Sportube Series 3 Blaze Hard Sided Telescopic Ski and Snowboard Case

Just received delivery of the larger model (37w x 18d x 183l), which is intended to carry my daughter's new snowboard (164cm), but will also be investigated to see if she can also get her skis (168cm) to fit inside together with the board. I'm not convinced, but it would be great if she can.Although we've not used the case yet (but I have borrowed one before), I've noticed a few conflicting comments about "missing parts", though appreciate some of those posts are up to 3 years old.There is nothing in the current (Dec 2014) product description which promises any extras, though I'd noticed comments about getting one pack of 3 sets of the ski bands. When I ordered it, I added a set of bands, a pair of locking pins, and two of the detachable handles.....and a pack of the bags for holding clothes.When I opened the package up, there was one of the "spring loaded" locking pins (which to be honest I'd anticipate losing on any flight, as they don't really "lock"), and there was one of the detachable handles inside the case.Unless you're needing the case in a hurry for an imminent holiday, I'd suggest it's worth waiting till you see what is/isn't inside it, before buying the extras. I now have 3 handles, and only one set of ski bands.However, while I was reading all the reviews of the 3 different models, the price for the wider one dropped by over £20, so I guess I don't mind too much :0)While in the local ski shop today, organising bindings for the new snowboard I noticed a very basic board bag, with not too much padding, for £85. For that, you can buy one of these, which I'd suggest will keep a new board far better protected on flights, on your roof-rack, or in the loft. The two grab-handles along the spine make handling the case very easy. Although the open ends might seem very flexible to some, remember that once you put the two halves together, it becomes a lot stronger....and the more the overlap, the stronger it'll be. I'd expect this type of material to be less likely to crack than some other more rigid cases I've seen. Even if it does get bashed, I'd rather have a cracked/dented case than ruined skis/board.As someone else has commented, the value of the contents can easily add up to £1,000 to £1,500, so in my view this is a very worthwhile expense to protect that gear.Once we've used it, I'll post some further info.....

This is one of the best hard cases on the market right now (if not the best).The two outer halves slide together and have multiple locking positions to choose from when bolting them together. As a result you can vary exactly how long it is to match your board sizes - no overtight fits, no sliding around, just a nice snug fit. The handles are positioned fairly equally making it a breeze to manouvre manually and there's wheels on the underside for the rest of the time.The weight was around the 7kg mark which is pretty standard for these kinds of cases. We were able to fit both our medium size boards in there with jackets and still came in under the weight limits imposed by budget airlines. There's space to fit one a half sets of snowboard boots in there too, but you'll probably go over the 25kg mark if yours weigh as much as ours.The plastic is super rigid once you have the two halves together and with a little padding on the ends of the boards you're not going to get much better protection than this.With the ability to adjust the length to your needs you get all the protection of a hard case without the size and weight problems they can sometimes come with.

looks very durable and practical . Made in USA and not in China.Your could load 3 pairs of ski if they will be all 3 160 -156 cm . Otherwise will be over 32 kg and you have to pay for over weight . I have 2 pairs 164 cm and one 152 . All 3 pairs with pools are 30.6 kg

The Sportube 3 arrived within 48 hours using standard delivery so no problems there.On opening the box, the Sportube looks massive and my tests have proved that it is easily capable of taking 3 pairs of skis and for those of you who have been seduced by the dark side (snowboarders) there should be no problems fitting your boards inside.The Sportube is extremely heavy at just under 7kgs and if you are thinking of taking 3 pairs of skis on a flight then you may well have problems with the 23kg maximum case weight imposed by so many airlines these days. For myself, I intend to pack 2 pairs of downhill skis and 2 pairs of langaluf skis (yes they will all fit inside with room to spare) so the weight should be OK as the langlauf skis weigh hardly anything.On the minus side, hence the 4 star rating, the Sportube 3 arrived without the shoulder strap promised in the product description and without any bands to secure the ski bindings in the open position and without which the skis will not fit into the box. A phone call to Amazon has since resolved the problem and the missing parts are on their way.As a suggestion, you may find that a fully loaded Sportube 3 is too heavy and cumbersome to carry on your shoulder anyway so the towing handle may be a useful optional accessary although the handles supplied are perfectly adequate for pulling it behind you.Sportube do offer straps to secure the box to roof bars but, looking at the design the roof bars on your car would have to be set the right distance apart (not always possible unless you have roof rails) and even then I wouldn't be comfortable with this option.

good sturdy case but a bit too big - too wide, but protects skis - got two pairs in (mine and husbands) and plenty of room for another pair but airlines would not allow as overweight, so we had to pad it out slightly.

Great looking, solid and roomy I can fit two pairs of skis and gloves scarfs etc. Also it protects the skis off season in my garage.

Brilliant! It fit two snowboards (without bindings), a set of skis and poles, and two sets of snowboard boots quite comfortably. Overall weight around 24kgs. The wheels on the base definitely comes in handy when dragging it around the airport and parking lot ;) Great buy!