Packing down kites for travel

Dern · Since 11 Jul 2010 545 Posts Vancouver, WA Addicted

Trip to the Big Horns coming up. Anyone have some pro tips for packing the kites down nice and compact? I'm guessing folding the kite is superior to rolling in this case.

beech · Since 21 Aug 2010 485 Posts Longview, WA Obsessed

Mystic vacuum bags. scrunch em down real good

ldhr · Since 21 Jul 2009 1487 Posts Hood River XTreme Poster

Walmart storage bags..... with vacuum nozzle attachment.
Vacuum works great but if you don't have a vacuum it's easy to sit on the bag to get the air out.

TommyK · Since 18 May 2015 48 Posts

Buy Strut-less from Boardriding Maui ??

Sasquatch · Since 09 Mar 2005 2099 Posts PNW Bigfoot

Brian H · Since 08 Aug 2015 54 Posts

Get a roll of tp and pad any pointy objects ( valves , tie straps around one pump hoses etc) before you vacuum the bags.

lewmt · Since 04 Aug 2010 182 Posts MT Stoked

What is your timing going up there? Wife & I will be there 25th & 26th. We'll be bringing a big towable sled with some room in it for a couple more kites. You'll likely need a 14(12) & 10(9) for most conditions up there. 7 possibly but it usually only gets like that in storm conditions & that usually means really flat light & not-so-fun kiting. Are you taking a bile in? If so 3 kites usually pack pretty good on the tunnel. The wally-vacuum-bags work great for flying but if they are getting bounced around on the back of a sled you might find some scabs in the canopy in places.

BigR · Since 05 Jul 2005 372 Posts White Salmon Obsessed

My wife and I each year travel between Cabarete, Hood River,
Tampa, Outer Banks regularly (and Miami blah, no kiting there anymore even though I was the first to kite there....avoid at all costs ) with a 7m 9m and 14m.
I put them all 3 in a really large army duffle bag. All the rest of the
equipment goes into a smaller army duffle bag (boards go in a 3rd). Never
been above 35 pounds. My wife is 120, me 200# so we don't have to
use the same kites at same time. I've never used the vacuum
thingy, but always folded them up nice and tight. And then if you are
elite can take like 3 bags each plus carryon easy.

Wind Slither · Since 04 Mar 2005 2611 Posts The 503 METAL

I've never gone the vacuum route or had luck with folding attempts. But laying them out, getting all the air out and rolling them tightly and smoothly from the wing tips in gets them pretty dang compact. Then put a strap or some sort of tie to keep them in that state.

Even if you like the way Cloud kites fly, I did not find the lack of struts helped them pack down any better.

Bargeslayer · Since 08 Jul 2012 100 Posts Stoked

Does anyone have any experience with folding kites and laying them over surfboards in a board bag?

snowbunny · Since 05 Nov 2013 54 Posts

This guy gets 4 kites, 2 boards, and gear into his bag:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bSpuRpdjGM0

Clearly a big bag but maybe a few tips in there that can also help with smaller bags.

Windian · Since 28 Apr 2008 898 Posts Newport, OR NEWPORT OG

Just did some travelling using both Alaska and Fiji Air to the South Pacific. Almost all the airlines are strictly enforcing the 50 lb max limit per bag. They seemed to be more adamant about enforcing that verses the size limitations. Trying to pack mulitple boards, kites, harness, bar and pump into one bag will for sure put you over the weight limit, then the cost goes sky high.

jerp · Since 22 Feb 2013 453 Posts Obsessed

Dern · Since 11 Jul 2010 545 Posts Vancouver, WA Addicted

I know that the snowboard and boots + bindings will be taking a considerable amount of the weight already. Mainly concerned with fitting a 17, 12, 10, and 7m into my suitcase. Might ditch the 10m for the trip, though.

Lewmt, I'll be there with a group from the 17th-20th.

Thanks for the tips everyone. Especially with the pokey objects, didn't think about that in the context of the vac-bag.

toddjb · Since 16 Oct 2007 271 Posts MD Obsessed

Yeah, pokey objects are bad.

In my experience (I did several vacuum bag trips) it's not worth the effort. Just practice folding your kites as small as possible and travel with less kites. It is usually the weight that gets you more than the space. Bring the small one as a carry-on if you need to bring 3 or 4 kites.

No matter what you decide, you'll need room in your bags to hold all your kites non vacuum compressed. You may get a leak in the bags, which are fragile, or airport security may open them up to have a look and they are not going to compress them back down.

dyyylan · Since 14 May 2014 26 Posts Hood River

The two most important things (imo of course) are getting 99.999% of the air out of the bladders, and having everything folded perfectly

i always start by rolling the kite up as tightly as I can, just to get as much air out as possible

then unroll everything and start folding - the important thing is to pay attention to how the leading edge is sewn. Usually after a session I smush it in half, but when folding it for space I try to fold the whole leading edge down at the seam where it meets the canopy. If you have ever ordered a kite, this is how they come from the factory as well.

after that it's just figuring out which sections to fold, which depends on the kite. My fuels practically fit into a shoebox since the whole kite is basically a big rectangle, but bow kites with pointy wingtips might take up some more space. or less, try it and see Very Happy