Gear Review: The Douchebag Ski Bag and Douchebags Hugger 30L

The Douchebag Ski Bag.
The Douchebag Ski Bag.

Ski Bag and Carry-On Pack
The Douchebag Snow Roller Ski Bag
$249, 8 lbs. 1 oz.
moosejaw.com
Douchebags Hugger 30L
$159, 2 lbs. 12 oz.
backcountry.com

One thing scares me about flying, and that is flying with expensive gear checked as luggage. Besides the prospect of a big trip getting hijacked by lost luggage, there’s the fear of gear being damaged. And while a good duffle usually protects gear very effectively (especially if packed with soft goods padding hard goods), skis have always seemed highly vulnerable to the machinations of airport luggage handlers—particularly in the flimsy, soft ski bags that have dominated that gear category for years. Now I worry no more, since I picked up the Douchebag Snow Roller, an adjustable, reinforced ski bag that’s like a flak jacket for your boards.

I used the Douchebag ski bag as well as the Douchebags Hugger 30L, a carry-on that piggybacks on the Douchebag, while flying for a recent trip to backcountry ski in the mountains around Lake Tahoe. Besides offering far better protection of my gear than any ski bag I’ve ever seen, the Douchebag has several unique qualities. For starters, it easily adjusts to fit any length of skis or snowboard up to 200cm/82.7 inches. Adjusting the length is very intuitive: Roll up the end of the bag until you’re up against the end of your skis; then simply remove the handle from the bottom end of the bag and attach its non-adjustable buckles to the connection rails (burly daisy chains) on the bottom side of the bag, and the adjustable buckles to the rails on the top side of the bag. Then pull the handle straps to snug them tight.

 

Once rolled tightly, the bag is rigid (unlike other ski bags), with only the wheels, and no fabric, touching the floor when you lift the bag’s top end to wheel it. The wheels roll smoothly, so transporting this long ski bag across an airport is a breeze. It also rolls up to the size of a stuffed, large-ish sleeping bag for easy storage.

A lightweight but strong ABS rib cage and 900-denier polyester fabric protect skis and other gear inside. Here’s another unique quality of the Douchebag: Its voluminous capacity. Measuring 38cm/15 inches wide and 18.5cm/7.3 inches deep, the Douchebag has up to 150 liters of space for boots and other gear, along with your boards. It’s actually larger than many gear duffles—you may need only this and a carry-on to fly to your next ski trip, which can save you money on airline luggage fees. Use nothing but the Douchebag on five round-trip flights (rather than another ski bag and a second checked piece of luggage), and this ski bag may pay for itself.

 

The Douchebags Hugger 30L may be your ideal carry-on to pair with the Douchebag. With 30 liters of volume, it has a deep, rectangular main compartment that swallowed a jacket and vest, water bottle, tablet, book, and my DSLR and its carrying case, with abundant space to spare. A side zipper accesses a sleeve that holds even a large laptop computer, and protects it behind the back pad.

The separate, zippered top pocket is small, but roomy enough for wallet, phone, and other personal items. A tough, 600-denier polyester shell and 200-denier inner lining, plus a protective ABS rib cage and a polyethylene back plate, protect contents from anything you could conceivably do to the bag while traveling through airports. It has adjustable, lightly padded shoulder straps for carrying backpack-style, or attaches to the top of the Douchebag ski bag for transport. While there’s no waist belt, the back padding helps it comfortably carry 10-12 pounds while walking between terminals.

Oh, about that name. Awkward, certainly. Apparently, the company held an online contest to come up with a name; and when that name got the most support, they decided to embrace non-conformism.

Flying with my skis has become a much less stressful experience. Now I can just focus on skiing.

BUY IT NOW  You can support my work on this blog by clicking any of these links to purchase a The Douchebag Snow Roller Ski Bag at moosejaw.com, and a Douchebags Hugger 30L at backcountry.com.

 

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NOTE: I tested gear for Backpacker Magazine for 20 years. At The Big Outside, I review only what I consider the best outdoor gear and apparel. See categorized menus of all of my gear reviews at The Big Outside.

—Michael Lanza

 

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Hi, I’m Michael Lanza, the creator of The Big Outside, recognized as a top outdoors blog by USA Today and others. I invite you to sign up for my FREE email newsletter by entering your email address in the box in the left sidebar, at the bottom of this post, or on my About page, and follow my adventures on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

 

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Leave a Reply to Roger Norberg Cancel reply

3 thoughts on “Gear Review: The Douchebag Ski Bag and Douchebags Hugger 30L”

  1. In a positive turn of events: After a few rounds of emails with Douche Bag about the flaw in mine, they have graciously agreed to send me a new bag. This shows they know the value of the customer. I think the product needs minor tweaks and they appear to have taken my comments seriously. Hats of to them and for doing the right thing.

    Reply
  2. I have had one of these bags for 2 seasons and six trips. The underside of the bag is failing already. The nylon on the bottom is not durable enough, and the cross bars create natural friction points and weak spots in the bag. The design needs to be modified. Either much tougher ballistic nylon on the bottom, or doubling up around the cross bars.

    Unfortunately Douche Bags handled this problem by telling me that its an airline issue, not them. WRONG! I’ve got Tumi bags with a million miles on them and Dakine ski bags with man-years of travel. Abrasion on the bottom of a ski bag is going to be an issue. I expect that unless they redesign the bags this company won’t be around in a couple years. Too bad because its a clever design.

    Reply