The DAKINE Boot Locker ski and snowboarding boot bag gobbles up gear. You put your boots in the tarp-lined bottom compartment and stow your helmet, goggles, gloves, snow pants, and jackets in the top.
The design is just plain awesome and the construction is sturdy and fantastic — especially for the sub-$60 price tag.
If you’ve been looking for bag to help organize your ski and snowboarding gear, it’s hard to go wrong with the DAKINE Boot Locker duffel bag.
DAKINE Boot Locker Review: Overall Design
The 600D polyester and 300D poly twill construction isn’t bullet-proof, but it’s pretty tough and abrasion-resistant. The material and tarp lining come together to give the DAKINE Boot Locker a bit of rigidity so that the sides will stand up without collapsing. Stiffer sidewall construction makes it easier to stow and find your gear.
The bottom boot compartment unzips so the top section will fold over. This lets you get at your boots easily. In addition, the tarp-lining resists water and can double as a changing mat to help keep your socks clean. I’ll stand in the bottom over the snow-covered parking lot when I put my ski boots on or take them off.
Once they’re off, you can put your snow-covered boots in the bottom and zip it up, ready for the drive home.
With most traditional ski boot bags that are shaped like ski boots, guys with big boots tend to have a hard time fitting everything in. With the DAKINE Boot Locker, I was able to fit size 14 ski boots (348mm) inside with no problems. (I’m guessing you might be able to jam another size up in the bottom compartment, but you might end up misshaping the rectangle to get it zipped.)
The zippers are burly and easy to use — perfect for when you’re still wearing gloves.
The dimensions are 22 x 15 x 13-inches high, giving it 4200 cubic inches of storage.
It comes with a padded, removable shoulder strap.
DAKINE Boot Locker Review: Sized for Adults
I’m a little larger than average, wearing XL pants and jackets, and the DAKINE Boot Locker holds my cold-weather layers with my helmet, goggles, gloves, and boots . . . with room to spare. If you’re looking for a bag for young children, it’s almost big enough to handle gear for two younger kids — but the boot locker base portion might not hold two pairs of small ski boots. You could split the load, of course, putting one pair of boots in the top portion. Not ideal, but doable. If you want to teach your kids to start packing their own gear, you might want to try a smaller boot bag like the DAKINE Boot Bag. At 1800 cubic inches, it still shares the burly overall DAKINE construction but the smaller size is more kid-friendly . . . and will still handle years of growth.
The only minor issue with the DAKINE Boot Locker is — and I’m talking minor — is that it doesn’t have a small side pocket or small interior pocket to hold miscellaneous little pieces of gear you don’t want to lose inside the main compartment. I’m specifically thinking about hand or toe warmers and some chapstick.
All-in-all, if you want to organize your ski or snowboarding gear so that you’re ready to hit the mountain, the DAKINE Boot Locker is a fantastic bag. I like to load it up the night before with my boots, helmet, googles, gloves, snow pants, and jacket layers so I can head out in the morning knowing that I’m ready to hit the slopes.
