I have two destination weddings this year one in the Dominican Republic and the other in Jamaica. Has anyone ever had trouble with carrying on the TT Airport Security on an international flight? I have done several weddings in Puerto Rico (technically domestic) and have had no issues with carrying it on but I have never taken it internationally. My biggest fear is to get onboard a flight and be told that I have to check all of cameras and lenses!!!
I would advise against it going to the DR... When I was there I had a very small plane and even my TT International was too big. I had to beg to keep it as a carry on. If I were you, I'd just carry your stuff in your normal shooting bag.
The Airport International is a safer bet. Depends on whether you're going on a full-size plane or a smaller one where the Airport Security may no fit on board. Can you figure out what kind of plane you'll be on?
Stick with the TT backpacks if you're paranoid. Here's how much i just fit in my Airport Commuter. We used this as our main bag for our last hawaii wedding. Much smaller than our Security, way safer bet.
Thanks for your advice guys I definitely going to go with a plan B now!!! B&H has the Domke 220 and Domke 217 rolling packs for a great price right now ($99 and $85 respectively) so I think I’m going to go with one of them. I would prefer the 220 as according to the specs the height is 1” shorter than TT Airport International but it is also 3”deeper than the TT (not sure if the depth will matter) I do think my best bet may be to go with 217 as it should fit with no problems (the interior may be a little smaller than what I desire though). Do you guys have any thoughts on these two bags? Below is a quick dimensions spread sheet I put together.
If you are flying on a small plane pretty much any size bag bigger than a woman's small purse will be to big.
We always fly regional jets out of Cleveland for pretty much everything and all of our camera bags are generally to big. With some hassle I can convince them to let me stuff it under the seat in front but then I am basically holding my legs up the whole time.
In Hawaii they stuffed our bags in the normal cargo hold of the little island jumper we were on and in Asia they did the same thing as well.
My advice is to get really good insurance. Some places you literally cannot carry anything with you onto the plane save for maybe a small personal camera like an X100s or similar that you can hold in your hand.
In the states I will fight with the gate people about it but in other countries you basically put up and shut up because the fact that any plane is there to pick you up is a win.
I fly quite a bit. The main issue is not the size, but if all the overhead bins are full or not. It seems like almost half the flights I take(domestic), the overhead bins eventually get full for the last group of people boarding the plane. Those people have no choice but to check in their luggage at the jet bridge. (this is assuming you are not a priority member/boarding)
I always bring a large backpack for my gear and never a roller when traveling. Generally I'm not a fan of Lowepro one bit, but their Pro Runner 450AW backpack holds a ton of gear and fits underneath every plane i have taken....even the small ones. I absolutely love it and don't get mild heart-attacks at the airport. Highly Highly recommend that bag
Updates for anyone who might care….. I went ahead and purchased the Domke 217 and I am very very happy with it. This bag is an amazing value @ $85 and can hold quite a bit!! I feel much better about not getting screwed over when I try to carry on my equipment on international flights! There are only 2 -3 things I would change about this bag.
1. I wish there was only one pocket on the front flap instead of 2. That way I could store a 15" or 17" laptop if I needed to. FYI my 13" macbook pro fits snugly in the bottom pocket.
2. I wish there was padding in the interior of the front flap to help protect lenses like my 80-200's that may be slightly longer than 6". FYI this issue was easily remmedied by using a few extra dividers that came with my TT Airport Security (pic 5). They fir perfectly.
3. I wish it had a security lock.
Below are a few comparison pics of the bags since there are not very many pics of the 217 to be found elsewhere.
awad wrote:
Stick with the TT backpacks if you're paranoid. Here's how much i just fit in my Airport Commuter. We used this as our main bag for our last hawaii wedding. Much smaller than our Security, way safer bet.
Related question - do you guys think that Pelikan 1510 is too big for flying? We have Cancun wedding this year and I'm wondering how to pack our gear. I have an alternative solution - rolling messenger bag (similar to TT Airport Navigator) and shoulder messenger bag we normally use for e-sessions or backpack (size of Tamrak 767).
