Sustainable and Experiential Travel

The 8 Best Ski Boot Bags of 2025, Tested and Reviewed

The 8 Best Ski Boot Bags of 2025, Tested and Reviewed

Catching fresh tracks is every skier’s dream, and the first step is to get all of the necessary gear and accessories to the ski resort with you. While going through a mental packing list can work for some skiers, the best way to keep your boots, outer layers, gloves, helmet, and goggles organized is by using a ski boot bag.

We tested 27 ski boot bags in a range of sizes and styles to determine the best options for every type of downhiller. Travel + Leisure expert testers and editors packed the bags for several ski trips over the course of two seasons. Our top pick is Backcountry’s updated Cottonwoods Ski and Snowboard Boot Bag, which has been revamped with new and improved materials. However, if this bag doesn’t entice you, we have other recommendations based on organization, size, and style preferences for every ski level.

Backcountry Cottonwoods Ski & Snowboard Boot Bag
PHOTO: Backcountry

After testing and loving Backcountry’s original ski boot bag, we were excited to get our hands on the newest model, now made with more durable polyester and nylon. In terms of design, the bag is almost identical to its predecessor, with features like a U-shape front zipper, ventilation, a fleece-lined goggle pocket, and a standing mat for your ski boots to contain moisture. The most notable difference is the feel of the fabric in the newer version: it’s much less rigid and stiff, which makes the backpack feel more comfortable to carry and much less bulky. Although the new backpack has a 55-liter capacity (17 liters more than the original), it feels much easier to carry when fully packed.

We had no issues fitting ski boots, a jacket, a pair of ski pants, and a helmet in the main compartment with room to spare. The spacious top pocket also has a cozy fleece lining, making it the perfect home for fragile goggles and smaller items like gloves and a neck gaiter. The bag boasts lots of padding for comfort and protection, and we particularly loved being able to tuck away the backpack and hip straps if we needed to check the backpack in while flying. (It’s also helpful if you have the matching Backcountry ski bag we also tested since the boot bag can be attached). We used the bag on several ski trips, and the upgraded materials proved to be plenty durable when the bag was tossed around a car and ski resort.

The Details: Polyester and nylon | 55 liters | 4.5 pounds | 26 x 15.75 x 13 inches

Thule RoundTrip Snowboard and Ski Boot Backpack 60L
Thule RoundTrip Snowboard and Ski Boot Backpack.
PHOTO: Thule

From top to bottom, the latest Thule Roundtrip 60L feels well-made and is outfitted with plenty of padding, pockets, and straps for transporting your items safely and comfortably. The compact design features a main compartment where you can slide your boots inside so they sit against your back. The body of the pack also includes a padded helmet compartment, keeping the overall design shorter and easier to wear, pack, and lift into overhead bins and locker spaces. For easy access to small accessories, the large side pockets include organizational features like mesh sleeves and zippered pockets. Throughout our tests, we especially loved the thick and durable polyester materials. We checked the bag on a long-distance trip to Japan and all of our gear arrived safely and intact — ready for the slopes.

The Details: Polyester | 60 liters | 2.76 pounds | 22.83 x 14.76 x 14.37 inches

Dakine Boot Locker DLX 70L
PHOTO: Dakine

There’s a lot of gear prep involved with skiing, and this Dakine boot backpack makes it easy for us to pack and organize everything to ensure we have what we need. It has a structured, rectangular design with multiple compartments so we can easily place items and see what we’ve already packed. The designated pockets also make packing a breeze, and we particularly love the boot compartment and the helmet pocket to keep the hard goods separated from the clothing items.

Whether traveling by car or plane to get to the ski resort, the bag can be carried comfortably with padded, adjustable backpack straps, or the duffel bag handles. Plus, the backpack straps can be tucked away so they don’t get caught or dragged when carrying it like a duffel bag. Overall, the functional design and durable materials add to the value of the pack, but we do wish it had drainage holes or vents in the boot pocket for drying out the section after wet ski boots are stored.

The Details: Recycled polyester and rubber | 70 liters | 2.04 pounds | 19.68 x 14.56 x 13.38 inches

High Sierra Trapezoid Boot Bag
PHOTO: High Sierra

We’ve tried a lot of ski boot bags in the past few years, and sometimes, the most technical ones aren’t always the best performers. For example, this High Sierra boot bag has a functional yet simple design that thoroughly impressed our professional ski racing coach tester. It weighs less than a pound and can be folded completely flat in the off-season, which is helpful if you don’t have a lot of storage space.

