I'll be flying to visit relatives in January and don't want to check any luggage. Have any of you had any negative experiences with TSA having a tripod in your carry-on?
I took a trip recently with a small tripod in my suitcase. Went through TSA fine. You can also ask TSA on facebook and instagram @asktsa and they will get back to you
i just went to and from Japan a few weeks ago. i am a "known traveler" so going through the "gauntlet" at EWR was a non-event with my carryon and camera pack. in Japan (HND) entry though i was asked about one item in my carry on which when shown to me on the scanner screen was it my ball head (an unfamiliar shape/density) separate from my tripod. i pulled it out of my bag and let the individual take a good look at it. got the thumbs up and away i went to my next conveyance further along on an unfortunately not long enough excursion. on the way back around exiting through NRT and arriving at EWR, it was a walk through too.
I always fly with both my camera bag and my tripod, in its shoulder bag, as carrying ons.
Never had any issues.
Would like 5 dollars though for every time I've been asked where I'm going fishing.
TSA is not the problem but the people working for the airlines. I carry the bare tripod with no case on to the plane and the ones I use are no longer than 22 inches. This means they can fit parallel to the aisle and take up only a few inches in the overhead bin.
i will repeat the tale of NRT security exiting screeners
for them it turned out "at the time" the magic number was 17. that being folded tripod length over 17" in length whether it be in you carry-on or not. travel with pretty much an all-carry-on setup for myself. anything larger that is needed is already available to me where I'm going to be.
in my pack was a RRS TQC14 tripod. it went through the X-Ray scanner, and they asked me to remove it from the legal dimensioned carry on. they claimed it was too large by their standards for carry on size (though inside something that was) which for them was 17" total folded length. after a moment of pause i proceeded to pull the center post out and unscrew the rubber feet from it and i then requested, they measure it. they did and much to their chagrin it made the limit. i then proceeded to reassemble and put inside my pack again in front of them. i have gone through security a whole lot of times after that and was never questioned again.
it's not just the people working for the airlines all of the time, there are always more that make things what they are. just remember there is also a whole lot of potential "rider" issues that start right at the doorways of any airport.
The length depends on the depth of the overhead bin and nothing more. A tripod 22" or shorter will fit inside the bin with no problems. Longer thatn 22" and it will have to go in at the rear and get buried by other luggage and not worth the trouble.
I have had checked luggage misrouted, permanently lost, and a Pelican case destroyed by the airlines. What I need at my destination I carry on the plane.
elkhornsun wrote:
The length depends on the depth of the overhead bin and nothing more. A tripod 22" or shorter will fit inside the bin with no problems. Longer thatn 22" and it will have to go in at the rear and get buried by other luggage and not worth the trouble.
I have had checked luggage misrouted, permanently lost, and a Pelican case destroyed by the airlines. What I need at my destination I carry on the plane.
Nope. I’ve been through airports where the maximum length of a tripod allowed as carryon is 17”…no matter if you are going onto a puddle jumper or a 767. Nothing to do with what fits in the overhead bins.
Had an issue with a monopod in the Brussels Belgium airport. Looking at the x-ray they had no idea what it was and they thought it might be a collapsible weapon. It wasn't until I took my camera out and showed them what it was for they let me through. From then on I always check my tripod/monopod in luggage.
No TSA reg covering restricting the length of a carryon tripod. I routinely take 22" long tripods and neither TSA or the aircraft attendants have cared one way or the other.
If I need a tripod at my destination it would be foolish to put it in checked luggage where it can be stolen (hundreds of TSA employees have been fired over the years for theft) or misrouted or lost.
elkhornsun wrote:
No TSA reg covering restricting the length of a carryon tripod. I routinely take 22" long tripods and neither TSA or the aircraft attendants have cared one way or the other.
If I need a tripod at my destination it would be foolish to put it in checked luggage where it can be stolen (hundreds of TSA employees have been fired over the years for theft) or misrouted or lost.
TSA is fine if you confine your travels to the US. Going outside the US...it's best to check what the regulations are at all the airports you travel through. Some have much more restrictions than others. The airport at Taipei has a display case of confiscated stuff that was not allowed as carry on. There were tripods in this case.
It's a lot easier to travel with tripods & camera gear in North America than in some other parts of the world. It is not uncommon for tripods to not be allowed in carry-on bags. In Indonesia, for instance, I was forced to check it in. I've witnessed other passengers having to surrender their tripods in other airports too. If you can't get clear guidance on rules when flying internationally, I'd suggest checking it in to be on the safe side.
I greatly appreciate all the responses! Thankfully I’m going from Alaska to San Diego so I should be ok. My tripod goes down to just over 16”, I believe.
chez wrote:
TSA is fine if you confine your travels to the US. Going outside the US...it's best to check what the regulations are at all the airports you travel through. Some have much more restrictions than others. The airport at Taipei has a display case of confiscated stuff that was not allowed as carry on. There were tripods in this case.
Well I flew through Taipei a number of years ago with my made in Taiwan (Feisol) tripod in my carry on. No issue with the tripod, but they did confiscate the little allen adjustment wrench that came with the tripod...
If you're flying domestically in the united states you typically will not have a problem. The only issue that may arise is if you carry it separately depending upon the gate agent they will decide it's a carry on item. If you're traveling out of the country you are subjected to the security agents via your departure airport which really is up to the policies of that airport.
amv8 wrote:
Well I flew through Taipei a number of years ago with my made in Taiwan (Feisol) tripod in my carry on. No issue with the tripod, but they did confiscate the little allen adjustment wrench that came with the tripod...
Ah, yes, I've had allen wrenches confiscated at least twice, once somewhere in India and the other time in some other Asian country. Annoyed, I asked why confiscate something this innocuous. Apparently it can be used as a weapon! I mean a tripod is okay, but an allen wrench is a potential weapon. Go figure!
Short story, tripod in carry on bag going into and coming out of London Heathrow, a notorious PITA airport.
Tripod-Heathrow extended mix:
I now admit I have an addiction to the North Atlantic region and will continue this addiction this Fall. In the Fall 2021 I spent two months in the Faroe Islands shooting all medium format film save a Leica M10-P. Last Fall I spent a month in Iceland, digital that time. Both of those trips I checked a soft side roller bag very well packed and that included my Gitzo GT2545T Series 2 tripod.
Those were photo-centric, income earning trips so my wife did not come along. This Fall however I am going to the Scottish Highlands for just over three weeks and my wife is going with me. I am taking a lighter kit, Hasselblad X2D, 45, 65 and 100 lenses and my Leica M10-P with a 35mm. The tripod is going, but the question is and short of writing UK.gov, I have no clarity on if I can fly back home with this 17.5" when folded tripod in a carry on roller bag. The other concern about it and I *think* I might be ok is that the rubber feet are hard-pull removable to reveal spikes, essential in wet sloppy terrain.
I'll be fine going in, flying biz class but coming out, not so sure.
