If you happen to be moving to a cold state and you love winter sports, then you’re probably eager to get the move over and done with so that you can hit the slopes at a ski resort near your destination.
However, packing and moving your skis can be problematic – skis are rather tricky to protect for safe transport and the last thing you’d want is to see your expensive ski gear damaged when you reach the new home.
Here’s the best way to pack your skis when moving house, plus some advice on how to pack the rest of your ski gear for a safe haul.
How to pack skis in a ski bag
Without a doubt, the best way to move skis to a new home is to pack them inside their own ski bag. Now, high-quality ski bags are not cheap but getting one is an excellent investment as it will keep your pair of skis perfectly protected every time you happen to be on the road.
Here’s how to pack your skis in a ski bag for a move, step by step:
- CLEAN your skis, if necessary. Dirty skis don’t only look unsightly, but the dirt can degrade their performance as well. The thing is that you don’t want to soil the inside of the ski bag either.
- WASH your pair of skis with mild soap and sponge to remove any dirt that may have built up since the last time you’ve used them. Then RINSE OFF the skis thoroughly and wipe them dry.
- USE a base cleaner to remove the old wax and other residues, then WAX the skis with a liquid waxing product that’s appropriate for your type of skis.
- SECURE the brakes by pushing down the braking mechanism on each ski and placing a zip tie underneath. Then, squeeze the brakes together and close the zip tie to fix the brakes in place.
- MATCH the skis bases together as if you were positioning a pair of shoes in a shoe box. The tip of one of the skis should be touching the bottom of the other. The bases of both skis should fit perfectly now that the braking mechanisms are out of the way, secured with zip ties.
- STRETCH WRAP the skis into a snug bundle to keep the skis locked together and prevent any sort of damage, most likely scratching. For best results, use several rounds of stretch wrap.
- PLACE your protected skis into the specialized ski bag. If your bag is equipped with securing straps inside, use those to fix the skis into place.
- BUNDLE the ski poles together and wrap them well with stretch wrap. Then, place them inside the bag, right next to the skis.
- FILL IN the entire empty space inside the ski bag with some soft winter clothing such as your ski jacket and ski pants. You can always throw in your ski socks as well. The idea here is to fill up the space fully inside the bag so that the skis and poles can’t shift inside it. If you’ve already packed up your ski clothing separately, then use a couple of moving blankets as space fillers.
- DO NOT PACK your ski boots inside the ski bag.
- ZIP UP the ski bag. If the bag has adjustable straps on the outside, tighten those straps to compress the entire ski bag into a tight safe bundle, ready to be moved to the new home with zero damage to your pricey ski gear.
See also: How to move to the mountains
How to pack skis in a ski shipping box
If you don’t own a ski bag (maybe it’s high time you got one?), then you can use a specialized ski shipping box for the purpose of moving your skis safely to the new home. Those ski boxes are, in fact, tall telescopic boxes made of thick corrugated cardboard.
One downside of using a cardboard box to transport your skis is that those containers can be hard to get by – call your local ski shop in advance to see if you can purchase such a box from them. Bear in mind that those tall telescopic boxes offer a decreased level of protection than a ski bag and can be used only a few times before they are good only for recycling.
Here’s the best way to pack skis in a ski shipping box:
- CLEAN your skis as described in detail above.
- SECURE the brakes so that they don’t get in your way when bundling both skis together. Do this by pushing down the braking mechanism on each ski and inserting a zip tie underneath. Grab the brakes with your hand, squeeze together, and secure the zip tie that’ll hold the brakes in place.
- ALIGN the bases of the skis together like a pair of shoes inside a shoe box. The top of one ski should be touching the tail of the other. With the brakes secured with zip ties, the bases of both skis should fit perfectly.
- WRAP both skis in large sheets of bubble wrap. This time, you want a higher level of protection for your ski gear so you’ll want to replace stretch wrap with bubble wrap. Make sure both skis are completely covered in bubble wrap. USE pieces of packing tape to secure the bundle.
- SLIDE the protected skis into the shorter piece of the telescopic shipping box. In most cases, the skis will slide in without any problems whatsoever.
- BUBBLE WRAP in a tight bundle both ski poles in bubble wrap. Test the snugness of the bundle – neither of the ski poles should be moving to prevent scratching.
- SLIDE the protected ski poles into the ski shipping box. Don’t rush this step – instead, do it slowly, without exerting too much force.
- INSERT pieces of crumpled packing paper inside the box to fill in the empty space so that the skis do not shift inside the cardboard container. Stuff in as much paper as necessary so that there’s no wiggling room inside the box.
- INSERT the other piece of the telescopic box (usually the longer one) over the one you just packed until it fits snugly.
- USE several strips of packing tape to tape the two box pieces together.
Read also: What to know when moving to a cold climate
How to pack your ski gear for moving
You now know how to pack skis for a move. But what about the rest of your ski gear such as your boots, helmet, goggles, and various other ski accessories?
- Boots. Ski boots are less fragile than your skis but you still need to pack them well when moving to keep them safe. Fill each ski boot with crumpled wrapping paper (or your ski socks!) to help them keep its shape. Finally, place the ski boots in a pre-padded box of the right size, then seal shut the container.
- Helmet. Wrap your helmet in a thick moving blanket for the best protection. You can pack your ski gloves or ski socks inside it, if you wish. Get a box that’s slightly bigger than your ski helmet, place crumpled paper on the bottom, pack the helmet inside it, and fill in any remaining space with paper to prevent it from shifting inside.
- Goggles. Your ski goggles are rather fragile, so you need to take special care of them to keep them from getting broken or damaged (scratched). Wrap them up first in soft packing paper, then wrap them again in bubble wrap as a second protective layer. It’s best to pack them in the ski accessories box.
- Ski accessories. Pack any other ski accessories you own into a separate box. Don’t skimp wrapping and padding materials as most ski accessories happen to be pricey. Use tape to seal wax containers and place them into plastic bags to prevent spills.
Must-read: 10 Steps to select a good mover
