Travel with tripod

I was wondering how you travel (Air) with a tripod. I'm carrying my camera gear on board but not sure about my tripod. Do you check it in your checked baggage or can I get away with it as a carry on??

Thanks for any advice.

I take the ballhead off and put in my camera pack, which is carry-on. I wrap my tripod in some tee-shirts and put it in my checked baggage.

I typically traveled with a monopod. I unscrewed the head and the monopod sat between the rails of my 22" suitcase. Depending on the situation, this could be carry on or checked baggage. Never had an issue with that monopod. I did the same with a small Giottos tripod with no troubles. I traveled every week for work at my last job. 169,000 miles flown in a year. The camera gear didn't come with me every week, but I brought it frequently enough.

If you are traveling with a larger tripod, you could certainly bring it as carry on. A tripod in a bag and your camera bag should be your carry on in this situation. You'd have no problem putting it in the overhead or asking the flight attendant to store it in the coat closet.

Mel-

I slide the center column/ball head out of the tripod and pack both pieces in my carryon luggage or in my checked baggage. If I am checking it, I make sure to pad it with some shirts etc.. Though taking the tripod apart requires packing two pieces, it saves me about six inches of length which comes in handy when trying stay within the carryon guidelines

I generally travel with a spare camera bag packed into my suitcases, and the ballhead goes in there along with all the other small accessories I strip out of my pack to honor carry-on weight limits. Kinda handy way to organize and keep track while packing, plus it gives me a smaller bag to work from on site any time I don't want to carry the whole pack. I only buy suitcases long enough to accomodate my principle tripod, which I also put in checked bags.

Couldn't you strap your tripod on the outside of a Lowepro Phototrekker backpack ? Or would this fall outside of the carry-on guidelines? I've also never traveled with my tripod, that's why i ask.

Wim.

Thanks for all of the responses, it will help a lot.

Be aware that security often regards your tripod as a potential weapon and won't allow it in the cabin.

That's what I was afraid of actually. I have really bad luck with my checked baggage getting where I"m going on time, tho I allways get it eventually, I guess my best bet is to check the tripod in my checked baggage.

Be aware that security often regards your tripod as a potential weapon and won't allow it in the cabin.

Strange. In all of my flights I never saw one instance of this with either my tripod or my monopod in any of the US airports or foreign countries where I traveled. I did notice that the security in small airports always bordered on excessive while security in large cities was generally more reasonable. But I never had an issue with my tripod or monopod in any airport.

Could be things have relaxed recently, but it only takes one time watching that expesnive tripod disappear unprotected into the hold after it was taken.

If you have a tight connection and security lines are long, I doubt you'll make your flight by the time you return to the airline counter, stand in line there for a while before you can add it to your checked bags, then get back in line for security. It's a problem here in Alaska because you can fly from outlying communities on commuter airlines without passing through security, then have to go through security in Anchorage before catching your next leg. The commuter line is very likely to allow you to carry it on, but in Anchorage it's the luck of the draw- both at security screening and at the gate.

Once is all it takes to break you of the habit forever.

In April I traveld to west Africa with my backpack, a kelty redwing 3100, stuffed with clothes and all my camera gear, a LF body, three LF lenses and 100 sheets of QL film and a D200body with 3 lenses and other various accessories. I stuffed my ball head in there as well. I then placed my full sized gitzo tripod in a tripod bag and carried it on as my second carry on item along with my backpack. My pack was 40 lbs, just in at the weight limit, and I was not given any trouble at all.

Youssef,

You had a carry on pack that weighed 40 lbs? I thought most international flights were limited to 8kg, or about 17lbs. I'll assume you avoided Heathrow! In my travels this year,first to Peru, I was never questioned about by photo backpack which weighed about 30 lbs.I was prepared to split the weight into pant pockets, my wife and friends bags. For Italy trip, I went super lightweight since we passed through Heathrow. No problems there either.

I always pack my tripod in one checked bag. I don't seperate the head. If that bag is lost, one piece doesn't help without the other.

Mike