Snowbee XS Travel bag for rod tubes in luggage fishing

After my near travel rod calamity coming home from Mazatlan in November, I embarked upon a semi-exhaustive search to find the perfect piece of luggage to accept my rod tubes and if when I might be forced to check them again in the future. Despite thinking “outside the box” in considering cases produced to travel with long guns, other hard cases, and even various methods for checking golf clubs onto airplanes I ultimately settled on a drop-bottom wheeled duffel as my best option. With a hard exterior base, I felt like it would protect my travel rod tube, while still carrying a lot of additional gear, all at a reasonable price, with a wide variety of uses.

Unfortunately, I made a big mistake: I assumed that my 33” Sage Rod Tube actually measured 33 inches from tip to tip. Accordingly, I ordered a Samsonite 35” duffel through Amazon. The tube did not fit inside. Then, before I could even take the bag back to a local store for the free return, I ordered and received a 37” Amazon Basics duffel. As far as I could tell, it was exactly the same bag except for the exterior graphics. I filled out a return form for that one two and toted them to the store at the same time.

Then I measured the rod tube: 35”. Apparently it will fit 33” rods, but has some padding at the ends to protect them.

Sage Ballistic Rod Tube is 35 inches long

I continued to obsessively look for additional options, although with no trips necessitating travel rods in the next few months, I briefly considered giving up. I found a couple of legit 40- and 42-inch bags, but I feared that most airlines would deem them oversized, necessitating payment of a baggage fee. Part of the reason to take travel rods in the first place is to avoid such fees, so that didn’t seem prudent.

Just as I was about to (really) give up for the time being, I somehow stumbled onto the Snowbee XS Travel Bag, which is made by a British fly fishing company with a branch in California. They advertised it as 37 inches long, but based on my prior experiences I wanted to avoid another disappointment, so I reached out to the Snowbee USA through Facebook on a Saturday night. Within 10 minutes I had my response – the bottom section of their bag would fit my tube, and if for some reason it did not I could ship it back to them for free. The quick customer service was part of what led me to pull out a credit card and make the order.

As promised, my “33 inch” tube fit inside — but not easily. I took the bag out of the box and was dubious that the tube would fit. In fact, I lined them up next to each other and was pretty much convinced that it wouldn’t. It was going to be close.

Sage Ballistic Rod Tube and Snowbee XS Travel Bag for fishing trips

Fortunately, when I unizipped the lower compartment the rod tube slid in perfectly, with enough room for a sock or a buff on either end for extra padding. It didn’t need to go diagonally, either, which means that it’ll hold multiple tubes. That bottom compartment has hard surfaces all around to further protect your tube/s or other gear. After a long slog and several other returned items, I believe I have what I need.

I like the fact that it has flexible liners in the top compartment, so that you can sequester gear (particularly dirty clothes toward the end of the trip) as your travels progress. I also like the fact that it comes in at under 10 pounds, since I’m really good at adding “just one more package of tungsten weights” over and over again until I hit 50 pounds. It has quality wheels and the handle goes in and out easily. The only potential flaw I see is that the rails on the bottom of the bag seem a little flimsy — but I have not yet confirmed that they are. Overall, I think this was the right purchase for me.

The Snowbee probably won’t go on its first international trip until we return to Mexico in June – our upcoming saltwater excursions to Guatemala and Panama just won’t require that much gear or clothing.

Snowbee XS Stowaway gear bag for fishing travel lugagge

After ordering the bag I realized that Snowbee’s XS Stowaway Case, which resembles some of the other soft-sided rod carriers I’ve previewed before, is sized to drop directly into the bottom of the Travel Bag, meaning that you can use it as a carry-on or as another layer of protection for your precious gear. Either way, that type of modular system is brilliant, and I’m kind of glad that I didn’t see it at the time because I would have been tempted to increase my purchase. As it stands, I’ll likely see how the main bag holds up to the baggage handlers’ beatings and then make a decision about the second piece.