Airline regulations.

[aeroshots2003]

Hi all,

I am looking for a new camerabag, but have trouble regarding airline regulations as to max bag size.

Does someone have bad experiences with boarding with a load of photographic material? I'm considering the following bags :
- Tamrac's 612, 613, 614, 5612
- Vanguard's Hercules 43
- Lowepro's Commercial AW
Has any of you guys using one of these bag types been refused ?

What matters to me most is the height of the bag, since I want to be able to store the 300mm 2.8 vertically (25 cm). This would limit my choice to the Vanguard Hercules, Tamrac 614 and 613.

Greetz,


Johan

[Longwatcher]

I have the Tamrac 612 Pro and with rare exceptions have never had any trouble with it as carry on. The usual problem is small Brazialian manufactures puddle jumpers versus German, British or American puddle jumpers. On 737 on up never a problem.
The 612 is the largest bag I would recommend though.

Just my experience.

[w10d]

I'd be wary of some of the low budget airlines in Europe - they often have strict regulations for hand luggage. Sometimes there's a frame by the check-in, if your bag doesn't fit you can't take it on.

[RichardtheSane]

I have it on good advice from a top UK wildlife photographer that the Lowepro Stealth AW II backpack is good for going onto aircraft, he has never been stopped with it yet.

http://www.lowepro.com/pages/series/stealth/stealth.htm

[PhotosGuy]

Always carry a diaper bag & some bubble wrap as a back-up. Cheap, doesn't look like a cam bag, & will hold most of the critical stuff if you have to check the actual bag. Works for me!
:D