With one main compartment and two side pockets, the bag is spacious enough to fit ski boots in the middle section, along with a helmet, pants, jacket, gloves, goggles, a lunch box, and a water bottle with room left over. It also boasts padding in the back and adjustable shoulder straps, so we found it plenty comfortable to carry from the car to the lodge. After using it 15-plus times during our initial testing period, the bag has proven to be high-quality and it shows no signs of wear and tear. Although the zippers feel a little less sturdy than other bags we’ve tried, we still think this bag has an extremely high value for the quality and price.

The Details: Diamond ripstop Duralite | 0.62 pounds | 16 x 16 x 13.5 inches

Evo Boot Pack
PHOTO: Evo

Whether skiing solo or with a family, this large boot backpack from Evo makes it easier than ever to schlep your gear to and from the ski resort. With a whopping 110-liter capacity, we found there was more than enough space to pack two pairs of boots, along with duplicates of clothing and accessories. Our favorite part of the pack is the separate compartments that organize and protect hard goods from soft goods, so you don’t have to worry about items getting wet after skiing or getting damaged in transit.

The bottom pocket can store two pairs of ski boots while the main compartment in the middle is perfect for jackets, pants, and more and the top pocket is designed for a helmet. The exterior also has straps to lock in skis, poles, or a snowboard, but we found that the pack might be a little too heavy to carry when fully loaded. The ample padding in the back panel and supportive chest and shoulder straps help distribute the weight evenly, so we still think it’s perfectly comfortable to carry to and from the car.

The Details: Recycled PET and tarpaulin | 110 liters | 28 x 17 x 16 inches

boot-bag
PHOTO: Courtesy of L.L. Bean

The trapezoid shape of this L.L.Bean pack is the most common style you’ll see skiers use to schlep gear to and from the slopes. Ideal for storing ski boots, the slanted shape makes it easy and intuitive to place your boots and stack other gear like gloves and a helmet. After using this bag for multiple road trips to the ski hill, we loved how it could fit all our essentials and more. We could pack boots, jackets, pants, and gloves for two skiers, but when we used the bag for just one person, we could also fit a helmet in with room to spare. This is also one of the most comfortable bags we used, thanks to the ultrapadded backpack straps and foam back panel that provide the perfect cushioning. The shoulder straps are fully adjustable, and the weight of the bag is evenly distributed throughout the shoulders and back. The water-resistant TPU-coated nylon held up perfectly in our testing, and it didn’t show any signs of immediate wear and tear so far this season. Although the design of the bag is compact, it’s not quite small enough to fit underneath an airplane seat.

The Details: TPU-coated double ripstop nylon | 2.6 pounds | 18 x 14 x 13 inches

RESVIN 65L Ski Boot Bag
PHOTO: Amazon

If you’re searching for a boot bag that comes with all the bells and whistles but won’t break the bank, then this Resvin one is an excellent contender. It has six compartments to separate gear, which helps keep items organized before heading to the mountain and after when some gear might be snowy or wet. We were able to fit one pair of boots, one helmet, a sweatshirt, and a few smaller accessories like gloves, but there wasn’t much room left over for a ski jacket or pants. Once the bag is packed full, it’s comfortable to carry to and from the car, and it fits in a car trunk nicely without taking up much space. Other helpful features include ski and snowboard straps to pack all your gear up to the hill hands-free, and the pack has chest and hip straps to evenly distribute the weight while walking. You can also fold out the opening flap of the ski boot pocket to use it as a mat to keep your feet from touching the snow while changing in a parking lot. While there’s so much to love about this pack, we do wish there were vents for wet gear, but all in all, the price is more than fair for what you get, in our opinion.

The Details: Nylon | 65 liters | 22 x 11 x 13 inches

Kulkea Boot Trekker
PHOTO: Amazon

The Kulkea Boot Trekker Backpack will fit everything from ski boots to goggles without feeling bulky or heavy when carrying it to and from the lodge. The thoughtful design allows skiers to pack larger and smaller gear in the spacious main compartment and a variety of smaller pockets on the front, back, and sides of the bag with a total of nine pockets. We love that it has other smart features for ski gear, like ventilation for drying out boots, a helmet sling in the front, and an abundance of padding and adjustable chest, shoulder, and belt straps for carrying the backpack. We also love that it has comfortable, wide, padded straps that free up hands to carry other gear. Since this bag is on the smaller side, we noticed that larger ski boots (size 32, to be exact) were difficult to fit in the bag, but there were no issues fitting smaller pairs.

