Baggages - Walking Poles

[dandagenais]

Good morning,

Questions for people that have done the Camino and flew of from North America... I'll be taking a plane from Canada October 31, 2013. Here are my questions:
1) walking poles? what are your thoughts? Yes or no?
2) checking baggages on plane - do you keep you backpack as carry-on or check it? If you have poles (telescopic, small) that fit in your Backpack, are you allowed to carry-on (because of the pole)?

Merci!!
Dan

 

[wayfarer]

1. Yes, if you have used them for walking before I think they are a must.
2. There is always a risk with checked in baggage and no I do not know of any airline which will allow them in hand luggage.
If you want to carry your pack as hand luggage you can pick up poles in France or Spain and post them home after your camino.
Have a great Camino.

 

[Pibrac]

Personnellement je suis parti avec mes bâtons, très utile dans les descentes, mais soulagent aussi les genoux sur le plat. Mon sac je l'ai enregistré pour la soute parce que trop gros comme bagage a main. J'ai du modifier mes bâtons pour qu'ils rentrent au complet dans mon sac. Aussi j'ai emballé mon sac dans un sac en plastique (genre de plastique blanc tissé) pour le protéger ( sauf au retour puisque je l'ai mis à la poubelle en arrivant à Paris.

 

[Magwood]

I wanted to use my existing poles, not buy new ones, and I did not want to check my backpack in case of damage, so I put my poles and pack into an old suitcase and checked it in. I thought I would have to find somewhere suitable to dispose of the suitcase on arrival at St Jean, but luckily the taxi driver was very pleased to take it off my hands.

When I finished my camino, I posted the poles back home and carried on my pack as hand luggage. A solution that worked well for me. I guess you could also use a strong cardboard box instead of a suitcase - it would be easier to dispose of.

 

[peregrina2000]

Hi, dandagenais,

I have a lot of experience and a lot of opinions on this topic, but I fly out of the US, so I can't tell you what the situation will be in Canada. So my advice is to make sure you get recommendations only from people who have flown out of Canada. Their is a lot of country-by-country variation here.

If anyone reading this is from the US, though, I will say that notwithstanding many dire warnings to the contrary, I have been able to carry on my walking sticks for my last three or four Caminos. But when I tell people about my experience, I always make very clear to point out that I left from the US, and flew directly to Spain, with no intermediate security to go through (such as London Heathrow).

And I always carry on my pack, I would never check it. The old saw is that if it's too big for a carry-on, it's too big for a month on the Camino, but I know that some people like bigger packs and heavier loads.

buen camino, Laurie

 

[lpresber]

Absolutely yes for the poles. I flew Air Canada via Frankfurt/Paris in April and needed to check them. MEC makes a really great duffle bag specific for packs for about $20 that then folds down really small. I put everything in there and checked it without worry that someone would see my gear and be tempted to steal it. Buen Camino!

 

[wayfarer]

I didn't use any outer bag or case when I checked my sack in. I wrapped the whole lot in pallet wrap, its like industrial strength kitchen "cling" wrap. The hardest part was unwrapping it in Biarritz Airport when I arrived. On the way home I actually used a whole roll of kitchen cling wrap to do the same job. No damage to straps, poles etc and it stops "curious" baggage people from having a look inside. I also put a big tag inside the wrap showing my name, mobile number and the Airport of destination, after that its in the lap of the Gods.

 

[Chacharm]

I checked my pack. They put it in a large plastic bag for me in Dallas and it was fine when we arrived in Madrid. I bought excellent poles in Pamplona and when we flew out I begged some boxes from a restaurant at the airport and created a hard shell for my poles and my son's 2 sticks and they wrapped the package in plastic and I paid an extra fee for it.
I arrived in Pamplona in pain and thinking of quitting. A fellow peregrino took me to the outdoor's store there and helped me pick out the poles that changed my entire Camino experience. Everything got better once I had them!

 

[High Endeavours]

Hi Dan. I live in Canada and have wondered about carry on with poles as well, so on two separate occasions I have gone out to our local airport and asked about carrying the poles on. I spoke with different security officials each time, and after showing them our poles I was given the same message...the poles can be carried on inside your pack and they will complete a visual inspection of the poles at departure security. I am trusting that this will be the case when we depart this Saturday morning. I suggest that if convenient you might want to visit or contact your local airport security screening folks. Hope this helps.

Geoff

 

[Anne100]

I am disassembling my poles and putting them in my checked suitcase. They're not something I want to argue with airline personnel over. My pack is frameless so it folds up neatly and will go in the bottom of my carry-on.

