Interesting Airline Case Questions
Equipment
So, I have a hog hunt coming up in June. I picked up this case for my Halon 32 and it fits the bow well. However, I'm going to be flying and I cannot seem to find a spot to strap down my quiver.... Any thoughts? Or should I just pack the quiver in my carry on? When it's along the edge, it bangs around in the case. And I cannot fit it by the sight either.....
Pack cloths in the case to get a secure snug fit of all your items.
+1 Wilbur, that's what I do as well.
When I used a bow case, I pulled out all the foam and packed clothes around it to pad things & hold them in place. I also put all arrows into a PVC tube that I got from Cabelas when they shipped me a fishing pole.
I now prefer to drive, but, later hunts saw me using a hard sided golf bag. Using the same arrow tube and packing clothes, tent, sleeping pad, etc to pad the bow & accessories. The advantages were that it looked less intimidating and, at least in Denver, the golf bag came out on a carousel whereas the bow cases had to be picked up inside a room. Sometimes there wasn't anyone at the room and the n you had to wait in line; sometimes long, sometimes short....
What kind of case is it...and does it have holes to place locks?
Extra clothes easiest. Otherwise install velcro attachement in the same fashion the bow is strapped down. I can't fathom not cramming the case full of extra gear though. Max it to 49 pounds! My bow case I can fit jacket, shirts, pants, lightweight boots, cased broadheads, etc.
Pop rivet a velcro strap to hold it in place AND pack some clothes in too.
Extra clothes... Protects contents and helps you keep your weight down in the other suitcase.
What the others said. No foam. Clothes.
For a June guided hog hunt I wouldn’t take anything but the bow case with my clothes packed in there. I hate lugging a bunch of luggage around airports and paying for checked baggage. It Seems to me I could pack that pretty easy under 50lbs with some stuff in my day pack as a carry on.
So short answer: pack clothes around it to secure your stuff and limit checked baggage.
And I know we all have different budgets, but if you are gonna be doing a fair amount of travel you may want to invest in a more robust case, the default is genrsally a SKB. Certainly costs a little more but more than worth the cost IMO. Get a square one and it would give you a bit more room to pack stuff with your bow. All that said, I personally travel a good amount can’t imagine using anything other than a hard bottom duffle type bag. Big fan of the Badlands terraglide, but alas it’s not made anyomore...
—jim
that is a very interesting question to be sure. some good ideas above. there has to be a solution. if there is room it will fit!
Same here. Get the rectangular SKB and pack gear around it. Works well. I had a terraglide I gave to cnelk and he did some mods to the wheels. Works great, he's a crafty bastard.
I'll have to stuff my clothes in there. I will probably mod it over the summer but I am an intermediate procrastinator (if I was a master I would have this figured out.) So I will dwell on it for the next few months. I would like to bolt some accessory boxes under the foam... haha.
Hey Cnelk I have a terraglide. Use it all the time. Curious what were those mods were to the wheels?
It appears that if you pack the quiver under your sight, instead of above it, that it might fit nicely. Packing clothes in the case is a sound idea.....and I would recommend rolling up as many articles of clothing as possible.....you'll be surprised how much it will allow you to pack.
Not to hijack, bur if anyone has a gently used black terraglide they would be willing to part with shoot me a PM, I would certainly be interested in purchasing a back up.
—Jim
Whatever you decide to use to transport your bow, be sure to take a photo of the contents before you close it up, and also place a list of the itemized contents right on top of the stuff.
That way if it gets inspected after it leaves your possession, TSA knows that you are serious about the contents.
When I got the Terra Glide from Native Oakie, I realized the wheel cups were starting to collapse, and the wheels were not aligned and were rubbing.
So I tore it all apart. Riveted alum strap alongside the wheels And also made new axles from alum rod.
On the interior I also added some reinforcements. I caulked the gaps with silicone.
Pretty? Nope.
Durable? Yep
This is just the engineer in me and I don't own a compound but it looks like the center of those cases would be easy to compress???
If so, consider measuring a couple chunks of 2 x 4 and silicone one end to the bottom, about center. Would stop the chance of compression damage.
This may be a dumb question, but have you tried rotating your quiver and putting part of your bow over the quiver so that your bow can hold it down when it is strapped down?? From the pictures, it looks like it would work.
I also give my SKB case double duty as a clothes hauler.
LKh, if you look at the OP’s pics you can clearly see those built into the case between his riser and cables. They already thought of that ;)
The heavier duty cases really don’t need them though.
—jim
The Cabelas Ripcord XL Rolling Wheeled Duffel makes a good travel duffel large enough to put a 35” axle to axle bow in. The bag is 42” x 18” x 18” and holds a bunch. It cost me $159 last winter (actually with credit card points... not much at all). I hauled two bows, quiver, arrows, release clothes, etc in a big soft bow case that I put into the rolling duffel. Then stuffed a bunch more clothes around the Bow case for a winter hunting trip to Nunavut. Worked just fine, with my other bag with binos, rangefinder and InReach being carried on.
Kurt x2. I had exerything I needed for Mexico coues in the same bag. Even had sleeping bag and a pillow, along with clothes, bow, and a dozen arrows in a shipping tube. Worked great, and they didn’t even charge me for oversized ;)
Molson, I carried two backpack style 15*F sleeping bags, arctic parka, bibs and Baffin boots along with everything else mentioned above. Was a tight fit and weighed about 70#s after the Arctic gear was added in Ottawa. On a side note the gal that checked me in at my local BC airport thought I might be going South and wanted to jump in the duffel (thought there was room in it) and go along....until she found out my destination! She’d have taken you up on a trip to Mexico!
For those with the Cabelas Ripcord XL Rolling Wheeled Duffel, what is the longest bow you think would fit in the 42", from the top of the cam to the bottom of the cam (not sure if those are interior or exterior measurements)? In other words, what are the interior length and width of the bag? I find that the Badlands is just an inch or two too short for my bows typically.
My Prime Rival is about 35-1/4" Axle to Axle with a fair sized cams. It just fits into my Prime soft-case, which in turn just fit into the Ripcord duffle with a heavy sock stuffed on each end at the cam for padding. Doubt a 36" A-A bow would have readily fit if of similar configuration.
Huh.... I clicked on this thinking it would be "interesting"..... instead of "obvious"..... =D
First thing to do with any bowcase is rip out the foam...... if you are doing any serious DIY traveling and don't want to be paying for that 3rd bag.... No room for it.
I've actually been questioned on clothing wrapping up the equipment in the case. "That's not clothing ma'am.... that is padding....." couldn't argue with no foam.... slid right on through.....
Here's a thought-shoot a takedown recurve or longbow. Pack it in a cloth duffle bag along with your arrows. Problem solved.
