Buying guide
Golf travel covers: what each one leaves of a 20kg limit
Ryanair and easyJet cap a golf bag at 20kg, and the travel cover is weighed with the clubs. Nine covers from Ogio, Sun Mountain, BIG MAX and Vessel, priced from €179.90 to $600, and how much of the 20kg each one uses.
Ryanair and easyJet both put golf clubs in a 20kg category, and the scales at bag drop weigh the travel cover along with everything inside it. Ryanair charges its excess baggage rate per kilo above 20kg; easyJet does not let you pool sports equipment with your hold luggage. Jet2 allows golf bags up to 22kg when they are booked online.
The makers list the nine covers below at between 3kg and 8.1kg, so the heaviest takes 5.1kg more of the allowance than the lightest. Most of the brands give weights in pounds, which we have converted. Prices were on each brand’s own website at the time of writing; Ogio, Sun Mountain and Vessel show US dollars, and BIG MAX’s European store shows euros.
| Travel cover | Price | Listed weight | In kg | Left of 20kg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ogio Alpha Slim | $250 | 6.6lb | 3.0 | 17.0 |
| Sun Mountain Kube | $290 | 6.8lb | 3.1 | 16.9 |
| BIG MAX Dri Lite Travel Cover | €179.90 | 4kg | 4.0 | 16.0 |
| Vessel Golf Travel Case 2.0 | $399 | 11lb | 5.0 | 15.0 |
| Sun Mountain ClubGlider Meridian | $380 | 11.3lb | 5.1 | 14.9 |
| Sun Mountain ClubGlider3 | $450 | 12.8lb | 5.8 | 14.2 |
| Sun Mountain ClubGlider3 Tour | $600 | 14.5lb | 6.6 | 13.4 |
| Sun Mountain ClubGlider Pro | $500 | 14.9lb | 6.8 | 13.2 |
| Vessel Golf Travel Hard Case | $449 | 17.9lb | 8.1 | 11.9 |
The two lightest: Ogio Alpha Slim and Sun Mountain Kube
The Ogio Alpha Slim ($250, 6.6lb) is the lightest cover here and the narrowest, at 54.5in long, 10.25in wide and 12.5in deep. The shell is recycled 1200D ballistic polyester with 600D abrasion panels inside; there is foam padding around the clubheads, a skid plate and two rails underneath, and lockable zips. Ogio says it fits most stand and hybrid bags. Ogio’s comparison chart lists treaded wheels, and an add-a-bag strap lets a wheeled suitcase ride on the cover through the terminal.
Sun Mountain’s Kube ($290, 6.8lb) protects the clubheads with plastic half-shells as well as foam, inside ballistic-style nylon, and has two-way zips down its full length. Internal dimensions are 52in by 14in by 14in. The product page lists no wheels. It folds down for storage.
BIG MAX Dri Lite: 4kg, with room for two hybrid bags
The BIG MAX Dri Lite Travel Cover costs €179.90 on the brand’s European store and weighs 4kg. It measures 130 by 47 by 35cm, has two ball-bearing skateboard wheels and a reinforced back, and BIG MAX says it takes up to two full-size hybrid bags or one large bag. BIG MAX describes its Dri Lite bags as water-repellent. Two sets of clubs in one cover would still have to come in under 20kg, including the cover’s 4kg.
Vessel: soft at 11lb, hard at 17.9lb
Vessel’s Golf Travel Case 2.0 ($399) is made from 1680D ballistic nylon with a reinforced, puncture-resistant backing board, a moulded base and a padded top. It has four compression straps (one internal, three external), two mesh pockets inside and two zipped pockets outside, and a capacity of 213 litres. It weighs 11lb, runs on two skate wheels, has leather handles and folds into a storage bag. In reply to a customer question on the product page, Vessel says the wheels can be replaced.
The Golf Travel Hard Case ($449) is the heaviest cover here at 17.9lb (8.1kg), leaving 11.9kg of a 20kg allowance for bag and clubs. It is a hard shell with foam padding inside, industrial latches, a TSA lock (key included) and in-line skate wheels. It takes drivers up to 49in and bags with moulded top handles, but Vessel says it does not fit staff bags.
Sun Mountain ClubGlider: fold-out legs, 11.3lb to 14.9lb
Every ClubGlider has a pair of legs that fold out from the back, and Sun Mountain says they carry the bag’s full weight when extended. They extend and retract in one movement and tuck into a moulded tray for the flight.
The ClubGlider Meridian ($380, 11.3lb) has ballistic-style nylon, pivoting wheels, dense foam around the clubheads, two exterior pockets and internal dimensions of 52in by 14in by 14in.
The ClubGlider3 ($450, 12.8lb) weighs 1.5lb more. It changes the fabric to 900D polyester ripstop with a matte TPU film laminate and a DWR finish, adds a thermoformed moulded casing with a velour lining, and builds in a TSA lock and an internal pocket for an AirTag. Capacity is 127.1 litres in a 53in by 14in by 17in case. The ClubGlider3 Tour ($600, 14.5lb) is a larger version, with 186.65 litres of capacity and a fur-lined interior.
The ClubGlider Pro ($500, 14.9lb) measures 54in by 16in by 14in inside and takes a staff bag or two mid-sized stand bags, held by internal cinch straps.
Flying British Airways with clubs
On British Airways a golf bag counts as one item of checked baggage when the fare includes a checked allowance; on Economy Basic fares it is paid for as an extra bag. BA’s sports-equipment page gives no separate weight limit for golf bags. BA says the bag may hold a set of clubs, a golf umbrella, a dozen balls, tees and golf shoes, and that an umbrella carried separately counts as another checked item. Golf bags go to the out-of-gauge bag drop at least two hours before a short-haul flight and three hours before long haul, and BA asks passengers to tell it about the clubs more than 72 hours before flying.
Sources
- Ryanair: What sports equipment can I bring on board?
- easyJet: Sports equipment
- Jet2: Golf carriage
- British Airways: Flying with sports equipment
- Ogio: Alpha Slim travel cover
- Sun Mountain: Kube Travel Cover
- Sun Mountain: ClubGlider Meridian
- Sun Mountain: ClubGlider3 Travel Bag
- Sun Mountain: ClubGlider3 Tour Travel Bag
- Sun Mountain: ClubGlider Pro Travel Bag
- BIG MAX: Dri Lite Travel Cover
- Vessel: Golf Travel Case 2.0
- Vessel: Golf Travel Hard Case
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