Ski Bag or Ski Tube?

packing a ST is very simple. Have been using them for years with no damages to skis. Easy to ship via UPS or FED EX. Just make sure the shipping documents are affixed to the plastic correctly- either sand a section of the case to make a spot for the tcket to stick to or use a tab around the handle.  

No, you can ship in soft bags. 

you can..........yes, but why would you? If nothing else, go to ski shop and snag some ski boxes and use those. Its much better protection.

I ended up going with a ski bag, and it worked fine for two ski trips by air last year.  I got a 2-pair ski bag mfg.(marketed?) by K2.  It may be this one:  http://www.altrec.com/k2/speed-ski-roller-bag?cm_mmc=Mercent-_-Bizrate-_-K2-_-63170-I&mr:referralID=342fc61c-b449-11de-99f3-000423c27407

Although it is made of standard heavy nylon, the ends are reinforced with rubber.  It has wheels, so even my daughter could get it from baggage claim to the rental car.  It has straps on the inside, and I bought $10 worth of bubble wrap to put around the skis, and also packed other soft stuff in there to fill in the space and serve as cushioning.  It worked fine flying to Portland, ME and SLC, UT last Spring. 

Check out the new North Face Base Camp bags. These are about the most bomber bags I have seen. They are definitely more expensive, but tough as nails.

http://www.alpinesportsoutlet.com/c-48-ski-bags.aspx

thanks for the all the replies.  Got a double ski tube for 20 percent off on sale yesterday while perusing a local tent sale.  Worked out to be same price as some of the double soft wheeled bags i was looking at. Price was too decent to pass up.  May prefer the bag in the long run as packing the thing looks tougher then it should be but i was surprised by how light and non bulky it was....we shall see.

Too bad i was with the wifey and kids...there were prophets for $350 and i would have snagged them if she wouldnt have known. tTats better then some used sales ive seen. 

I traveled with a Sport Tube for several years and eventually got so tired of dealing with it I quit using is entirely. I found it difficult to pack and I was the only one in the family who would even try to pack it. Usually resulted in a few busted knuckles in the process.

You can ship the tube.  You can pack a ton of clothing around the skis in a bag (protecting the skis).  With airlines charging per bag, it might be worth the convenience to ship skis (usless you fly SouthWest or another airline that does not charge).

I would get a ski tube for sure. I have a ski bag and a soon a ski tube. Why you may ask? I fly Northworst (Northwest Airlines). First off they will only reimburse you if your bag is completely lost or stolen. They will not reimburse you anything for broken or damaged equipment which is BS. I found this out the hard way with a friend. Also, it is a policy of Northwest to only cover up $2500 dollars of equipment. So if you carry two pairs of skis and a high end pair of boots, poles, accessories that $2500 can be burned up really quickly. Not, to mention they are a pain to deal with claims......I mean a real pain.

I ship my skis to Colorado every winter via UPS and have them insured or I just drive out there now. When I fly I only take one pair of skis with me and then have my boot bag as my carry on.

Just my friendly advice.

That whole post sounds like a good reason not to fly on a crappy airline more than a good reason to carry around a giant gapertube.

The TSA in the good ol' USA does open to inspect. I guess Europe has better X-ray equipment than the US.