Tripod Bag

Hi everyone,

I am going on holiday soon and want to take my tripod with me (Manfrotto 055PRO).

I know you can get the carry bag from manfrotto which will store your tripod safely but does anyone know if that bag can be secured in some way? e.g. with a padlock etc so no-one can get into it as opposed to the usual basic zips you get on tripod bags?

I would be worried about checking my tripod bag in and someone opening the bag and fiddling with the contents...

Any help appreciated...

I have a Tamrac bag for mine, and yes you can padlock it together. Just make sure you use a TSA approved lock or they will cut it off.

A knife will quickly open almost any soft bag. I wouldn't worry about the security of the tripod bag itself. The most important features of a tripod bag (or one for light stands and umbrellas, for example) should relate to the ease of packing the stuff to a job site rather than commercial travel. The bags don't provide enough physical protection for me to use them to check my equipment as luggage anyhow.

However, if you can pack it inside a larger piece of ordinary-looking luggage, then it won't be visible and thus attractive to thieves, etc.

You might also consider a hard, durable, and lockable case for equipment that you need to check. Just make sure it doesn't scream about the camera equipment inside.