Flying with a backback

[squeezebox]

So what do most airlines say about a backpack as baggage. I know the issue about gas canisters they won't even accept the stove head if it has been used. I'm concerned about the straps and such, particularly if the shoulder straps are not allowed. Also any chance the shoulder straps etc. could get caught in their equipment and tear up the pack. It would be easy enough to make a cloth bag to put the pack in, like a giant stuff sack, then mail it home. My shoulder straps can be removed, and the hip belt can be cinched flat.
Your experiences please.

[ChinMusic]

Many have posted about using a cheap dufflebag and ditching the dufflebag at the airport.

[johnnybgood]

While we're on the subject of flying with hiking gear, what's the latest TSA regulations regarding trekking poles ?

[George]

with a frameless pack, I turn it inside out - otherwise put the pack in a big heavy contractor garbage bag zip tied shut

[Maui Rhino]

I'll be flying from Hawaii to hike the JMT next summer. My plan is to fly with my pack and poles in an old sea bag (duffel bag) I have from my Marine Corps days. Once I land in Cali and am on the way to the trailhead, I will to mail it general Delivery along with a clean set of clothes to myself at the exit (Lone Pine). Once I finish my hike, its simple enough to pick it up, and I'll have fresh clothes for the flight home. If you don't have a sea bag, you can get one at a surplus store for less than $20, I think.

[TroutknuT]

[QUOTE=Maui Rhino;1828050]I'll be flying from Hawaii to hike the JMT next summer. My plan is to fly with my pack and poles in an old sea bag (duffel bag) I have from my Marine Corps days. Once I land in Cali and am on the way to the trailhead, I will to mail it general Delivery along with a clean set of clothes to myself at the exit (Lone Pine). Once I finish my hike, its simple enough to pick it up, and I'll have fresh clothes for the flight home.

Used this M.O. On my section hike (Springer to N.O.C.) Clean cotton and a shower made for a nice trip back to the other world. Stick an addressed Post Office priority box in the duffel bag with your pack and clothes.

[Coffee]

I'll be flying from Hawaii to hike the JMT next summer. My plan is to fly with my pack and poles in an old sea bag (duffel bag) I have from my Marine Corps days. Once I land in Cali and am on the way to the trailhead, I will to mail it general Delivery along with a clean set of clothes to myself at the exit (Lone Pine). Once I finish my hike, its simple enough to pick it up, and I'll have fresh clothes for the flight home. If you don't have a sea bag, you can get one at a surplus store for less than $20, I think.
That's what I did on the JMT this summer and it worked out well. On the Colorado trail next year, I am thinking of using a bounce box and if I do that I'll just keep the duffel in the bounce box with other things I'll use in towns. I believe that a post office will only hold general delivery boxes for a month so sending the duffel to the endpoint directly from the start won't work for hikes longer than a month.

[upstream]

I flew to Boston (from Atlanta) and back by slipping a cheap cotton duffel bag (I bought in Taiwan for $2) over the outside, to protect the straps.

Kind of like this:http://www.amazon.com/Cotton-Duck-Extra-Large-Laundry/dp/B001CF4V3Y/ref=pd_sim_hg_2

My stove was a simmerlite, just dumped the fuel and aired the bottle for a day, and reinstalled the pump, going both ways. Fuel goes in a lawnmower gas tank. TSA rules say you can take these, but I've heard stories of people that say otherwise.

[RedBeerd]

I've flown a half dozen times with a fully loaded pack, poles inside, pad strapped to the outside. They will put it in a big plastic bag for you and tie it up. I even leave my nalgenes in the pockets. Never had a problem bringing it as is

[Son Driven]

Last year when I flew from Minneapolis to Atlanta. I double bagged my pack in heavy duty contractor bags. cut a hole to expose the pack handle, so I and the baggage handlers had something to grab hold of. With monster tape I reinforced where I made the cut for pack handle. I then tied my orange bandanna to the pack handle so the handlers could easily find the handle. Everything came to the baggage claim just as I packed it.

