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US TSA and a walking stick

phdoc007

New Member
Time of past OR future Camino
05/05/2025
I have read several posts regarding the TSA allowing hiking poles as carry-ons. However, my question is related to my wooden 1” (2.54 cm) diameter by 5 foot (1.5 m) long walking stick. What are my chances of getting this past TSA in Charlotte, NC and Boston, MA? Boston because I have flown overseas from Charlotte before with a layover in Boston where you have to go through TSA again to access the international terminal. Does anybody think if I walk with a [fake] limp they will allow it as an assistive walking device? 😉
 
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I have read several posts regarding the TSA allowing hiking poles as carry-ons. However, my question is related to my wooden 1” (2.54 cm) diameter by 5 foot (1.5 m) long walking stick. What are my chances of getting this past TSA in Charlotte, NC and Boston, MA? Boston because I have flown overseas from Charlotte before with a layover in Boston where you have to go through TSA again to access the international terminal. Does anybody think if I walk with a [fake] limp they will allow it as an assistive walking device? 😉
‘Zero’ and ‘no’.

Get that to Spain in the cabin and I’ll buy you a drink - and never post on ‘poles on planes’ threads again other than to applaud your achievement.
 
When you have read the comments above, perhaps some of the other threads on the “poles on planes” topic, and the TSA’s published guidance you might like to consider which part of “no” you are having most trouble with.

If you really want to take your big wooden stick with you start researching how you are going to check it into the aircraft hold
 
I have read several posts regarding the TSA allowing hiking poles as carry-ons. However, my question is related to my wooden 1” (2.54 cm) diameter by 5 foot (1.5 m) long walking stick. What are my chances of getting this past TSA in Charlotte, NC and Boston, MA? Boston because I have flown overseas from Charlotte before with a layover in Boston where you have to go through TSA again to access the international terminal. Does anybody think if I walk with a [fake] limp they will allow it as an assistive walking device? 😉
I agree with zero to no. Especially if it has a metal tip of some sort which even with a “limp” is a non-starter 99% of the time.
 
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As I wrote in a previous post about getting a disassembled normal hiking stick through TSA, "Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose."
That has been my experience..."Sometimes you win, but usually you lose".
A year ago I fully disassembled my hiking pole and crammed it in my pack. It was still removed and I asked why. The agent grabbed one section and pretended to hit me over the head with it.
Last spring the scanner person asked me if I needed the pole. I didn't want to lie, but was confused why he was asking, so didn't answer him. He repeated the question two more times. My son finally said out loud, "He's waiting for you to tell him yes". The scanner said, "That's what I wanted to hear" and smiled, passing it through.
 
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I think all of you are talking about metal hiking poles. Mine is a wooden stick with a rubber crutch tip over the blunt end. As for where to store it I bet the overhead bins are long enough for the stick to fit up there. As for the limp, I do have a bad left knee without a limp and the support the stick gives me seems to be honorable enough for me.
 
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I think all of you are talking about metal hiking poles. Mine is a wooden stick with a rubber crutch tip over the blunt end. As for where to store it I bet the overhead bins are long enough for the stick to fit up there. As for the limp, I do have a bad left knee without a limp and the support the stick gives me seems to be honorable enough for me.
I don't read the TSAs own website ( which I posted above) as hiking poles. They list those separately as "hiking poles."

Bottom line. It's up to the TSA agent. If he/she approves of your stick as a mobility device at both checkpoints, you'll get through with your stick. If he/she doesn't, you will either lose your stick or be sent back to check it in, and you will not be able to appeal the decision...at least, not in time to make your flight.

In the words of Clint Eastwood, 'Do you feel lucky?'

Buen Camino, either way you go. *I* would check it.
 
I would wrap it and check it in oversized luggage. If you have any type of emotional attachment to your staff (I e. carvings, etc) leave it at home and buy a stick over there and leave it in Santiago. All the albergues I have stayed at in Santiago had a collection of abandoned wooden walking sticks.
 
I think all of you are talking about metal hiking poles. Mine is a wooden stick with a rubber crutch tip over the blunt end. As for where to store it I bet the overhead bins are long enough for the stick to fit up there. As for the limp, I do have a bad left knee without a limp and the support the stick gives me seems to be honorable enough for me.
Don´t ask us, we´ll just give you silly answers. Ask the airline you intend to travel with. Pretty sure I know what they´ll say though.
 
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Don´t ask us, we´ll just give you silly answers. Ask the airline you intend to travel with. Pretty sure I know what they´ll say though.
But it’s more than the airline as security checks (like TSA in the USA) are a different agency altogether. While your airline may okay it, security may not. The airline staff at the gate can also refuse to board you with it, so that’s three checks before you even get on you first flight. Add in your connecting flights and return flights…I’m thinking that is a lot of rick with no sure answer until the moment you present yourself and your staff.
 
