Flying with tripods... ?

evolvnyc

evolvnyc

Well-known member
I'm doing a multi-city trip and unfortunately my bags will be overweight and "in excess" so I'm trying to not get a giant tripod bag (which will exceed size limits). I have the $400 bogen black metal legs and the 503 head, but I also have a heavy-duty gitzo tripod (which may crush the bogen if it has something on top of it like, 30 suitcases under the plane) Will those soft padded cases actually protect the 'not so tough' bogen legs? should i remove the 503 head on the bogen too? can someone suggest something short of a hard case that will actually work and protect the 2 tripods? any thoughts/suggestions appreciated!
 
I personally think a hard case for plane travel is a must. Putting it in a soft bag, is just asking for trouble. I have spent to much money on a tripod to have other people through it around with other bags. What I do is put the tripod in the soft bag, then pack it into the hard case for travel. Then when I am at location, I can transport around the soft bag.
Note to: A lot of airlines are now charging you extra regardless of the weight, but more for the size and shape. Long gone are the days of "film-friendly" airlines.
 
People carry on guitar cases, which are slightly shorter but more bulky than tripod cases. I'm planning on carrying on my tripod next week in a soft case. This may be problematic for larger tripods, though.
 
Call the airline before bringing on a tripod. I think it is a restricted on filght item now due to secuity reasons.
 
Can you check it in a fragile cargo? I would wrap the head with sponges if you still insistant on soft case.
 
I've flown back and forth between Canada and Norway a few times with my tripods and camera and other equipment. my experience is as follows:

My pelican case with camera etc etc will always be allowed as carry on after you show them what's in it. the airlines don't want to take any chances with something like that. a big company sticker on the case also works really well. Last time my better half and I flew on British Airways each carrying a backpack, a bag and the pelican (a total of two still SLR cameras, a laptop, the dvx100 and essentials for the trip). Noone even lifted an eyebrow (keep in mind the maximum carry on luggage for BA is one colli - max 6kgs. We were at 3 each at a total of 15 kgs each.

Airlines HATE any big item such as a guitar, tripod or anything like that and they really REALLY don't want you to take them on board the plane simply because there is nowhere to put them. My guitars have been on planes many times and they always end up in special luggage. My guitars travel in custom hard cases with plenty of duckt tape around them. If packaged properly the airline will replace any item destroyed or lost in special luggage up to I think it is $5000 us. This may vary. Nevertheless: big weird shaped things are seldom allowed on planes.

sidenote: the reason you keep seeing backpackers and other kids with guitars on planes is because they are in soft bags and the airlines don't want the trouble of packing them properly for them. My experience is that a guitar in a softbag on a plane becomes a guitar with a broken neck when you leave the plane because they get crushed into the overhead compartments at some point during the flight.

so what do I do? I stuff my tripods in my regular luggage. literally. I pick my tripods apart and put them in with my clothes in my enormous checked luggage. It results in some interesting stickers from security and it guarantees that your bag is opened but it also ensures that your tripod survives the trip.

a final tip: if you carry weird stuff in your luggage (tripods, merlin, camera boddies, lenses etc. it is a good idea to put a note in your luggage stating what it is so that the security people don't start pulling things out of your bag. Also notify the person at check in that you have a tripod in your bag.

and finally: all my valuable stuff is labeled: "Handle like newborn baby" with a cute drawing of a baby. works like a charm and you get smiles and nods from the ladies ;o)
 
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