Sun Mountain Kube Travel Blanket Review
Modern travel blankets are now available in all shapes and sizes, all with the aim of safely transporting your golf clubs on their journey with baggage handling for your golf trip. A lot of innovation has been seen in this market segment and the new Sun Mountain Kube travel blanket is proof of that. This is a uniquely designed cover that provides a hard shell around key areas of the cover, while folding into a pint-sized cube shape for easy storage at home and on vacation. I took it on four flights across Europe to test this system for myself. More importantly, could it do the basic things correctly and protect my golf clubs when traveling?
Folded, the Kube has dimensions of just 23cm x 33cm x 38cm – which barely makes a mark wherever you have space to store your travel bags. I found it particularly useful in a hotel room, where standard travel covers can often take up a lot of floor space while you try to enjoy your trip. The only other travel bag to offer such fantastic storage is the Motocaddy Flightsafe travel cover which is slightly larger and heavier in its execution.
Neatly stored on the hotel room floor, the storage solution comes into its own when you’re traveling.
(Image credit: Future)
The practical byproduct of this unique system is the extra padding it provides when the bag is in use. The hard shell extends to the top and bottom ends of the bag, providing sturdy protection, especially at the top end of the bag where protection is most needed. There are also two internal and two external compression straps that hold your bag securely to prevent it from moving during its journey. On the four flights I’ve used the Kube on so far, my clubs have returned perfectly intact, with everything placed in the bag remaining exactly where I put it before departure.
I think my favorite thing about the Kube, besides the way it folds, is how light it is. Weighing just 3.08 kg (6.8 lbs), it leaves you with plenty of weight to add to the bag. Compared to Ram Fx Travel Cover, which weighs 4.08 kg (9 lb), you can take more with you in the Kube. Most airlines allow a golf bag to weigh no more than 20kg – this can go up to 23kg on some airlines – and you definitely want to get the most out of that reserved baggage. The lightness of the Kube allows this and I was able to carry – along with a full set of golf clubs – three pairs of golf shoes, my golf clothes for the trip and a toiletry bag. In total, that was exactly 20kg on a flight I took earlier this year, leaving me with an extra 3kg on the most generous airline. This eliminates the need to book additional checked baggage for travel and will save you money by booking more baggage in the long run. It’s worth noting that I’m not a light traveler either…
The Kube’s two internal pockets lacked a lot of depth. You could possibly fit a pair of shoes in each, but that would be a strain. I opted for belts and dirty laundry!
(Image credit: Future)
The only thing I missed from the Kube was a few extra pockets. There are two small interior pockets that I used to carry belts and dirty laundry, but they’re actually not very big. This leaves items like golf shoes, caps, toiletries, or whatever you carry next to your clubs, floating freely inside. Some travel blankets like the Sun Mountain Club Glider Meridian, Ram FX And Macgregor VIP II Travel Case also feature exterior pockets for more organized storage, something the Kube lacks. Whether you want to store items in exterior pockets on a travel cover is a whole other topic.
Overall, I really enjoyed my travel experience with the Kube. Its unique storage feature is incredibly useful but, more importantly, it performs the basic functions well in keeping golf clubs well protected. Those who like to travel as close to the weight limit as possible will deeply appreciate the extra weight you can squeeze into it thanks to its lightweight design and I fully expect to rack up many more air miles with the Kube in tow.