I think all of you are talking about metal hiking poles. Mine is a wooden stick with a rubber crutch tip over the blunt end. As for where to store it I bet the overhead bins are long enough for the stick to fit up there. As for the limp, I do have a bad left knee without a limp and the support the stick gives me seems to be honorable enough for me.
From online travel site: “Typically, the length of overhead compartments ranges from approximately 24 to 48 inches.” At 60 inches, your stick will be too big for many (most?) airline storage areas. You may get lucky and find a completely empty one that would accept your stick diagonally to get a bit more length, but that is very doubtful.
 
I think all of you are talking about metal hiking poles. Mine is a wooden stick with a rubber crutch tip over the blunt end. As for where to store it I bet the overhead bins are long enough for the stick to fit up there. As for the limp, I do have a bad left knee without a limp and the support the stick gives me seems to be honorable enough for me.
You indicated in your initial post that it would be a fake limp? And you don’t apparently need the wooden pole regularly to ambulate? Do you?
 
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Does anybody think if I walk with a [fake] limp they will allow it as an assistive walking device?
Extremely unlikely.
A cane or walking stick are one thing, a 5 foot pole is something else again.

Assuming you were to pass the security checks, (which I strongly doubt), and the airline was prepared to accept it, it's not unusual for airline crew to accept pushchairs, mobility devices etc as you enter the aircraft, they return them to you as you exit. So that part shouldn't be an issue.

As suggested above you could check with your airline and you could even write to TSA if you really wish to pursue this further. Even then remember that all rulings are subject to the individual interpretation of the TSA agent on the day. In other words, it's a gamble.

This question came up once before within the last year, see:
https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/threads/bring-my-own-walking-cane.84132/post-1200621.

Walking staff's are commonly available in Spain - SJPdP for example.
 
Honestly I hope you leave it home because I hope TSA would not allow it. I would not feel very good if I saw someone walk on a plane these days with a 5 foot stick. With all the incidents that happen on planes and the general level of insanity these days it would not make me comfortable. Check it or buy one in Spain.
 
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I have read several posts regarding the TSA allowing hiking poles as carry-ons. However, my question is related to my wooden 1” (2.54 cm) diameter by 5 foot (1.5 m) long walking stick. What are my chances of getting this past TSA in Charlotte, NC and Boston, MA? Boston because I have flown overseas from Charlotte before with a layover in Boston where you have to go through TSA again to access the international terminal. Does anybody think if I walk with a [fake] limp they will allow it as an assistive walking device? 😉
I would suggest that posting on an open and publicly-accessible forum that you are going to do something to "fool" TSA is not a good strategy in general. (And if you think it will never come back to haunt you, as an attorney who has hired companies to scour websites for evidence on opposing parties I can assure you that it definitely can, and often when you least expect it).
 
I have read this thread completely. The overarching response has been, “no.” And though we, as Pilgrims are, conceivably non-violent, TSA has no time to build their trust in our docility. But we can take this to a similar, more severe example. What if the Peregrino was wheelchair dependent?

Let us go through what happens in this scenario.

1) we know the wheelchair will not enter the plane. It is too big in every way. Suffice to say that airlines would rather shoehorn us into their imaginings of what a seat is rather than cater to our specific needs…all in the spirit of economy…even though we all know it is more in the spirit of profit.

2) the wheelchair is checked in as oversized baggage (we will not get into the abject horrors of getting to your destination and discovering that the wheelchair has been destroyed. In this case, a 5 foot wooden pole may get lost before it is damaged.

3) from baggage check-in, an assistant will transfer you to an acceptable sized wheelchair and help you through TSA and to the Gate, through the Gate to the plane and into your assigned seat, (which s usually one with ample legroom to aid in sitting down / getting up from the mini wheelchair.)

4) I do not know how the flight attendants get you to / from the bathroom, if that becomes necessary. But i would anticipate that one in a wheelchair has a good supply of Depends, for the journey.

5) Upon arrival, everything stated above is carried out, in reverse.

Finally, you want a success story, here it is;

May, 2018, I attempted to walk the CF, my second attempt and I made it to /Maneru, just past Puente la Reina before the quadrucep muscles in my left leg froze up. There was no short term solution other than heading home. A bus took me to Logrońo, el tren to SdC, overnight, and a flight home two days later.

I limped into SdC airport depending on both hiking poles to get me where I was going. TSA turned me back when I refused to give up the poles. What was I going to use to get on the plane let alone get home after the flight? i was directed to a Security desk where they asked if I needed a wheelchair? In my state, if I was not allowed poles past TSA, the only option was a wheelchair.

We went through TSA in the wheelchair, with poles packed in my backpack. I was taken to the plane and put in a seat, giving profuse thanks to the Attendant who got me there. I had to change planes in Iceland. That was not a good experience. I was taken from the plane and put on the tarmac. A flight attendant remained with me but even in mid May, it was cold.

I was placed on a plane home and all went well until I got off the plane and got an attendant that took me to the farthest East point of the airport to wait for a bus, which was at the farthest West point of the airport. At least, I had the wheelchair to use as a crutch while it carried my pack.

