The YT Body Bag is one of those slap yourself on the forehead and say 'why didn't I think of that' products. Travelling with a bike isn't the easiest thing in the world and the box versus bike bag dilemma makes it all that much more difficult.
On the one hand, you have a bike bag — designed to keep your bike safe, even in the hands of baggage handlers who might be a bit rougher than you'd like with your pride and joy. They've got wheels to make navigating around the airport and to your final destination easy, but they weigh ~10kg empty and cost a couple of hundred bucks no matter the brand.
Then there's the Bike Box.
Arguably the biggest selling point of travelling with a box over a bag is that a bike box is free. Go down to any bike shop and they'll happily let you take a box off their hands, and will probably even throw in some packaging too.
They are surprisingly robust and, even better, they don't weigh much. The trouble is they are not easy to get around with and if it's raining on the tarmac the box will begin to disintegrate before it is even loaded onto the plane.
So, the intrepid minds over at YT have created an option that allows for the best of both worlds, the Body Bag.
Essentially a box cover, the Body Bag is made from water-resistant nylon and features replaceable rollerblade wheels, as well as handles on the sides and both ends for easy maneuverability.
YT has also reinforced the base and corners because these are the areas of the bag that are likely to take the most abuse in transit.
On the inside, there are a couple of cinch straps to keep the box from moving around and there's zipper that goes nearly all the way around. YT even includes a TSA friendly lock.
When not in use, the Body Bag can be packed inside the provided storage bag, but you'll still have to breakdown the bike box.
Claimed to weigh 4.5kg, YT says the Body Bag will accept a box measuring 34x90x134cm, which also happens to be the dimensions of the boxes it uses to ship bikes.
Priced at £108.90 / $120 / €120, the YT Body Bag is almost half the price of what's on offer from brands such as EVOC or Scion.