Poles

[Davroos]

Does anyone out there have any ideas about flying with poles? We don't want to book our packs, but take them on as hand luggage, but will the airlines let me tak the poles on as hand luggage as well

Thanks

 

[frescotours]

Most likely you won't be able to bring them on the plane and you'll have to check them in.
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20081030054018AA0RO3w

However, you can always buy a pair here in Spain!

 

[Davroos]

However, you can always buy a pair here in Spain!

But as I'm starting in Portugal on a Sunday, any other ideas?

 

[Lillian Rodriguez]

Why not pack them in a separate cardboard tube, large enough to carry the collapsed poles, any liquids, knife, scissors, etc? Then check it in as luggage. Chances are they will arrive with you!

It worked for me.

Buen camino :arrow:

 

[grayland]

Why not pack them in a separate cardboard tube, large enough to carry the collapsed poles, any liquids, knife, scissors, etc? Then check it in as luggage. Chances are they will arrive with you!

It worked for me.

Buen camino :arrow:

This is what I am doing. I just bought a cardboard mailing tube and will put the walking pole in it and just check that. I will still carry on my pack so as not to have the airlines lose it.
The worse that can happen is the pole does not make it.

 

[Davroos]

Two things

1) As I wrote originally, I do not want to check my luggage in
2) Here in Europe, the budget airlines charge stupid money for checking in of luggage

So it looks like they will be staying home

 

[Deleted member 3000]

Call the airline and ask?

As irritating as airline baggage charges are, they may be less than the cost of shipping poles, and are almost certainly less than paying full retail in Spain or Portugal.

 

[sulu]

If you call the airlines and ask, and they say yes, get them to email you the answer, with the name and position of the person who has given you the information!
Maybe I'm just too suspicious of call centres!
However it would be a shame to end up having a difference of opinion with the chack in person:roll:

 

[nellpilgrim]

Hi last year I was informed by ryanair that my poles would have to be checked in and, on that account, I bought a special bag that would contain both my rucksack and my poles in the hold.
However when I got on the plane there were 3 other pilgrims who had got on with their backpacks and poles no problem! However I need and love my Black Diamond poles and can't take the risk of them being confiscated so I'lll continue to cough up the extra dosh when flying with the budget lines..... though not without feeling :x
N

 

[MikeB]

All poles that I have used will come apart to make the length much less, and hence should fit inside your rucksack.

Undo fully the plastic rings that allow you to adjust the length, and gently but firmly pull out each section. This will reduce the length considerably. After arrival, you can put them back together again. They can be a bit greasy inside, so have a small plastic bag to keep them from dirtying your clothes.

However, this will not prevent an enthusiastic security person saying they are a danger and confiscating them - I remember reading that even a bishop had his crozier refused a while back!

Just an idea for you - but try the disassembly before you go

Mike

 

[Portia1]

I took mine apart and put them inside my pack. I carried my pack on board and there were no questions asked. I flew American Airlines (a regional flight DC-Boston) and then Iberia to Madrid and Iberia to Pamplona. I used Pacer Poles and I have to say, I really enjoyed them. I've used hiking poles for years but I found this design to be especially helpful for lots of flat walking and pavement.

 

[Davroos]

Some good info there, but I have been onto the Ryanair website with who I am flying with

What items are prohibited from being carried in the Cabin of the aircraft?

Pointed/edged Weapons & Sharp Objects; pointed or bladed articles capable of causing injury, including axes & hatchets, arrows and darts, crampons (grappling iron, hooked bar of iron, or plate with iron spikes used in mountaineering), harpoons & spears, ice axes & ice picks, ice skates, lockable or flick knives with blades of any length, knives, including ceremonial, religious and hunting knives, made of metal or any other material strong enough to be used as a potential weapon, meat cleavers, machetes, open razors and blades (excluding safety or disposable razors with blades enclosed in cartridge), sabres, swords and swordsticks, scalpels, scissors with blades of any length, ski and walking/hiking poles, throwing stars

So I could try and pull them apart or .....

 

[grayland]

There is a problem with simply asking an airline if they are allowed. It is the security line people with the xray machines who will make the decision...not an airline person. You do run the risk of them being seen on the xray and denied or confiscated. I am very sure it would be different at each airport and with each different person manning the security line.

I don't have to pay for checking luggage so will probably check them (but not my pack). Of course, it would be great to not have to wait for them on the other end...so who knows????

 

[peregrina2000]

There have been several threads on this topic. Here's one of them: frequently-asked-questions/topic6461.html?hilit=TSA#p37973

For people flying from the US, it's the TSA rules that matter -- and as you can see in that post, it is not clear if hiking poles are allowed on or not. "Ski poles" are prohibited and "walking canes" are permitted, so the question boils down to whether the security person thinks your hiking sticks are more like walking canes or ski poles. That means that there is no consistency and it also means you're taking a risk that someone is going to disallow them, because the US regulations don't clearly say one way or the other, leaving it up to the total discretion of the TSA personnel.

In other countries, I imagine there are different security regulations. And then to add to the confusion, there are the airline's own restrictions. If you are by any chance going through London Heathrow, all bets are off because I have been subjected to wildly different standards on different trips, sometimes just weeks apart.

I like the cardboard tube advice, because it also allows me to pack my pocket knife. But if you don't want to do that, I wouldn't be confident that you can get them through security or into the airplane, although as others say, it sometimes happens. Good luck.

 

[grayland]

Has anyone successfully taken poles through TSA security in U.S.?
...or unsuccessfully?

 

[Portia1]

As I said above, I took my hiking poles apart (rubber banded them together so I knew which parts went with what pole), put rubber walking tips on them and packed them in my pack. I took it through TSA at Reagan National so that ought to tell you something as they frisk people with particular relish there. There was no question about the poles. I did pack a plastic trash bag and extra rubber bands if I did have to check them but there was no problem leaving the country or entering with them in my pack. TSA will tell you that crutches or walking assistance devices are typically allowed. That being said, I had no problem going through security with collapsed poles in my carry-on pack. If your carbide tips are exposed, that might cause some alarm.