So, bottom line, I was injured, nearly to the point of full immobility, kept my hiking poles and, even though there were hiccups, got home. And for those who may question anything on here, I still have excruciating pain in my left quads upon palpation…six year later.
 
I don't read the TSAs own website ( which I posted above) as hiking poles. They list those separately as "hiking poles."

Bottom line. It's up to the TSA agent. If he/she approves of your stick as a mobility device at both checkpoints, you'll get through with your stick. If he/she doesn't, you will either lose your stick or be sent back to check it in, and you will not be able to appeal the decision...at least, not in time to make your flight.

In the words of Clint Eastwood, 'Do you feel lucky?'

Buen Camino, either way you go. *I* would check it.
Also, consider that the answer you get at your first security check is not necessary going to be the answer you will get everywhere - every time.

It’s like Russian Roulette. Eventually, the click will be a boom, and your cherished stick is history. Why chance it?

You can purchase an inexpensive substitute at most any starting place on any route. Then “donate” it when done.

Hope this helps,

Tom
 
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But somehow there is room for uncased guitars in the plane ????
I’ve never seen a 5’ guitar not a full size standup base on a plane…
 
Go to the TSA website and send them an email. When I have had questions about bringing things like fishing lures or other things, I have written them an email and gotten a response within a day or two.
 
I have read several posts regarding the TSA allowing hiking poles as carry-ons. However, my question is related to my wooden 1” (2.54 cm) diameter by 5 foot (1.5 m) long walking stick. What are my chances of getting this past TSA in Charlotte, NC and Boston, MA? Boston because I have flown overseas from Charlotte before with a layover in Boston where you have to go through TSA again to access the international terminal. Does anybody think if I walk with a [fake] limp they will allow it as an assistive walking device? 😉
Simple: research on buying poles at or close to starting point.
I have read several posts regarding the TSA allowing hiking poles as carry-ons. However, my question is related to my wooden 1” (2.54 cm) diameter by 5 foot (1.5 m) long walking stick. What are my chances of getting this past TSA in Charlotte, NC and Boston, MA? Boston because I have flown overseas from Charlotte before with a layover in Boston where you have to go through TSA again to access the international terminal. Does anybody think if I walk with a [fake] limp they will allow it as an assistive walking device? 😉
Simple: research on buying poles at or close to starting point of your Camino.
 
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It never hurts to ask about walking sticks as carry-ons. I know (because I was on the same flights) two people who were able to bring tall, thick wooden walking sticks on flights from the US to Tel Aviv (one of the airlines was El Al, which is brutal on security). So whomever said “what part of ‘no’ don’t you understand” needs to back off. I realize one may be told “no”, but it’s not like other people haven’t had success carrying on wood walking sticks.
 
It never hurts to ask about walking sticks as carry-ons. I know (because I was on the same flights) two people who were able to bring tall, thick wooden walking sticks on flights from the US to Tel Aviv (one of the airlines was El Al, which is brutal on security). So whomever said “what part of ‘no’ don’t you understand” needs to back off. I realize one may be told “no”, but it’s not like other people haven’t had success carrying on wood walking sticks.
I think it’s the ‘five foot long’ and feigning disability parts of the question which are the more problematic.

Once you’ve ‘backed off’ and thought about it, have another go.

Other that the practical matter of fitting a five foot stick in a four foot hole, there is the question of what potentially dangerous items should be allowed onboard and I’ll venture to suggest that a liar with a big stick wouldn’t be welcomed by most other passengers.
 
I have read several posts regarding the TSA allowing hiking poles as carry-ons. However, my question is related to my wooden 1” (2.54 cm) diameter by 5 foot (1.5 m) long walking stick. What are my chances of getting this past TSA in Charlotte, NC and Boston, MA? Boston because I have flown overseas from Charlotte before with a layover in Boston where you have to go through TSA again to access the international terminal. Does anybody think if I walk with a [fake] limp they will allow it as an assistive walking device? 😉
My thought: If it's something you really care
about, leave it home. If you don't really care about it, give it a try. Too mamy variables at every point along the way to be sure it would make it to Spain and back. Walking sticks, whether metal, carbon fiber or handcrafted wood are available virtually everywhere on the Camino, often free to the next taker, but otherwise generally affordable.
 
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I think all of you are talking about metal hiking poles. Mine is a wooden stick with a rubber crutch tip over the blunt end. As for where to store it I bet the overhead bins are long enough for the stick to fit up there. As for the limp, I do have a bad left knee without a limp and the support the stick gives me seems to be honorable enough for me.
Many poles are carbon fibre and collapsible, and yet it is still questionable if they are allowed as carry-on (see numerous other posts) as it can often depend on the security personnel at the particular point of departure. The one thing that is certain, though, is that it will not be allowed to be unsecured in the cabin. It certainly will not fit under the seat and the overhead luggage bins are compartmentalized. You may get away with the length, but that may mean that other people cannot stow their luggage because the pole is blocking the back of the bin. You will be asked to check it in as oversized cargo. People do that all the time. And if your knee is that bad, you can always ask for boarding assistance.
 

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