Transporting helmet overseas

[bubbas45]

Howdy, folks. We're going on a tour in June to Spain. I'm curious how other folks carry their helmets on planes. Is there a particularly good, padded helmet bag that I could use as carry-on? We never have much carry-on luggage, so a helmet bag won't take the place of something else. Riding suits go in a checked backpack. I'm reluctant to commit the helmets to the good will of the baggage busters.

 

thanks, bws

[leikam]

I have this bag, which is great for casual carrying. You might also check out this catalog page for some more robust options.

 

btw, I have flown with that bag as a carryon and it was no problem. If I had a lot more luggage or lost my mind and considered checking it, I'd look for something beefier.

[Couchrocket]

BMW makes a beauty!

 

[E30TECH]

I put my helmet in my saddlebag liner (Cee Bailey) and brought it on the plane with me (in addition to my carry on suitcase).

[Green RT]

I was given my current helmet (BMW System 5) in Berlin. It came with a light fabric cover with draw string. I carried it home with that through carry-on just fine.

[Steve_Witmer]

The only time I flew with riding gear, I intentionally brought my old helmet, packed clothing inside it and clothing around it, and checked it through hoping for the best.

 

That helmet is only kept around for contingencies, i.e. visitor might want to borrow a helmet, so I wasn't going to cry if they broke it.

[RFW]

Impress the crew and scare the passengers, by wearing it onboard!

[Fast Eddy]

Just returned from a trip to New Zealand and have done tours in europe. We put our riding suits in the biggest suit case we have pants on the bottom fill the helmets with gloves etc. then put them on top of the pants then put the jackets on top of them, boots on either side so the helmets are surrounded..My wife and i both have Aerostich 2 piece suits. We ,ve had no problems so far. Just watch the weight.Use a bathroom scale to get an aprox. stand on the scale then lift the bag.Intl. I think was 45 lbs.They'll charge you quite a surcharge if you go over.

Good luck Have a GREAT TRIP!

[bubbas45]

Howdy, folks. Thanks for all the suggestions--and the well wishes on our trip. We've never been overseas on a bike trip and are quite excited.

 

bws

[bubbas45]

Closing the loop on this thread. We ending up buying a couple of these helmet bags: Parts Unlimited bag from Helmet Harbor

 

The bags were roomy enough for helmet and gloves, snacks, reading material, wet wipes, etc. Fit well in the increasingly tiny overhead bins. We wore our boots and carried our moto jackets. It was a bit of schlepping...I didn't realize we would have to pick up our checked luggage in Montreal, tote it around, wait in line for over an hour to give the next airline our luggage, then rush for the gate; get off the plane in Barcelona, wander aimlessly for a while, then get back out on the tarmac and a bus ride to another cramped plane.

 

Nevertheless, we were comforted by the fact that we would definitely arrive with our critical riding gear.

 

Coming back, we packed the boots, jackets, and gloves in our checked baggage.

 

BTW, we had so much fun, we're going back to Europe in September for another moto trip.

 

bws

[DR Major]

Since we were renting a GS in Italy, we bought GS BMW bag liners. The helmets fit in them along with camera, GPS, Autocom, and Misc essentials.

 

This also allowed us to know just how much room we would have to pack the bike when we got there.

 

The bags fit into overhead just fine.