2XS Wing Flight Bag built with Paua® Pro

Legendary UK waterman Sir Simon Bassett, of 2XS fame, has collaborated with a friend of his, Pete Symms, who happens to have a business called Paua that specializes in tough impact resistant woven materials across a huge range of cross industry uses, including medical and even tactical military. Luckily for us, they’ve branched into sports bags, supplying none other than Kelly Slater with his travel bags to ensure the GOAT’s surfboards arrive at their destination undamaged. Simon and Pete got their heads together and co-designed a bag specifically for wingfoiling, which is 5’10 and 300L. Sizing is an important factor with airlines increasingly putting the squeeze on sports luggage, and to get anything over 190cm on a plane these days usually involves remortgaging, trickery or extreme charm at the check-in desk. Coming in at 180cm negates any awkward conversations and starts the trip on a less stressful footing.

The first thing you’ll notice is that the bag comes flat packed and you have to build it. This is a simple and ingenious process, two sturdy YKK zips attach the top and bottom surfaces to the side wall, which takes all of thirty seconds. Internally two internal tie down straps, and eight internal brace straps are provided to secure the board and internal dividers; these are important to install as the board helps give the bag structure across its length if you intend on loading it up with some weight, and avoid any sag in the middle when it’s on wheels. Internally there’s some deployable leaves with various pockets to separate and secure boards and foils, and even a nifty space to clip your pump. Extra bumpers are present on the nose and tail areas which traditionally get the most abuse.

Once assembled, the bag is best described as semi rigid. It has a lightweight boxy coffin-like structure. We easily loaded it with 32kg of foiling goods, two wings and two different foil sets. Wheels wise, two fully bearing rollerblade wheels Velcro onto the rear section of the bag allowing it to glide seamlessly over a polished airport floor. We removed these and tucked them in for flight once we got to the outsize desk. The Paua Pro material is tough and futuristic – think of it as a bulletproof vest for your foiling gear and you’re not far off. It’s also remarkably lightweight, scuff and impact resistant. They’ve strategically placed carry handles at both ends as well as centrally, to make the bag easy to drag and lift.

Our test involved a classic quick winter trip to Fuerteventura, with the bag in the capable but occasionally flamboyant hands of EasyJet’s baggage handlers. On arrival, two and a half men with far too much equipment then quickly realized that the car hire company neglected to provide us with the specified roof rack for our shiny Berlingo. We were seriously over volume in a diminutive vehicle and our escape of the car park in a timely fashion was looking perilous. Luckily the flat pack nature of the 2XS bag saved our bacon. In the scorching Canarian sun, we disassembled and compacted the bag and redistributed the boards and foils like an expensive game of carbon Tetris, much to the intrigue of the car rental staff. Five minutes later, we cruised out of the barriers with (relative) dignity. Once at the accommodation, you can tuck the bag flat pack under your bed, so it isn’t taking up half your hotel room. Practical and tough would be underselling it.

The Paua Pro material is made from composite Polypropylene and is 100% recyclable, minimizing the environmental impact. Just when you thought that board bags had topped out development wise, someone has flipped the whole game on its head. It’s lighter, more versatile and far more protective than a standard board bag, and with foiling equipment as expensive as it is, you could easily have £10k of equipment in there that doesn’t need unplanned airline modification. It’s a bag that will potentially last a lifetime and is well worth the investment.