Shokbox Orange Premium

The Shokbox Premium is a tough box that comes with a tracking system for locating your bike during air travel, although it's a heavy option that might push you over weight limits with some carriers. It's not actually in stock until mid-December, but Shokbox is taking orders in the meantime and discounts of 30 per cent are available on both the Premium and the Classic (more details below).

• Pros: Strong construction, good latches, manoeuvrable
• Cons: A little heavier than rivals, LugLoc adds to the price

The Shokbox is made in the UK from 'a unique blend of polyethene', according to the manufacturer. It's tough stuff. We have, of course, flown with the box as part of the review process and it has come through relatively unscathed. We can't be sure how much baggage handler abuse it was subjected to behind the scenes, so we dished out some of our own – lobbing it about and stacking other boxes on top just to check its strength. Don't tell Shokbox but we also gave it a whacking with a rubber mallet, which seems like a reasonable simulation of the sort of ill-treatment that's meted out in airports.

> Buy this online here

To cut a long story short, the Shokbox has survived all that with just a few little scratches here and there and no cracks or structural issues of any kind.

The edges of the box are built strong and are up to to 4mm thick, according to our vernier callipers – about 25% thicker than those of many rivals. A central pillar extends from each side, meeting in the middle to prevent the box getting crushed if it finds itself at the bottom of a heavy stack, for instance. I just can't imagine your bike getting squashed in here. In terms of safety, I don't see any worries at all.

Packing

Packing the Shokbox is pretty straightforward. I removed the pedals and seatpost from my 57cm bike, took the handlebar out of the stem and taped it to the top tube, and took off the wheels. 

With that done, the frame fitted easily inside the box, held in place with adjustable webbing straps. The wheels go into their own very well-made zipped bags, each with a hole that allows the central pillar to slot through and hold them in place during transit.

Egg box foam sheets fitted against the sides of the box provide more protection and you get a third sheet that slots between the already bagged wheels and the rest of your bike. That really is a belt and braces approach.

I'd have liked some sort of bag for the pedals, quick release skewers, seatpost/saddle and so on, although any old plastic bag and perhaps some bubble wrap will do the job.

Lock 'n' roll

The Classic ShockBox — which isn't made from such a high grade of plastic — is secured shut with simple TSA locking latches, while the Premium version that we have here comes with the addition of two TSA combination locking latches. This means that you can lock the box but that the authorities at the airport can open it without causing damage if they want to check what's inside, and re-lock it afterwards.

The Shokbox rolls on four swivelling caster wheels, one on each corner. It's easy to push the box around on flat surfaces like airport floors, even sideways, with indentations moulded into the top of the shell giving you decent hold points. The casters sit in slight recesses in the body of the Shokbox so they don't protrude a great distance, making it unlikely that they'll get damaged or knocked off if/when the box is chucked about.

Tracker

Unlike the Classic Shokbox, the Premium version comes with a LugLoc, which is a third party luggage tracker that you could buy separately if you wanted.

The LugLoc is a little device that measures around 110mm x 75mm x 12mm – so smaller than a typical mobile phone. It has its own little pocket inside the box.

You charge it up (the battery recharges via a Micro USB cable and lasts up to 15 days from fully charged) and download the LugLoc app to your phone (iOS or Android), register yourself and link to the device. Then you can start tracking the Shokbox thanks to the LugLoc's internal SIM card, Bluetooth (if you're within range) and GSM (Global System for Mobile communications).

Shokboxes come with 12 months connectivity included and thereafter USD4.99 for a single month.

The idea, of course, is that if your Shokbox goes missing in transit you can use the app to help find it. Bear in mind that GSM is entirely different from GPS, using mobile triangulation rather than satellites, so its accuracy can vary depending on signal strength and the number of mobile phone masts in a particular region.

LugLoc itself says, 'The LugLoc device is designed for air travel, and its purpose is to expedite the retrieval process when luggage is lost in airports. We do not ensure its effectiveness in other situations, but we guarantee it will identify the airport where your device is located.'

> How to fly with your bike

I asked someone to stick the Shokbox in the back of their car and take it around with them for a few days. Sometimes I was able to use the app to find out where it was, sometimes I wasn't. On the other hand, when they flew the app was able to tell me the airport at which the Shokbox was located, and that's what LugLoc promises.

The LugLoc could help out if your Shokbox gets packed onto the wrong plane and shipped to the back of beyond, but if it doesn't sound valuable to you the Classic version of the Shokbox comes without it (and a few other minor differences) for £499.

Weight restrictions

My only real issue with the Shokbox is its weight; at 13.8kg it's a little heavier than many rivals (bear in mind that the weight does include those wheel bags I mentioned, and you could make do without them if you were really pushed on your weight allowance, because there's already a sheet of foam down the centre of the box protecting your frame).

You can take a bike box (the bike box itself plus contents) as standard luggage on British Airways flights, for example, if it weighs 23kg or under. In this instance, that would leave you 9.2kg for your bike. That might be enough, or it might not. easyJet gives you an allowance of 32kg (you have to pay for it, of course), which would leave you 18.2kg for your bike.

Priced at £599 (UK shipping is included), the Shokbox is over £100 more expensive than the Bike Box Alan Premium Bike Box (£438), the Bikebox Online VeloVault2 (£469), or the Bonza Bike Box £475. As mentioned, though, it's largely the addition of the LugLoc that accounts for the difference; the version without costs £499 – still a little more than any of these bike boxes, but not by a massive margin.

> Buyer's Guide: 15 of the best bike bags and boxes

The Shokbox Premium is out of stock (at the time of writing) until mid-December 2018, but Shokbox is taking orders in the meantime with 30% discount available until 14th December (discount code: 'PRE-ORD30').

Overall, the Shokbox Premium is a little heavier than most rivals but it's a sturdy option that offers plenty of protection for your bike when you fly. The LugLoc tracking system doesn't particularly appeal to me but it will tell you which airport your bike's in if it does go missing in transit. If that's not something you want, save yourself £100 and go for the Shokbox Classic instead.

Verdict

Sturdy bike box that'll protect your bike well, but a little heavy and the tracking system is of limited benefit