Review: Thule’s First Rolling Snowboard Bag

Whether you fly in or live close, getting your gear safely to the slope is required. Doing it in style is a plus. Thule’s new RoundTrip Double Snowboard Roller and Backpack make it all happen.

Functionality ★★★★
The 900D polyester tarpaulin exterior and sturdy, lockable zippers keep the elements (including other travelers’ junk) from battering your board in transit, leaving that up to your carving skills. There’s room for everything you need, including a second snowboard. Even over-packers can make it work thanks to a few strategically placed, expandable panels. The real perk is analog connectivity—the backpack buttons onto your roller so you can drag one item, not two.

Compression straps hold everything in place while abundant handles and heavy duty three-inch wheels make portability a non-issue.  Internal pouches keep clothing safe from getting shredded on your board edge and foam pads surround the nose and tail to keep the board edges from shredding the bag.

Design and Aesthetic ★★★★
As with most of Thule’s products, form follows function. The simple, almost stark design is accented with little pops of contrasting color on the zipper pulls, hinting at the color waiting inside.

The one design flaw I see, which may have been wishful thinking on my part, is that I’d expect the bags when connected, to stand up on their own. But you can’t win ’em all.  I ended up shoving a sweater under the front and it works just fine.

Bucking the trend of hyper-logo-ization so prevalent in the outdoor market, there are only a few hits in non-contrast name stamps. Yes, they’re in key, visible spots but the silver on greyish approach makes it noticeable without being offensive, acting as a reminder of why you bought this gear in the first place—simplicity and quality.

Durability ★★★★★
The straps are solid. Zipper’s zip without a catch. Even the lining feels beefy. Usually the clips are the weakest link on backpacks (I’ve thrown away many-a bag because the clips shatter over time). In this case, the clips are noticeably heftier than your average bag clip. Think waist-strap clips on a 80 Liter pack.

The most fragile parts are the buttons that connect the board and boot bags. It’s hard to tell now but because the backpack doesn’t rest on the ground while connected, it just seems that over time, the button loop holding the boot bag’s weight might eventually fail. But these things may have been forged in Dwayne’s Johson’s sweat so who knows.

My favorite feature though is the crush-proof compartment on top.  I break sunglasses fast enough to force a conversion to the $10 and under rack but that’s now going to be revisited.  I love gear that makes the rest of my junk A) Work Better or B) Last Longer.  Shades included.

Value ★★★★
The RoundTrip Double Snowboard Roller and Backpack are sold separately at $229 and $99 respectively putting it at the high end for a rolling snowboard bag. On the flip side, there aren’t many double bags on the market and that matters since my plan is to bring along a splitboard for those days when the groomers just aren’t doing it for me. Over just a few seasons, my board cut right through the thin material of my previous Burton bag. That’ll be the last time I protect my board in what was essentially a canvas t-shirt.

Between the solid build, stout materials and aesthetics, I think these bags will be around for the long haul.