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im getting ready to fly in a couple weeks and was wondering about getting my pack there in one piece. ive mailed my stove and fuel ahead. im planning on putting my pack in a suitcase. any other potential problems? what about food? any thoughts
jigsaw
Jumpstart
03-30-2003, 21:09
We flew out of Logan Airport in Boston (after 9/11), and all we did was tightly secure the straps on our packs, make sure there was nothing hanging from the outside, and we put an airline tag with name/number etc.. on it, and both our packs arrived in one piece with no problems. Some airlines also offer plastic bags to wrap your pack in when you get to the airport. You shouldn't need to take any out of the ordinary steps to ship it, but if you're really concerned, give a call to the airline, they will tell you the guidelines.
Good luck!
I've flown with packs many times. I can carry my 40L pack on with me as long as the sleeping pad is inside the pack. It will fit in the overhead bins. If you do this, don't forget to take things like knives or tweezers out of your pack. Mail stoves a head. If you are putting your pack into the belly of the plane, cinch down all straps and tie the loose ends together and as close as you can to the body of the pack. I've had one incident of a bent up frame (internal), but I was able to rebend it into shape without difficulty.
I purchased a big duffel made by Lowe-Alpine..costs about 29 bucks.. My big Gregory fits into it with enough room to put a lot of extras.....I just cinch down the straps, put the rolled up sleeping pad between the shoulder straps and buckle the waist belt around it...in my mnd, this helps protect the straps and belt...when its all full, I put a 60" lash strap around the bag and cinch that down tight...I've not had any problems...My son used to fly with his terraplane and had no problems... Just mail the duffle back home when you arrive..
We purchased laundry bags for our packs (about $5) and a used suitcase for $5 that we put trekking poles in. We wrapped the pack bags in duct tape to remove slack in the fabric. When we got to Atlanta we threw the bags/suitcase away. Worked well.
Darwin again
03-19-2009, 13:37
I prefer to walk with my pack, not fly.
BlackCloud
03-19-2009, 17:47
Why would you mail fuel?
JohnTheSavage
03-20-2009, 13:30
I know that UPS will not allow fuel on any of its airplanes (other than in its fuel tanks) I assume that airlines might have a similar policy, which would explain why jigsaw mailed his/her fuel ahead