When I fly, I pack my Reis wooden tripod into a Lightware rolling stand bag. This is what it looks like https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produ...Stand_Bag.html. My film holders, a few tools (screwdrivers, a Leatherman, a spanner wrench) and my film tent also ride in the bag.

TSA always opens the bag before putting it into the hold, probably because they see the legs' spikes on the Xray. (I know that they open it because they insert a leaflet that informs me that they've opened it). They invariably mess up my neatly arranged stuff, and they rarely zip the bag up properly. Also, at least twice, one of the tripod legs has emerged with a crack in the wood, because the bag gets mishandled.

So, I'm wondering if I should just send the tripod into the hold by itself, without being in a bag. What do you think?

How do you travel with a tripod when you fly?

Thanks. Robert