How do you travel with your tripod?

Not sure what forum to place this in so I picked this one...feel free to move it mods.

Anyway, now that I sprung for a decent Manfrotto setup I'm a little unsure how to fly with it. The head will easily fit in my carryon but I'd only be able to fit the legs on the outside of my lowepro.

Am I crazy to just pack it in with my clothes? I'm going Tampa - Atlanta - Vegas and then Vegas - Denver - Tampa.

What do you do?

Thanks,
Chris

I got a cool case for my Manfrotto mate.
It has a shoulder strap which makes it a lot easier to carry.

I don't remember the exact number of mine now, but this is very similar.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk …1318&_trksid=p3​286.c0.m14

Packing the legs in your luggage, well padded with your clothes, will provide far better protection from damage than putting the tripod into even a padded tripod bag and checking it! Carrying it on will protect it even better! TSA guidelines permit tripods, although they neglect to mention monopods. And what you can do outside the USA may be quite different, as different airlines have their own limitations about max size or max weight of carryons.

I always put the tripod & monopod in the suitcase when flying and carry my camera stuff on in a Kata R103 backpack. I've never had a problem and the Kata has a great attachment for carrying the tripod when hiking.

Yeah...I'm not worried about damage just theft.

I usually pack the tripod legs in the checked in luggage.
Everything else goes on the plane with me!

grizzy wrote in post #6146140
Yeah...I'm not worried about damage just theft.

It used to be that you could pack a tripod in any old cardboard tube and check it. But then Sept 11, 2001 happened, and they started to CT the checked luggage, and now the thieves know which unlocked bags to pull something out of, and they know which tubes to have 'disappear'. Because sometimes the thieves are the baggage handlers! (Ask London Heathrow about the ring of thieves there)

grizzy wrote in post #6146012
Not sure what forum to place this in so I picked this one...feel free to move it mods.

Anyway, now that I sprung for a decent Manfrotto setup I'm a little unsure how to fly with it. The head will easily fit in my carryon but I'd only be able to fit the legs on the outside of my lowepro.

Am I crazy to just pack it in with my clothes? I'm going Tampa - Atlanta - Vegas and then Vegas - Denver - Tampa.

What do you do?

Thanks,
Chris

i put my tripod and monopod in my checked luggage. i refuse to live in fear of the terr.....i mean the baggage handlers .

ed rader

ed rader wrote in post #6146181
i put my tripod and monopod in my checked luggage. i refuse to live in fear of the terr.....i mean the baggage handlers .

ed rader

Haha! I just worked two years as a baggage handler at Vancouver!

I'll always take mine carry on when I can, but have had to check it once without any problems, primarily in Scandinavia. Aside from flying, it's on the side of my rucksack while traveling about.

My tripod, monopod and both heads are packed into my suitcase as I write. We are off to Valencia for the F1 race. I see that the baggage handlers are on strike when we are due to fly back, which probably means I'll loose the lot!

Up till now I not had any problems traveling like this, but watch this space.

I always put it in my check-in bag. Normally I take head off, and I also put it in check-in bag too, but separately from legs. It's just not worth arguing with someone on security check if it's really tripod or if it's weapon of mass destruction.

Thought I'd share a post that was just made on FM...

"A word of warning: do not check camera gear on Aerolinas Argentinas! I have had my bags picked clean several times flying in & out of Buenos Aires on AA - losing two cameras & several lenses in the process. Worse, the airline "customer service" staff - when you can actually reach them - are totally disinterested in doing *anything* to help customers who've had valuables stolen from their checked luggage. I will *never* fly Aerolinas Argentinas *ever* again! I transport all my camera gear as carry-on luggage now too. "

I pack my tripod in my clothes at times, however I generally pack my tripods and light stands in either a Think Tank Bazooka bag, or for multi-tripods and light stands I use a Tundra sling .

The two Tundra bags I use can be found here
http://www.bhphotovide​o.com …LITE1_Prolite_1​_Case.html
http://www.bhphotovide​o.com …xe_Tripod_Case_​Large.html

-Fish