Dakine Concourse Double Ski Bag & Wheeled Duffle

Dakine Concourse Double (200cm) ski bag

Features:

• Fully padded ski protection
• Three interior pockets hold boots, outerwear, etc.
• Removable padded divider for poles
• High quality urethane wheels
• Dual end carry handles
• Locking zipper cars

Specs:

200cm length bag:
13.5 x 11.5 x 82″ [ 34 x 29 x 208cm ]
Fits max. 200cm skis

185cm length bag:
13.5 x 11.5 x 78″ [ 34 x 29 x 198cm ]
Fits max. 185cm skis

Weight
12.5 lbs. [ 5.7kg ]

Materials:

600D Polyester

MSRP: $225.00

If you insist on travelling light, don’t plan a ski vacation. You’ll quickly realize what an encumbering pile of stuff you’ve got when it all has to get packed and wheeled to the airport ticket counter.

And if you’re planning a three week expedition / BLISTER ski test, you’ll have the additional challenge of packing not one, but multiple pairs of skis (all more than 185cm in length), schlepping them through a total of eight airports and two South American bus stations, plus cramming them into a handful of small taxis.

Granted, we didn’t bring a “normal” amount of gear with us to Las Leñas. Even so, we were able to make three pairs of skis, boots, poles, helmets, a set of heel and toe binding pieces, all our outerwear—and don’t forget the avi gear—all fit easily. (And actually, on the return trip home, we managed to get four pairs of skis in each bag—we had to remove the bindings and pack them in our Wheeled Duffles—but you can ask us about that some other time.)

Perhaps the most amazing part? Our bags each came in just under the 50 lbs. weight limit.

Made with padded material throughout, the Dakine Concourse ski carry has three zippered internal compartments that will easily fit boots, helmets, and outerwear. The center compartment is accessible from the outside of the bag, which is really convenient for all those last minute packing changes.

Given the length of the boards we were testing, we had to get the 200cm model of the Concourse. The 195 cm Armada AK JJ and the 196 cm MOMENT Bibby Special fit in the bags without a problem. While designed to fit two pairs of skis with bindings, it is actually possible to fit (and yes, I mean “fit,” not “smash and jam”) three pairs with bindings in the Concourse, though one pair won’t be tied down by the straps sewn into the main compartment floor.

The material of the main compartment is a burly, water resistant, woven plastic that looks similar to your typical blue truck tarp. No need to worry about edges or ski pole tips nicking things up in transit

Speaking of poles, the Concourse features a nifty removable panel on which you can secure up to 4 pairs of poles and keep them from rattling around in there.

I never thought I’d be talking about the turn radius of a piece of luggage, but the Concourse’s turn radius is huge. (It is 200cm long, after all.) You’ll draw quite a bit of attention to yourself maneuvering the bag through the ticket line, but just tell everyone that you’re carrying RPG’s, or a dead guy, and they’ll move out of the way….

Thankfully, even with its length, the bag’s rollers get the job done. I never experienced any problems with the bag dragging while pulling the bag along. Some structural rigidity in the lower half of the bag and two buckled synch straps around its midsection help keep everything together nicely.

The construction of this bag seems very sound, and has held up well so far. The pull handles and straps show no sign of failure, and some muddy security dogs were powerless against the Concourse’s hefty fabric.

I really have nothing but good things to say about this ski bag. If you’re going on a dedicated ski vacation and need to bring pretty much all your gear with you, the Concourse makes it as easy as possible. And if your smart enough to bring only one pair of skis with you, Dakine offers a couple of smaller, inexpensive single ski carriers, too.

 

Dakine Wheeled Duffle – LG (90L) 

Features:

• U-shaped opening for easy access
• Zippered end pockets
• Retractable handle
• Replaceable urethane wheels
• Locking zipper cars

Specs:

Volume
5480 cu. in. [ 90 L ]

Size
30 x 16 x 15.5″ [ 76 x 41 x 39cm ]

Weight
9.2 lbs. [ 4.2kg ]

Materials:

600D Polyester
420D Nylon Dobby (Black)

MSRP: $170.00

For hauling around our street clothes, goggles, power cords, cameras, shoes, etc. (plus several extra sets of bindings on the way back), we used the Dakine Wheeled Duffle. It’s a simple, functional bag that fits a surprising amount of gear, but it isn’t so enormous that you’ll feel like a fool when using it for a weekend trip.

I particularly liked the two end pockets, the inner walls of which are padded and have a slight amount of rigidity to them, for storing shoes and my Dopp kit.

The back end of the bag has a sturdy plastic handle that doubles as a “kickstand” of sorts to help the duffle stay upright on it’s own when propped up. The retractable handle was sufficiently long and stowed easily, no silly over-engineered locking system. The zippers track easily, and the main U-shaped pocket is cut so that everything zips up easily, even when the bag is stuffed full.

I do have one small gripe: the Velcro strap that’s meant to keep the two carry handles together is too small. Every time I collected my bag at the baggage carousel, the straps had come undone. A strap secured by metal button-snaps would be better. It’s a tiny, easily correctable design flaw, and the fact is that I would still purchase this bag in a heartbeat, regardless.

The Wheeled Duffel is relatively cheap for a rolling duffel of it’s size, and serves it’s purpose perfectly. If you’re in the market, get one.