A padded tripod bag is a useful thing if you do any kind of traveling, not just by air. Its price and the added baggage charges will be a small part of your trip's cost. I've taken a tripod US-Europe more than once; in fact I wrap the tripod with clothing inside the bag, and it can serve as a second suitcase. Have a great trip!
My attitude is to make sure insurance is active and I usually wrap the tripod in clothes, towel, etc. till insulated well, and place it in my duffel bag. Reg suitcase could be too short. This works for me every time whether traveling to Hawaii or AK, etc.
Les
i say build yourself a tube case, i traveled with my tripod for many years in a soft case along with my lighting stands, then the day came when i was in Livingston, Montana to photograph the Buffalo Bill Museum.
Unzip the case, grab the tripod by the leg and out the leg comes all by itself, Broken at the head. So I headed down to the local camera store see if rentals or any new were avaialble. ZERO
Found a local metal shop and the owner stares at the tripod then says they try something, come back in a few hours. When I showed up the tripod was laying on a table of repaired tractor parts, the owner yells across the shop, put 5 dollars on the desk and the tripod is yours.
I have checked in big Ries wooden tripods in sling carry bags; but find that unnecessary with 4x5 kits in which a multi-sectional CF tripod will easily compact down enough for a regulation carry-on. But something I have seen professional films crews do is put their expensive tripods and light stands at the head of the airline, near the entry, just like bags of expensive golf clubs which their owner's don't want checked in to tempt anyone in baggage handling. Most airlines allow this if you ask in advance. I personally wouldn't place anything of real value into checked baggage. We've had repeated incidents of theft and damage of even minor things, plus a few incidents of baggage loss. Carry on as much as they'll allow you. But I too have adapted sections of PVC drainage pipe to conceal and protect large tripods during road travel at least. Not many thieves seem interested in plumbing leftovers.
When I was with Rollei of America I was going to a convention with a very complete SL66 outfit. I was flying out of JFK but NY Airways had a special where if you booked their helicopter service at the same time as your ticket the helicopter from Morristown Airport, where parking was $1.00 a day, was free. In addition you could drive right up to the helicopter to check your bags all the way for your round trip, and then park your car.Originally Posted by Drew Wiley
For some reason on that trip I packed all of the camera stuff in my suitcase and packed film in the Rollei aluminum case.
When I arrived at my destination the Rollei case was not there and they could not trace it, even though it had a baggage tag.
It never was found during that trip or for the following few weeks.
Finally I was notified that while my trip was to Las Vegas the Rollei case was found in Buffalo, NY and I could pick it up the next day.
When I picked it up NY Airways told me it was found with a cabin carry on tag on it instead of my checked baggage tag.
But all the film was gone!
Actually, one of those hard cases for golf clubs might make a good case.
I have made a number of ABS or PVC tripod "tube" cases, with a section of closed cell foam inside, to help mitigate bumps.
If you are not the DIY type, you can always go with an adjustable pre-built version:
http://www.casedesigncorp.com/hard-c...e-tripod-case/
-Dan
Stone Photo Gear
https://www.stonephotogear.com/
Les - what good is insurance if you lose your opportunity to photograph? Will they pay your flight and opportunity to do it again? Yeah, it might be a good idea in terms of potential equipment loss, but hardly a good alternative for preventing it from happening in the first place. We generally fly out of Oakland to Hawaii because it's way more convenient and efficient than SF; but suitcase pilferage is common. Sometimes they simply steal a bag or two of macadamias or Kona coffee from the return flight, assuming that won't be noticed, but the mere fact they've opened the suitcase up is bad enough. I'd never put anything of real value or importance in a check-in. Apparently, a number of airports have a serious problem with pilferage. Then when all that stuff comes out at the turnstile, there's absolutely no protection from anyone picking it up if you don't spot and grab it first. Sometimes a conveyor gets delayed, or things get diverted to a different pick-up spot, and anyone could walk off with them before you even knew about it. And I don't think putting a live rattlesnake in a bag or duffle would be allowed.
My only worry with the pvc solution would be it being mistaken for something that would lead to increase security scrutiny, but I have no way of knowing if that's a legitimate concern. I've just wrapped mine with clothes, a towel....and put it in checked luggage. I've also carried it on as a personal item. I'm a bit surprised that it was allowed.
“You often feel tired, not because you've done too much, but because you've done too little of what sparks a light in you.”
― Alexander Den Heijer, Nothing You Don't Already Know
I've never had a TSA issue with a checked-in tripod. I did have a very brief delay returning from Maui last month with a new agent, who had never seen a big (6X9) rangefinder before, so momentarily handled it to make sure it was a real camera, and swabbed my fingers too. But he ignored the tripod, light meter, film itself, etc. The X-Ray of the carry-on bag made it perfectly evident already that those tripod tubes were hollow, with nothing in them.
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