Mailing gear from lower 48 to alaska

[montee77]

Does anyone have any info on mailing gear in advance, we are planning on mailing 4 totes with all of our gear through usps, Brooks Range Aviaiton recommends 6 to 8 weeks in advance, those of you who have mailed your gear has it went well and did it take that long?

 

[castandblast]

I have done it and it went well. I want to say it took about 10 days. I would do it again.

 

[rayporter]

i have shipped gear twice, one company was a dream to work with - not a thing out of place and he stored it at home, and the other was a disaster.
on other trips i carried all gear as luggage.

do something to seal it. something that you can ask if the seal is broken before you arrive, call twice and talk to 2 different people to verify if the seal is intact. maybe an odd color zip tie?

 

[Kevin Dill]

I have shipped plastic totes with hunting gear (to AK) for many years. Some things you should know:

Buy good totes of heavy (but flexible) material. Brittle plastics will get broken.

USPS has size and weight limits. Go to their website and understand these BEFORE buying a tote. LxWxH must not exceed X value.

Pack gear carefully and tightly. It makes no sense to have to unpack a tote to get something from the bottom immediately.

Use a good marker and write your full contact info on the tote and the lid.

Carefully drill holes around the rim, through the lid and tote rim, and then zip-tie these. 12-16 holes are my norm.

Make return labels for shipping home. Put these in an envelope along with more zip ties. Tape the envelope to the underside of the lid.

If you're of a mind, make an inventory list of each container and keep it with you. Put a copy in each container.

However you create and attach your label, BE SURE your tape/etc sticks well to the plastic. Some tapes peel easily and some don't.

Photograph your containers before shipping them. My containers and lids carry ID #s like 'KD-1, KD-2' for easier identification.

Shipments to AK travel by different routes, methods and speeds. It's all up to USPS, so ship with the longest times in mind. My 29 gallon totes can take nearly 6 weeks to arrive from Ohio when shipped Parcel Post. Priority will get them there in 3 days, but at big cost. The first year I did this was a near disaster for me. My totes arrived 2 days before my hunt after more than 5 weeks of invisibility. The USPS tracking system doesn't let you know where your shipment is currently or when it will arrive. Better get it there early.

Recently I've been shipping stuff in smaller totes and my pilot will fly the totes in to my camp. This works great for gear storage, plus a tote makes a fine table or small work surface.

 

[colonel00]

Kevin has some outstanding suggestions. Out of curiosity, as I sit in the Anchorage airport waiting to come home from a bear hunt, what airline are you flying and is it really cheaper to mail stuff ahead of time instead of just bringing it as checked baggage? We often send stuff home as we will take meat/fish as checked baggage and our gear can take the slow boat. However, recently it seems like postage rivals some airlines extra bag fees. For instance, we chose just to bring to additional bags with us home on this flight as it was $75 a piece where it seems like USPS last time was close to $1/lb. Sure, it's $25 or whatever per item but it's also the hassle of prepping and mailing ahead of time and all that. I'm definitely not saying you shouldn't, just weigh all of your options.

 

[Kevin Dill]

colonel00 just brought up an excellent point...the cost of shipping ahead vs extra bag fees. When I began shipping totes (years ago) I was able to save some coin and the effort of hustling so much gear through an airport, shuttle, rental cars etc. Shipping rates have really escalated...faster than baggage fees in some cases...and now it's a wash. I continue to ship ahead because I'm sending enough gear to do a full basecamp for moose and caribou. I'm gone about 3 weeks and that much gear is a lot to move at one time, along with other baggage. If you've ever unloaded a vehicle with 4 guys and 3-5 chunks of baggage per man, it turns into a mountain of gear quickly. These days I mainly ship for the convenience. I also realize that it's nice to have it arrive and know it's there waiting for me.

 

[Okbow87]

I am going up for a caribou hunt in early September. Recently somebody brought up the fact that extra checked bags can be rather expensive. I am taking 2 checked bags on the way up, rifle case and large duffle with hunting gear/pack. In my carry on I will have my dslr camera, go pro, and all my optics for the hunt. Going to try and get my fly rod on as carry on as well in the rifle scabbard of an eberlestock pack. I am planning on bringing back meat in two insulated fish boxes and the three of us freight shipping out antlers back together.

I got to checking different airlines checked baggage rates. Pretty much all of them except for southwest are $25 and $35 for the first and second bags. Alaska Airlines, which I'm guessing is what colonel00 is flying, is $75 per for a 3rd or 4th bag. American Airlines is $150 and $200 for a 3rd and 4th bag. So in many instances it would be extremely cheaper to ship some things back. Luckily my flight home originates with Alaska Airlines before two more connecting flights with American, so after calling to double check I am safely in at the $75 rates. The agent I spoke with encouraged me to always call and ask, because the first flight on a trip does not always dictate the price. I may still ship my gear home and take my rifle and meat boxes with me.