[Don H]

I flew with 100 Scouts in July to Philmont Scout Ranch and we all used laundry bags to put our backpacks in. You just need to keep all the straps contained so they don't snag the handling equipment. Tie the draw string securely. You can toss the laundry bag, send it home, or give it away when you arrive. Then have someone send you another one when you're done for the trip home.

If you use a locking duffle bad use a TSA approved lock.

If you take hiking poles wrap them in cardboard, then wrap your sleeping pad around them to keep them from getting bent.

Butane stove heads (Pocket Rocket etc.) are OK. Liquid fueled stoves (Whisperlites etc.) and their empty bottles are a problem if they smell of fuel. You can rinse them with water and dry and air out if you have time. No fuel in baggage though. TSA has a section on their website on camping gear.

[4eyedbuzzard]

So what do most airlines say about a backpack as baggage. I know the issue about gas canisters they won't even accept the stove head if it has been used.Don't know where you got that info, but it's wrong. I just recently flew with my Jetboil and an alky stove in my pack and no problems. White gas stoves are a bit more problematic as they can retain residual fuel in the pump and generator, but if you air them out for a day or so it all should evaporate.
I'm concerned about the straps and such, particularly if the shoulder straps are not allowed. Also any chance the shoulder straps etc. could get caught in their equipment and tear up the pack. It would be easy enough to make a cloth bag to put the pack in, like a giant stuff sack, then mail it home. My shoulder straps can be removed, and the hip belt can be cinched flat.
Your experiences please.An old suitcase or duffle from a thrift store works well for transport. That or a contractor grade trash bag.

[Subie Love]

I flew to Sweden and never had a problem with my stove. On the way back I forgot to take my empty canister out and had to rummage through my pack to get it out but my stove was fine. Also, like others said, just put your pack in a garbage bag.

[Coffee]

One issue to be aware of when checking camping equipment is that the TSA is more likely to manually inspect the bag compared to normal luggage because there are "unusual" looking items. This happened on my return flight from the JMT. There was a TSA note inside my duffel bag saying that it was inspected. I anticipated this and loosely packed my things in the duffel for easy inspection. If I had checked a tightly packed backpack and put it in a laundry bag or a contractor bag and taped it up, I am not sure how the TSA would have repacked everything and it could have been a mess.

Overall, on four flights this year my bag was only inspected by TSA one time - so 25% in my case. Others may have different experiences. BTW, I am less paranoid about this sort of thing on the return flight from a trip. It is not that I don't care about my gear on the return, only that if something gets screwed up it won't ruin my trip. For that reason, I shipped my stove and other small items to a PO near the trail for things that I thought could attract attention from the TSA. On the return, I just put everything in my luggage and took my chances. Even the one time tsa inspected, nothing went missing.

[moldy]

Ask for a big heavy plastic bag at the counter when you check in for your flight. That is what American Airlines has for the asking. It was long enough to tie a big knot in the top so handlers had something to grab. That was this summer both to and from Albany New York.

[Odd Man Out]

Many have posted about using a cheap dufflebag and ditching the dufflebag at the airport.

I might suggest being careful about how you ditch a dufflebag at an airport. An unattended bag left lying around might attract a bomb squad, even in a garbage can.

[theGABE]

While we're on the subject of flying with hiking gear, what's the latest TSA regulations regarding trekking poles ?
I just flew with trekking poles, a lighter, and a small pocket knife, all carry on.

And on the subject of backpacks on planes, I would just carry it on with you. That way you don't have to worry about loosing it or it being damaged.

[ChinMusic]

I might suggest being careful about how you ditch a dufflebag at an airport. An unattended bag left lying around might attract a bomb squad, even in a garbage can.

Good point. I did word that poorly.

[moldy]

I just flew with trekking poles, a lighter, and a small pocket knife, all carry on.

And on the subject of backpacks on planes, I would just carry it on with you. That way you don't have to worry about loosing it or it being damaged.

You just took a flight with a Pocket Knife as a "carry on"? You should hope nobody forwards your post to Homeland Security. If you end up on the "NO FLY" list, you will know what went wrong.

