Airtravel and tripods

Hi,


When travelling nationally or internationally, how do you transport your tripod?

Just found a suitcase that fits my Manfrotto 055XPROB w/ 488RC2 Ballhead diagonally.

It sits in a zipper case among the regular clothes, etc and travels as checked luggage.

Never had a problem.

I have a Feisol 3441S tripod, which is pretty small and light weight, and just pack it in my checked luggage. I carry on all my other camera gear -- usually in a Lowepro Flipside 400AW backpack. I have a smaller Flipside 300 for traveling with less equipment.

I put it in my checked bag.

jimmy_racoon wrote in post #16686061
Just found a suitcase that fits my Manfrotto 055XPROB w/ 488RC2 Ballhead diagonally.

It sits in a zipper case among the regular clothes, etc and travels as checked luggage.

Never had a problem.

+1

I've got a hard sided case that fits the tripod. I pack my clothes around it and suffer the checked bag fees.

On long trips it gives me a reason to limit my packing. On short trips it gives me a bit of extra room...

I almost always carry on my tripod. It has never been an issue with domestic or international flights but I have on occasion packed it in my suitcase like others have mentioned. Reason being we exceeded our carry on amount of items. My Gitzo travel tripod is not inexpensive but has not been stolen yet. I like to keep it close to me.

Only problem has been my Think Tank airport. A few times agents recognized it as a camera bag and made me weigh it. I had to remove lenses, etc before they let me take it on. Lenses in pockets, my wife's purse and plastic bars. It was no fun.

jimmy_racoon wrote in post #16686061
Just found a suitcase that fits my Manfrotto 055XPROB w/ 488RC2 Ballhead diagonally.

It sits in a zipper case among the regular clothes, etc and travels as checked luggage.

Never had a problem.

Same here.

Good article on this subject at http://www.consumertra​veler.com …and-the-airlines-updated/.

The only time I had issues was when I had inadvertently left some spikes on the legs. It was brought to my attention by TSA. Because we had plenty of time I removed the spikes, put them in a backpack, and returned to the ticket counter to check the bag.

Thanks for the replies.

Roc

There may be some airports outside of the US that do not allow you to carry tripods onto planes. For example, I know that airports in Taiwan do not allow tripods in carry-on bags. I am not aware of any other countries that have such restrictions, but that doesn't mean there aren't any. Best to double check with the local airline agent and be prepared to check one of the bags if you're travelling internationally.

Suitcase for my carbon 055PROB.

Suitcase, though the head sometimes comes with me in carry on.

mag10 wrote in post #16688357
There may be some airports outside of the US that do not allow you to carry tripods onto planes. For example, I know that airports in Taiwan do not allow tripods in carry-on bags. I am not aware of any other countries that have such restrictions, but that doesn't mean there aren't any. Best to double check with the local airline agent and be prepared to check one of the bags if you're travelling internationally.

I know Hong Kong, Hawaii, Sydney and London are OK.

I have a travel tripod that gets strapped to the outside of my F-Stop Loka. It ends up being smaller than a lot of the rolling suitcases people bring on planes these days.

I have not had an issue with domestic air travel and one trip to Belgium.

Tripod in checked baggage, head in carry on.