Hard Tripod Case

[nimo956]

I have a Ries J600 + J250 head for my 4x5 setup. What kind of case do people use to carry their tripods when they are traveling on an airplane? I was thinking of getting a long Pelican case, but they cost around $300, so I just wanted to see if there are any other options available.

[Daniel Stone]

I'd imagine you have a plumbing supply near you, check out large dia semi-rigid(the light grey stuff) pvc tubing in larger(thinking 6" or 8" I.D.) diameters.

That + corresponding end caps(slip on or threaded caps) and a few hours of your time can make you a really nice, TSA-safe flight case :)

If you get yourself some .75" --> 1" thick closed cell foam(heck even getting a bargain sleeper pad at wal-mart), line the inside of the case, and use some bubble-wrap or more foam to wrap around your tripod's legs during transit.

cheers,
Dan

[Daniel Stone]

there's also these, ready-made, but somewhat expensive:

http://www.adorama.com/FIP50802.html?gclid=CLmLwv3w27oCFcU5QgodW1cAeg

[AtlantaTerry]

there's also these, ready-made, but somewhat expensive:

http://www.adorama.com/FIP50802.html?gclid=CLmLwv3w27oCFcU5QgodW1cAeg

I used to have one of those Fiberbilt cases. The nice thing about it was it was flexible so any impacts bounced off.

[William Whitaker]

I have a Fiberbilt case for my Ries A-100. It does a good job, but I've never checked it on an airline. When I've shipped tripods, I've used a lamp box or similar from U-Haul, lined it with 1/2" rigid insulating foam, wrapped the legs in bubble wrap and filled the voids with foam peanuts. That might work for taking via the airline and be a cheaper one-time solution. U-Haul used to have a box intended for golf clubs that was good for this. I don't see that one now, but they list one that's 36" long and 4x4" which may be a better solution for a smaller tripod. Any way you do it, tripods are a pain!

[DrTang]

I have a plastic case made for drum equipt - cymbal stands - that works pretty good. Also..if you have a light stands and stuff, a hardshell golf bag case works great and airlines are used to dealing with them - they usually have wheels on the bottom too

[Drew Bedo]

The larger diametyer PVC can seem expensive. In the 1990s (well before 9/11) I traveled by air to a workshop in Sante Fe NM. To ship my heavy tripod by air. I thought to put together a tripod case made from 8" white PVC (Sch 40?). Over the phone the pipe supplier quoted me a pretty steep price for a 20 foot section and an additional fee to cut off the 3' I needed! So I called my plumber wo called the pipe yard and he got a friend of his to sell me a cut-off end for $10 cash.

A wooden plug in each end closed it off with a regid handle to haul it around made it complete. A little soap and scrubbing took off all the purple printing. It was a 8" dia 4' long tube with no markings that weighed maybe 25- 30 pounds.

Got on the plane and saw them bring out the luggage. The head Stewerdess came on the inter com, called my name and asked me to activate my call light (did it). A baggage handler came over to me with a concerned look on his face to ask what was in it. I told him and said they could look in it if they wanted . . .offered to open it for them. He declined and thanked me. Guess he just wanted to see if I had a nervous twitch or sweat on my upper lip!

[MrFujicaman]

I carry a Majestic tripod or a Bogen 3040 w/ 3047 head to Las Vegas at least once a year. I came up with the idea of using a large Tenba soft tripod case with a heavy 8" cardboard tube meant for pouring concrete pillars inside the Tenba case. I lined the cardboard tube with a cut up foam pad meant for camping from Walmart. So far, it's survived 11 round trips.

[gleaf]

I haul my survey tripods in a low dollar thrift store hard golf bag air line case. Looks an awful lot like the stand hard cases sold at Musicians Friend on line. I paid $40. For air travel a commercial case gets much less attention.

[Kirk Gittings]

For my 4x5 I found a tripod sturdy enough for my field 4x5 that with the head removed that would fit diagonally in my largest suitcase. The rest of the suitcase gets filled with my clothes etc. In this case it was a Manfrotto 055MF3-The MF4 (4 leg segments would fit in an even smaller suitcase).

[John Powers]

The J600 comes with a padded bag with a fabric slot for each leg piece. Ries says, …."fits into a custom designed cordura bag that will work perfectly with your backpack." What protection do you need that this bag and the rigidity of six leg pieces will not address? I understand that you are entitled to anything you want to buy. I am just trying to understand what it is you need that is not already included in what came with the product?

John

[nimo956]

I don't think you can bring the J600 as a carry-on on a plane, so it will need to be checked. Have you ever seen the way those baggage guys handle putting luggage onto a plane? It doesn't instill the greatest confidence that my equipment won't be damaged. For this reason, I'd prefer some kind of hard case to the soft one that came with the tripod. The soft case is fine if you're just walking around and need something in which to carry the tripod.

[John Powers]

I don't think you can bring the J600 as a carry-on on a plane, so it will need to be checked. Have you ever seen the way those baggage guys handle putting luggage onto a plane? It doesn't instill the greatest confidence that my equipment won't be damaged. For this reason, I'd prefer some kind of hard case to the soft one that came with the tripod. The soft case is fine if you're just walking around and need something in which to carry the tripod.

In that case I would be reluctant to try the PVC home built. I use the smaller 1 ½" size pipe to build a frame for a 24' boat winter cover. It survived the first winter but was quite fragile taking apart in the spring. A four foot drop broke several pieces. Now that I hand the parts down to a waiting set of hands on the ground the parts have lasted twenty years. They are good for weight support, but fragile on impact.

John

[vinny]

An 8"ceme-tube (http://www.menards.com/main/building-materials/concrete-cement-masonry/forming-tubes/c-5652.htm?page=3) with end caps can be had for about $30

[AtlantaTerry]

An 8"ceme-tube (http://www.menards.com/main/building-materials/concrete-cement-masonry/forming-tubes/c-5652.htm?page=3) with end caps can be had for about $30

8 inch or 8 foot?

[Daniel Stone]

8 inch or 8 foot?

8" diameter