 

[daviddephillips]

Treaking poles as important as your shoes. I flew American Airlines, Miami to Barcelona....carry on the pack and attached the poles. if pointed they must be covered, mine was rounded rubber tips. not a problem with Airlines. coming home the pack was checked and it ended up being searched and askew the contents. Your biggest concern should be the weather if your starting in SJPP france. My best wishes Buen Camino.

 

[TMcA]

My wife and I flew from Montreal to Spain this spring. The airport offered the enclosure of our packs and trekking poles in plastic wrap at the airport. This is what Pibrac mentioned in his post: << j'ai emballé mon sac dans un sac en plastique (genre de plastique blanc tissé) pour le protéger>>. Yes, we agreed to this perhaps excessive use of a petroleum based protective layer. But it protected the straps and fasteners of our packs going onto and off the airplane. Our flight was directly from Montreal to our destination in Spain, where we spent a few days with a friend, so we had no fear of our packs being lost...we felt if for some reason our packs didn't make it, they would arrive in a day or two and before our hike. The timely arrival of the backpack is the pilgrim's conundrum: carry as hand baggage or check with risk of mishandling and tardy arrival. (Of course not true for European pilgrims who may be able to travel by car, bus, or train.)

I am not a gambler, but travel in general, including the Camino, requires a bit of "letting go". There are just moments when you need to trust your fellow man (or in this case, your airline) I thought the checking of our bags and trekking poles was worth the moderate or slight risk of doing so.

And take those poles. Or buy them upon arrival. They are, IMO, very good for your knees if those knees have any accumulated mileage on them.

Buen Camino

Tom

 

[paul.ferris]

I've done two Camino Frances and believe that poles are not essential, but if needed cheaply bought in Spain. Just another thing to carry.

 

[Nanouc]

Bonjour!!!

I'll leave Mtl on sep 24 and have the same concerns!!! But the poles are not the only thing that may cause problem... Nail clipper?? Victorinox scout knife? Matches?

I m scared my bag wont follow me even with a direct flight.... I m still not sure what i will do... Will read the answers yo this post!!!!

 

[longwalker]

I have traveled canada to and around europe since 2007. I always take treking poles with me and wouldn't dream of going without them . Having said that I can't say that I have seen any real consistancy in regard to carrying them inside the plane, sometimes no problem other times big headache. In my opinion it's a sad commentary on the airline industry that there is no consistancy and that travelers should have to be so concerned about their gear getting lost. Having said all that, when I fly to paris next week, I'll probably check my 7 kg backpac and hope for the best.

 

[volleyjanice]

Hello,
We flew Air Canada in August, Victoria to Toronto, Toronto to Madrid. We had telescoping poles but they couldn't be made short enough to go inside our packs so we tucked them in side pockets and cinched in the straps. We weren't really worried though since they bagged the packs in Victoria. Unfortunately they did not have bags in Madrid when we returned and by then we had also added our boots to the sides with the assumption of same airline, same service. Luckily everything arrived in Toronto but one boot was hanging on by a boot lace (we had cinched and tied everything we could!). In Toronto we were able to obtain bags again. My husband used his poles far less than I did but we both felt them to be very useful...and he was NOT going to take any right up until the last minute! Whatever you decide, have a fantastic trip!
Janice

 

[C clearly]

Given the certain uncertainty, I think the best approach is to take my backpack with most of my stuff as carry-on, with me on the plane. In a separate throwaway bag or cardboard box I will put my poles and knife, pack it with newspapers, and entrust it to the airlines as checked baggage. I will have everything else with me. On the way back I don't mind checking everything.

 

[Anne100]

Keep in mind bringing a carry-on doesn't guarantee you'll be able to carry it on. If the overhead bins fill you might end up checking it anyway (this is a recurring bad dream I have since my carry-on contains all the items I can't afford to "donate" to the TSA thieves).

 

[RDLtrekker]

I plan on doing the same thing as C clearly - carry-on most of my bag and only check the objectionable items... I read Guy Thatcher's book on his experience on the Camino in which he starts by declaring that his checked backpack never made it and therefore, he had to purchase a whole new set of Camino gear in Spain. It somehow got lots and to this day, he has not seen it. I have spend many hours researching my gear for the lightest, most efficient, multi-use items so that my total "out-of-skin" weight is just over 13 pounds (not including water/food). This includes both the items in my pack and that I will be wearing. I do not want to take the risk of losing my pack, so, the possibly objectionable items will be checked in a small/hard case poster tube (http://www.deserres.ca/en-ca/search/adjustable-24-to-40-inch-mailing-tube/100204/) and carry-on the rest - worst case, I have to replace trekking poles and pocket knife in SJPP. I will check by bag for the trip home.

Buen Camino!