rails and the 10-mm foam protection throughout the entire board.
It features the patented handy hook which is exclusive to Ocean and Earth. You won’t be disappointed with your choice if you need to move more than one bag around at a time.
Best Surfboard Socks for Short Boards, Mini Mals and Longboards
Ho Stevie Surfboard Sock Covers
Firstly, this range caters for all surfboard types and sizes. So know matter what type of surfboard you want to cover, they will have something to protect your board. The best features of their range of surfboard socks are the super stretch towelling material which retains its “memory”. Essentially thins means your sock wont become a saggy sack of material to loosely wrap around you board.
The nose of the sock has added protection to avoid any unwanted dings. The surfboard sock is a worthwhile investment if you plan on doing lots of travel with your boards. As mentioned you may want to use it as an addition to your travel bag or maybe just as a lightweight cover as you take it in and out of a car.
Victory Surfboard Sock Cover
The victory surfboard sock range can cater for a wide variety of shortboards and longer fish shapes. It provides a perfectly functional job of keeping you board with some added protection. It comes with a nice storage bag so that you can keep it stored neatly away when not in use and features an easy close drawstring to help fasten your board up once inside the sock. Perfect for a cover over your board so that you do not get wax all over your clean car.
Olaian Surfboard Sock Cover
The Olaian surf company have a vast range of surf sock covers. They are robust in the fact that the material used frays less than a classic textiles sock. The benefit of this that you are less likely to find holes or loose threads as it inevitable catches loose debris such as park benches and walls. The cotton fleece doesn’t stick to the wax on your board so your experience of sliding it on and off the board will be fairly pain free.
Wave Tribe – Surfboard Sock for Shortboards, Mini Mals and Longboards
These surfboard socks are made from breathable fabric and provide a snug fit for your board. There is a cool skull design, which will help your board stand out in a crowd that’s for sure. This product features a hemp nose protection with 5mm impact padding. This is useful as not all surfboard socks have this feature, so you get some additional padding for that extra peace of mind.
What are the differences between Surfboard Bags?
If you are unsure as to what to look for in a surfboard bag, then decide what you need it for. If you are going on holiday and require more than one surfboard on your trip, then have a look at a multi surfboard travel bag. The multi surfboard travel bags allow you to carry more than one surfboard at a time and is useful if you have a family who are keen surfers, or need to pack a variety of sized boards for your trip.
Alternatively, if you just need to carry one surfboard, take a look at a single surfboard day bag. The advantages of this will be a lower cost and also it will be more specific to your needs as you can buy one that fits your board exclusively. Unless you are transporting multiple boards, this is probably your best option in terms of maximising the use you will get from it.
One final option you may see on the market will be that of a sock or stretch cover. These offer limited protection because their thickness is slightly less than that of a single board bag (typically 2mm). You may actually opt for one of these surfboard socks as a means to put inside your other surfboard bag so that you have some additional protection. There would be nothing worse than spending hundreds of pounds on the perfect surfboard bag to only end up getting it dented by some careless human who doesn’t understand the importance of keeping your Quiver ding free.
At surf unleashed we have tested a wide variety of each of these styles and will therefore offer advice based on which board bags we found to have the best features. This includes all bags from longboard surf bags, mini mals and mini fishtails. You will find the right bag to suit your needs.