travelling case for tripod

[wm mitchell]

. As is well known, airlines are making it tougher to carry a lot of equipment o n board, insisting more and more that baggages be checking in. I recently purcha sed a Ries tripod, which will not fit in my carry-on case, nor my suitcase. I'm looking for a hard case to hold this tripod so as to avoid damage.. Any suggesti ons? Thanks. BILL

[C.W. Dean]

One solution is a sturdy golf club bag--and they come with a carrying handle and shoulder strap. They make covers for traveling golfers that provide a locking arrangement over the open end. Mine is a third or fourth owner beat-up job from a thrift shop--low theft target!!

[Ellis Vener]

If you have the money: Lightware.

[Scott Bacon]

I once met a photographer in an airport who had made a hard case for his tripod out of pvc pipe. He used one piece of pipe roughly 7" in diameter with a pvc cap permanently glued on one end and a threaded cap on the other end. He had also fashioned a comfortable shoulder strap by screwing eye-lets into the caps (they are thicker than the tube) and then clipping on an extra shoulder strap from a previous camera bag. He checked the tube (name and address written on the outside with permanent marker), with the tripod and strap inside, along with his other baggage and when he picked it up at baggage claim he unscrewed the cap, pulled out the strap and clipped it on. I thought it was a great solution - ingeniously cheap, durable and theft deterent. Although it may not be practical for your Ries due to its size, this seems like it would work great for smaller tripods. I have vowed to make one for myself, but I always end up just lugging the tripod on board as a carry-on. Maybe next trip!