Snowboard shipping within the US advice?

purpletiesto · August 16, 2014

Hey guys, I need a little help with a shipping issue, I hope someone has some info that can help

I recently bought a snowboard and need to get it shipped from Colorado to California. I have shipping sorted from California to Australia, but I'm not sure how to get the board from Colorado to California.

Does anyone have any good (and cost effective) transportation options from CO to CA.

Cheers guys :o

Algunderfoot · August 16, 2014

UPS or USPS have always worked well for me....

bumpyride · August 17, 2014

I've always used USPS (Post Office). In addition to that, I've never used a box for a couple of reasons: A box always seems to get crushed or an end opened, and a box almost always steps the shipping rate up a notch. Best way to ship (at least that I've found) is to do a kind of Mummy wrap. Take the board and tightly wrap it with 2 layers of cardboard on top, bottom and sides with an extra 12' of length-6" on front and 6" on back of board. Fold the extra length and Duct tape the 2 ends with a couple layers of tape. Never had a board damaged that way, and has always been the least expensive and safest way to ship.

Pat Donnelly · August 17, 2014

Here you go . . .

http://www.bomberonline.com/VBulletin/showthread.php?7651-Snowboard-shipping-101

purpletiesto · September 3, 2014

Thanks guys, great info, that's definitely how I'll get the board done.

Cheers!

www.oldsnowboards.com · September 3, 2014

Typically about 30-40$ US via UPS or Fed Ex Ground. Both sites have estimators.

rjnakata · September 10, 2014

There's definitely a cost difference between the carriers . For example to send a Madd 170 (I have actually done this):

70" x 12" x 3" "burrito packaging", 12#, from SoCal (92604) to Durango (81301):

USPS Priority 3-day: $17.70 (purchased online)

FedEx ground: $24.08

UPS ground: $30.64

All are tracked, insured ($50 free, add $ for higher insurance rates), and take about 3 days.

I find this disparity is true for other farther cross country destinations: USPS is the least costly (and reliable/convenient also in my experience).

Some sellers insist on UPS or FedEx, but I think that's out of familiarity vs. having done the comparison.

lafcadio · October 7, 2016

On 8/17/2014 at 11:16 AM, Pat Donnelly said:

Here you go . . .

http://www.bomberonline.com/VBulletin/showthread.php?7651-Snowboard-shipping-101

Does anyone know how to find this article on the new forum? Or where the equivalent might be? Tried searching with Google and using the forum search options with no luck.

Thanks!

boostertwo · October 7, 2016

Likely here:

https://web.archive.org/web/20140708151037/http://www.bomberonline.com/VBulletin/showthread.php?7651-Snowboard-shipping-101

Hope it helps.

Cheers, B-2

Jack M · October 11, 2016

That was part of the FAQ forum which appears to have been discarded. :-(

west carven · October 11, 2016

howdy all

Snowboard shipping 101.

might be best if there's no "conversation" in this thread. If you have questions, feel free to email me directly. Same if you think of something I should add, or you see something that needs to be corrected, etc.

OK. This comes up often enough that I decided to take the time to try and simplify it for folks, based on my experiences. Obviously there are other methods and other perspectives, but this has worked for me numerous times in the past

1st, I should state that the BEST shipping method for a snowboard is to use a long, fairly flat box. Ski and snowboard shops often have these on hand, and will usually just give them to you. I have done this more than once. If you can pull this off, all you need is some bubble wrap on the tip, tail and waist to fill out space.

Many of us dont have shops nearby, or even if we do they might not have something suitable, SO, here is my method:

Tools needed:

Box Cutter (stay away from Homeland Security workers!)
Tape gun (makes things much, much easier and more precise, but not totally necessary)
Tape measure

1) Measure the board to be shipped using whatever standard is in your area (inches are more convenient in the states due to box sizing standards). You will want the length and width

2) Obtain a standard shipping box that has appropriate dimensions:

the depth (height) of the box will be the width of the board to be shipped plus at least 2-3 inches to allow for a buffer area around the edges. Suitable sizes are readily available from "Pack and Ship" places, or if youre not too proud you can do some trash digging. DONT use these places for anything but buying materials if necessary. they will rape you.
the length and width of the box must add up (2 x L + 2 x W) to the length of the board plus at least 4-6" for both the tip and tail (8-12" longer than the actual length of the board). For instance, a 24X16X12 box, when laid flat as shown in pics would end up 12" wide and 84" long, leaving plenty of space on the sides and ends.

this box will be slit in one corner, and laid flat (see pics).

3) Make tip and tail protectors out of cardboard. These should extend past the start of the sidecut and cover both top and base (see pic). Secure with tape. There is no need to tape directly to the board (will leave residue on topsheet so avoid!) If you tape the sides correctly you can snug these just fine without it.

4) Lay the board flat, base down, on your fully opened box. (pic)

5) Pull one end up flush with the nose. Cut slits lengthwise along the creases in the box (where the "top" and "bottom" would fold) to just even with the nose. Fold this piece up and over the nose. In this instance, you might want to use a small amount of tape to secure this flap to the board, OR you can proceed to step 6 to hold this flap in place. (see pic, I used tape on this one). Do the exact same for the tail section.

6) Fold the "sides" over this flap and tape securely. I use one piece of tape across, then run one lengthwise and press it down with the butt of my tapegun. (see pics). This might result in gaps between the sections. If so, before folding the sides, cut a few sections of cardboard to fit the width, and place these under the gaps before securing the sides (logic will show you what to do, also see pics). Run a length of tape over these filled gaps for extra security.

7) Repeat step 6 for all "sides."

8) You will now have excess flaps protruding past the tip and tail. These can be cut, but if you fold them over they provide an added layer of protection (see pics) so simply turn the board over and fold the flaps over. You will likely find that you will need to do some trimming here to eliminate overhanging material. I find that "scoring" a line across the cardboard at the folding area helps it be a little more precise.

9) Secure the results of step 8 with tape, and inspect the whole package for necessary tape reinforcement. It is probably best to not leave any openings.

10) You're done! If you've done this correctly, you will have a 1" or more "buffer" area along the edges, the tip and tail will be doubled up (tripled up even) on protection and youre ready to ship!