[4eyedbuzzard]

You just took a flight with a Pocket Knife as a "carry on"? You should hope nobody forwards your post to Homeland Security. If you end up on the "NO FLY" list, you will know what went wrong.No need to forward the post. NSA is listening. Black SUV's and helicopters have been dispatched. Give yourself up peacefully, theGABE, you are surrounded.

[TrekkerJeff]

We purchased a couple of very large duffle bags on E-bay for $20 to $25 each and packed our packs and their contents including our trekking poles for the last time we flew to the AT. After arriving we boxed up the duffles in a flat rate box and mailed them home. (Southwest Airlines)
Option 2:
When we flew to Atlanta to start the trail in 2011 we sent the packs by UPS to the Hiker Hostel for about the same price as what Delta's baggage fees were.

[steve0423]

+1 on the laundry bag, has worked for me a few times. Also took my chances once and just checked my pack with straps flapping and poles exposed on the outside, (was on my way home and couldn’t get to a store, the lady at check in swore it’d be fine in one of the grey tubs), It worked out but I was nervous

[theinfamousj]

put the pack in a big heavy contractor garbage bag zip tied shut

Never flown stateside with a pack, but while urban backpacking (is that what traveling out of a pack is called?) around Europe and Asia, I did this all the time. London Heathrow actually gave me one of their own plastic "rucksack" bags with a zip tie. Seems very common there.

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[Odd Man Out]

I don't recall the country but I have seen on an overseas trip giant rolls of plastic wrap at the airport and everyone was wrapping their suitcases up. I had never seen that before but at that airport it seemed very common. Would work well for a pack, I'd think.

[ChinMusic]

I don't recall the country but I have seen on an overseas trip giant rolls of plastic wrap at the airport and everyone was wrapping their suitcases up. I had never seen that before but at that airport it seemed very common. Would work well for a pack, I'd think.

I don't what decade that was. It certainly wouldn't fly........now.

[Coffee]

I don't recall the country but I have seen on an overseas trip giant rolls of plastic wrap at the airport and everyone was wrapping their suitcases up. I had never seen that before but at that airport it seemed very common. Would work well for a pack, I'd think.
I saw this in Toyko in 1998 and in India in 2007. I've never seen the plastic wrap in the US that I can recall.

[theinfamousj]

Oh, that is everywhere in major airports. They are marketing to paranoia people who are worried that their luggage is going to be used to mule drugs. Or want a more visual indication that TSA has searched their bags. Waste of money in my opinion.

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[theGABE]

You just took a flight with a Pocket Knife as a "carry on"? You should hope nobody forwards your post to Homeland Security. If you end up on the "NO FLY" list, you will know what went wrong.
Nah dude, it went right through the scanners in a box, completely separate from my other stuff. Almost threw it away but I thought I heard that they had changed their policies about small blades and scissors so I wanted to test what I had on me. It was the really small swiss army knife multitool so it must have passed their regulations. Of course you were probably being sarcastic

[Coffee]

Nah dude, it went right through the scanners in a box, completely separate from my other stuff. Almost threw it away but I thought I heard that they had changed their policies about small blades and scissors so I wanted to test what I had on me. It was the really small swiss army knife multitool so it must have passed their regulations. Of course you were probably being sarcastic
The move to permit small blades was reversed after airline employees objected. It was never put in place. All knives remain illegal. Just because TSA didn't catch it doesn't mean it is legal.

[4eyedbuzzard]

The move to permit small blades was reversed after airline employees objected. It was never put in place. All knives remain illegal. Just because TSA didn't catch it doesn't mean it is legal.Yep. The scanning machine computers are programmed to pick up and highlight certain shapes and densities, but like anything else they aren't perfect and the agents can't spot everything either. A small knife that didn't fit a programmed shape algorithm due to size, orientation, or being mixed in with other objects could easily pass undetected.

[sassafras1]

Send your backpack, and mostly everything else to wherever you are staying the night before in the mail.

[squeezebox]

That plastic wrap is available at Lowes, or home depot. Heck go there and ask them to wrap up your pack for you, I bet they would do it for you , or buy a couple of rolls of plastic wrap from the grocery.