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I assume you know that you can pack your poles together in a bundle and send them as a checked bag. Then carry your all-important backpacks into the cabin with you. Most likely your poles will arrive at your destination on the same flight as you do. If not, it is not a disaster, as you can replace them easily in SJPP.
Boutique du Pèlerin is just down the street from the Pilgrim's Office.
I bought mine at the Decathlon in Madrid. It is very near the Attocha Train Station where you get the train to PamplonaBoutique du Pèlerin is just down the street from the Pilgrim's Office.
Pilgrim's shop - Shop for the pilgrims of St Jacques de Compostela
Shop for the pilgrims of St Jacques de Compostelawww.boutique-du-pelerin.com
Or, if they are arriving in Paris there are number of Decathlon stores there too.
And, as well, we have found from our experience, as flight times get close, often the airlines offer free checking to reduce congestion in the cabin. We have taken advantage of that, for homeward travel, strapping our poles onto our packs to get them back home too.
Wow thanks very much i will check there!!
I was forced to check mine which were inside my backpack. My backpack arrived safely in Paris. But….. So, I’m siting in the Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada airport getting ready to board my flight and I see a women also boarding and part of her carry-on baggage is an Ikea metal shelving unit with collapsable metal poles??? Didn't seem fair!!!
That is the thing - they aren't allowed - but some people get away with it with poles. It stinks and is totally unfair. I hate when people say to just carry them anyway, knowing it is against the TSA rules. I would be the person who is forced to leave them behind or check them, which would not be my ideal way to start my vacation! Just depends on which agent you get checking your carry on bags.
We arrived Sept 4th in Paris but out poles never appeared, got to Irun found two broom sticks next to a skip bin used them. No worries.
I bought mine at the Decathlon in Pamplona. There was another shop near the Alda Centro Hotel (a few doors down) that had poles, and there’s also a pilgrim outfitter in old town Pamplona.
Sorry, but I just want to set things straight because I consider myself an honest, law-abiding person. I have carried on my poles for about 15 years, with TSA’s blessing. They KNOW I have the poles, and they tell me that collapsible poles are fine. You might of course find an agent who exercises his/her discretion to prohibit them, but I have gone through at least 15 US airports and to Spain with no problem. I do always have a Plan B just in case — get to the airport really early and have a way to check them. But so far that has not been necessary.
Except the TSA webpage does not differentiate between hiking poles that are "collapsible and in your carry on bag" vs "not collapsible and in your carry on bag". It simply says hiking poles are prohibited in carry on luggage with the same disclaimer that is listed for all prohibited items that the "final decision rests with the TSA officer on whether an item is allowed through the checkpoint". Yes - TSA officers use their discretion - as is posted on the website. https://www.tsa.gov/travel/security-screening/whatcanibring/items/hiking-poles. The website clearly states that they are not permitted in carry on. Some people always manage to get them through security - other people get the same exact poles confiscated under the exact same circumstances, in the exact same airports, but with a different TSA officers. I have seen many poles being removed from carry on bags at security checkpoints along with other items that are clearly listed on the TSA website as prohibited items for carry on. And yes - sometimes they are in a side pocket and other times they are completely inside the bag when they are being removed.
Laurie, the word "collapsible" applies to most poles, but if I am not mistaken, you carry on Black Diamond Z-poles. They seem to be the only brand that gets through TSA regularly with success. A friend of mine had the Z-Diamond poles on our Camino and their "bungee cord" collapsing style breaks down a bit smaller than most other standard telescoping style poles. I only once got my standard poles through security(must'a been a miracle), but now I just buy cheapies after I arrive on Camino, and leave them in Santiago as I do not prefer to check luggage coming or going.
That’s a very good point. I confess I haven’t looked at the TSA website for years and years, I’ve just been relying on my experience. I will have to ask the TSA people at my airport about the clear disconnect between their. practice and the written rules.
Exactly. The generalized public message needs to be simple and conservative. The differentiation is done at the level of the individual agent, as also clearly stated.
Your accusation was not direct, but it was implied in your loaded language, even in the following sentence
People on the forum are NOT sayng those things.