The Details: Nylon | 70 liters | 3.9 pounds | 18 x 18 x 14.5 inches

Other Ski Boot Bags We Liked

There was some stiff competition between the ski boot bags we tested, and while there were plenty that earned high scores, the several highlighted below were well-liked, but missed the benchmark for our top list. 

Thule RoundTrip Duffel: Thule gear is known for its durability, which wasn’t lacking with this bag. However, we ultimately ran into slight issues with the zippers not running smoothly, so we recommend the RoundTrip Backpack over the duffel.

Travel + Leisure / Frances Crouter


Athalon Everything Boot Bag: There are a lot of pockets and other storage spaces for all of your gear, but the other trapezoid-shaped bags we tried were easy to carry around.

Kulkea Thermal Trekker: This is an excellent option if you’re looking for a heat boot bag (there are three heat settings), but it’s nearly double the weight of a lot of bags on this list.

Dakine Boot Pack DLX 75L: We’ve tried and loved a lot of Dakine boot bags, including this one, but the Boot Locker DLX 70L ultimately came out on top with a better, streamlined design that was easier to pack and carry than others.

Travel + Leisure


Our Testing Process

We got our hands on 27 ski boot bags from notable outdoor gear brands and rated each on capacity, portability, durability, and design. Our downhill rippers used the ski boot bags over two seasons to protect and store their gear on trips to the mountains via car and airplane. 

The ski boot bags with the most positive feedback had a generous capacity that wasn’t too big or too small, making them easy to carry for short and far distances. We were most impressed by the bags with a variety of storage solutions and special features like spacious pockets, drainage, adjustable straps, separators, and multiple openings to pack gear intuitively and efficiently. Our top performers also had ample padding and additional weight-distributing straps for extra comfort while carrying the packed bags to and from ski resorts. 

After packing, unpacking, and using the ski boot bags for multiple ski trips, we checked the prices to determine the fairness of the cost in light of performance during testing. The best ski boot bags had an excellent value for their prices, with most of us noting that we’d pay even more for the most high-quality and functional ski boot bags.

Travel + Leisure


Tips for Buying a Ski Boot Bag

Keep in mind organizational needs

Ski boot bags are designed to organize your ski gear, but you’ll want to pay attention to the specific construction of the bag. Some bags will have designated pockets for items like helmets, gloves, and goggles, whereas others may have fewer storage solutions. If organization or special features on the bag are important to you, be sure to read product listings carefully to ensure your needs are met. 

Consider the volume

The volume or capacity of the bag will determine what size ski boots will fit in the interior compartment. In our tests, we found that some bags didn’t fit larger boots, so to ensure you get the right size, check the capacity in liters and dimensions before purchasing. If you fly with your ski gear often, you might want to invest in a bigger boot bag that can fit most of your clothing and gear so you can travel with less luggage. 

Drainage is key

More often than not, your ski boots will likely go into the boot bag slightly wet after a day of skiing. Investing in a boot bag with ventilation and drainage is ideal for allowing your boots to dry on the way home from the mountain.

Frequently Asked Questions

  • How big should a ski boot bag be?

    When it comes to picking out a ski boot bag, be sure to coordinate the bag size with the size of your ski boots and other gear you’d like to pack in it. For skiers with larger boots or lots of gear, opt for a bag with larger dimensions and a higher capacity. We found 50 liters or more tends to be a generous size. For frequent fliers, be sure to cross-check an airline’s dimension limits for carry-on bags if you like to bring your ski boot bag aboard a plane.

  • Are ski boot bags carry-on luggage?

    Ski boot bags can be an excellent piece of carry-on luggage, but only if they fit the airline’s dimension requirements. Depending on the size of the bag, it might be easier to check it in rather than schlep it through an airport, but if it fits the size limits, it could be worth it to bring it on the airplane. Some airlines will even allow you to check in your ski bag and add on your boot bag for no extra charge, so make sure you’ve looked up the specifics for your journey.

  • What is the best way to clean a ski boot bag?

    If the cleaning instructions aren’t included on the tag of the ski boot bag, you should be able to find them on the website. In general, you should always take your gear out to dry after a day of skiing. Even if it wasn’t a wet day, your boots, gear, and bag are likely still damp, and you’ll want to dry everything out to prolong the life of each item.

Why Trust Travel + Leisure

T+L associate editor Anna Popp grew up ski racing in Bend, Oregon, spending every winter skiing with her dad as her coach. Anna has lived in Grenoble, France, where she got to ski in the heart of the French Alps. Anna has tested several ski boot bags herself, including ones from Backcountry, High Sierra, and Thule. She combed through our testing notes and used her knowledge of traveling with boot bags to determine the best ski boot bags for your next trip to the slopes.

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