Air Travel With a Tripod?

Chris_911

Chris_911

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Not sure which forum this should be in....
I have a project coming up for a client that needs me to travel by air to Portugal.
Normally I'd travel with a small tripod in my hold luggage.
That tripod won't cut it on this project, so I'll need to take one of my larger tripods.

Anyone travelled by air with a tripod care to make any recommendations/ suggestions on this?

(I'm a little reluctant to put a high value tripod in my hold luggage - that would of course be the easy answer...)

Thanks!
 
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Never had a problem with any tripod in hold baggage. Taken Al and CF ones. If you're worried about it getting stolen from your bag, buy a suitable one there and add the cost to the bill!
 
I've flown with a tripod in the hold more than once without an issue (Gitzo Traveller).

I pack it in my suitcase - have to remove the ball head.

I have a bigger Gitzo, I would travel with that if I needed to but that would need to be taken apart to fit in my case.

Not sure if I would just pack the tripod in a tripod bag, maybe too obvious as to what it is.
 
I always travel with my tripod in my case in the hold with no problems. In the past I think I have travelled with a Manfrotto 055 tripod, which fitted diagonally in my case with the head taken off. More recently I travelled with a Manfrotto 190/Befree tripod which is smaller, and can be placed in the case with the head attached, and the tripod extended slightly to brace the corners a bit.

If your tripod is larger than can fit in a case, I think you could take the option that they do with ski's, where they are packed in their own bag/case to go in the hold, after picking that option when booking the seat. I've never done that, but I think lots of people do that with no problems that I have heard of. If one trusts the baggage handlers to do an honest job, the only time the bags are vulnerable to regular people is on the baggage carrousel, which can be mitigated by being at the carrousel first and at the start. That is if the ski bags are placed on the carrousel, as I only travel during the warm months, so haven't seen ski's on a carrousel. ;)
 
redhed17 said:
I always travel with my tripod in my case in the hold with no problems. In the past I think I have travelled with a Manfrotto 055 tripod, which fitted diagonally in my case with the head taken off. More recently I travelled with a Manfrotto 190/Befree tripod which is smaller, and can be placed in the case with the head attached, and the tripod extended slightly to brace the corners a bit.

If your tripod is larger than can fit in a case, I think you could take the option that they do with ski's, where they are packed in their own bag/case to go in the hold, after picking that option when booking the seat. I've never done that, but I think lots of people do that with no problems that I have heard of. If one trusts the baggage handlers to do an honest job, the only time the bags are vulnerable to regular people is on the baggage carrousel, which can be mitigated by being at the carrousel first and at the start. That is if the ski bags are placed on the carrousel, as I only travel during the warm months, so haven't seen ski's on a carrousel. ;)
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I took my 055 to Iceland - removed the centre column (rather than removing just the head) and it likewise then fitted diagonally.
I've not got a cheap (comparatively) Chinese CF travel tripod, it's not in the same league as the 055 for height or stability, but it's much more compact!
 
It's probably no help in this situation. 7 years ago I bought a tripod out where I was going and returned it to get a bit of a refund. More recently I had use of a Peak Design Travel Tripod and that went in the hold luggage and did its job well.

I feel that your particular needs are more robust.
 
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