I can't tell you the weight, but my shipping strategy is to remove the lugs and hardware- packing them separately. I then ship a kit in two boxes- one is nested shells wrapped in bubble and then the second box is the lugs and hoops and mounting hardware. To me, it`s the safest way to do it. The shells themselves, nested, should be a relatively light but large box- whereas the second box is a bit heavier but smaller and more compact. Best of luck with it

thanks Osaka,

your startegy is a good one i think. I'm going to be flying down to cape town to get a proper look and i will be shipping it myself from there. I was toying with the idea of removing lugs but now that you have suggested i think it is a good one. maybe i could even bring the lugs back with me on the plane home and just ship the shells...

Hmmmm

The real problem is once the kick is so big and requires a certain size box, companies automatically charge you for a certain weight regardless of how much it weighs. I have a 3 pc kit all packed up and the 24" box automatically gets charged for 70 lbs. In fact, shipping has killed at least one sale of this kit, if not more......

exactly right?

a lot of the companies hear refuse to take "heavy" weight items. so you have to pack into two seperate boxes. but i think Osaka's suggestion may just solve the problem

A fellow VDF brother shipped me a 4 piece vintage kit last month from the US to Osaka just as I described- 2 boxes. It arrived safely- no scratches, no dents with this method

20/16/13/14 snare- I think I paid 278$ for the shipping USPS.

Next month I am bringing a kit back to Osaka from my home town in Baltimore- its an 18/12/14 and I bought a heavy duty SKB padded plastic flight case (18") to nest the shells. I`ll pad them with bubble and then put the lugs and mounts, ect... in my other suitcase. I did it a few years ago the same way no probs.