 

[VernAK]

Mail service to interior Alaska seems to be deteriorating rapidly with some of my recent purchases taking 3-4 weeks to get here from L48. I'm not sure why but like most gov agencies, service is not a priority.

When I fly to Baja, I try to use miles to upgrade to 1st class for comfort and extra luggage is usually allowed at no charge.

 

[colonel00]

I am going up for a caribou hunt in early September. Recently somebody brought up the fact that extra checked bags can be rather expensive. I am taking 2 checked bags on the way up, rifle case and large duffle with hunting gear/pack. In my carry on I will have my dslr camera, go pro, and all my optics for the hunt. Going to try and get my fly rod on as carry on as well in the rifle scabbard of an eberlestock pack. I am planning on bringing back meat in two insulated fish boxes and the three of us freight shipping out antlers back together.

I got to checking different airlines checked baggage rates. Pretty much all of them except for southwest are $25 and $35 for the first and second bags. Alaska Airlines, which I'm guessing is what colonel00 is flying, is $75 per for a 3rd or 4th bag. American Airlines is $150 and $200 for a 3rd and 4th bag. So in many instances it would be extremely cheaper to ship some things back. Luckily my flight home originates with Alaska Airlines before two more connecting flights with American, so after calling to double check I am safely in at the $75 rates. The agent I spoke with encouraged me to always call and ask, because the first flight on a trip does not always dictate the price. I may still ship my gear home and take my rifle and meat boxes with me.

Yes, it was Alaska Air. For your fly rod, you might think about getting one of these. They telescope and provide a rigid protection. You can usually carry one on and either it on tip of bags in the overhead or have an attendant put it in a closet. Unless you get someone really cranky, it shouldn't count as your carry on or personal item either. Actually, if it's just your fly rod then a regular hard fly rod case would work just fine.

http://www.amazon.com/Safco-Products-Telescoping-Transport-3053/dp/B0000AQNLW

 

[Kevin Dill]

To show you how you can get shocked unexpectedly...

I just returned from Manitoba where I killed a black bear. I went there with 2 checked bags and figured on returning with 4, should I kill a decent-enough bear. I wanted to bring home most of the meat and of course the full hide and head. Anyway...while packing up I checked my bag weights with a good digital baggage scale. I found I was able to get all my stuff into 3 bags, but they needed to weigh 49.5 pounds, plus my carry-on would be heavy. When I checked in at the Winnipeg Airport (United Airlines) I was assessed $150 for the third bag. That's right: $150 to fly 50 pounds of baggage about 3 air-hours. My total bag fees easily exceeded $200. If not for the $25 digital scale I might have gone back with 4 bags and heaven knows what that might have cost. In this case I probably would still have done the same thing vs shipping, due to it being Canada and involving wild game parts. What I should have been more careful about was checking United's baggage prices on my return flight. I won't make that mistake again.

By the way, anyone who flies much gear really ought to look into one of these:

http://www.rei.com/product/872508/rei-digital-luggage-scale

http://www.rei.com/product/882469/rei-compact-digital-scale-2014-closeout

 

[colonel00]

Yikes! You didn't check your baggage fees before your trip? Luckily you didn't get bitten more than you did. Sadly most airlines have gone to the $125-$150 charge for bags after the second. For this reason, I now try to fly Alaska Air on my return trips as their extra bag fees are only $75.

I also agree on the little luggage scale things. They are great. We also make every effort to get to the airport with plenty of time to bring everything in and use the actual airline scales to weight stuff and repack as necessary.

 

[westtrout]

Kevin, thanks for the heads up on those scales. I just picked up one of them on clearance $16.73 with free shipping to my local store. Great tip!

 

[Kevin Dill]

Kevin, thanks for the heads up on those scales. I just picked up one of them on clearance $16.73 with free shipping to my local store. Great tip!

No problem! I have been using these things for years and they have saved me hundreds of dollars and loads of grief. I love it when a ticket agent sees my bags scaling across at 49 pounds.

 

[450]

You should look at becoming a member of the 49 Club for flying Alaska Airlines. It's free and your first 2 bags are free also. It might not do you any good coming up but it will going back if flying Alaska Airlines. Just a thought.

 

[colonel00]

Club 49 appears to be for AK residents only, correct?

 

[450]

I checked and yes you are correct, residents only. Sorry just trying to help.

 

[IChaseCoues]

I just talked with Alaska Airlines (who we're flying with in September form NM). Here's what I was told.

Since my flight originates with AKAir their baggage fees apply for the connecting flights on another airline. Since I'm a signature card holder my first bag is free, second is $25, and 3rd up is $75 each.

As Becca stated earlier if a bag is overweight and oversize only one additional fee of $75 will be applied.

So the way it looks if on the return flight I have 3 bags and one is 95lb then I pay $175 in bag fees. That's not bad for up to 200 lb in gear/meat/antlers.


Now I'm hoping that I actually get to pay for 3 or 4 bags because that means we filled all tags!