Hiking Poles as Carry On

[kmccue]

I know the US TSA says no to poles, but was wonderfng if anyone had any experience in 2015. Mine are collapsible to about a foot , fit in a case and can easily fit in my pack. I would rather have my own poles, but if they will be confiscated, I'll buy in SJ. Once I get thru the first security, I am home free...correct?

 

[Tincatinker]

Asking this forum to second guess airport security won't help you get your poles on the 'plane. NSA and several other bodies have already read this post. A search of the forum will take you to endless tales of success and failure, cruel treatment by brutal officialdom and smugglers delight. Or you could just check your poles.

 

[kmccue]

Asking this forum to second guess airport security won't help you get your poles on the 'plane. NSA and several other bodies have already read this post. A search of the forum will take you to endless tales of success and failure, cruel treatment by brutal officialdom and smugglers delight. Or you could just check your poles.

I don't want to check anything...too many bad experiences of lost luggage for me...

 

[peregrina2000]

Oh, yay, one of grayland's and my favorite topics! The bottom line is that we have both carried on our collapsed hiking poles year after year after year and have had no problem with TSA. TSA actually doesn't "say no" to poles, the regulations "say no" to ski poles and "say yes" to walking aids. So the TSA regulations don't answer the question about hiking sticks.

First of all, are you flying US directly to your final destination or are you changing planes in Europe before arriving in Madrid or somewhere else? My only experiences carrying on hiking poles have been through TSA in numerous airports in the US, and three or four times through Madrid security when changing planes from an international to a domestic flight in Spain.

I think it's important to be country-specific because this varies a lot depending on where you fly. If you are transferring in London, for instance, you might have a problem, based on what I've heard from others. So I can only speak to leaving the US and arriving (and maybe transferring) in Spain.

One other thing -- don't even think about carrying them on from Santiago. You have to check them. They will not go through. There are lots of threads on this, but I don't believe anyone has ever actually reported having their hiking sticks confiscated by TSA in a US airport.

 

[Trekster]

I don't quite get this. I've carried my poles on the plane in San Francisco, Heathrow, Gatwick and Santiago. Never a problem. It seems that if they fit in your pack they go on the plane. I think if you are friendly with the TS, security person you have a good chance of getting your walking sticks on the plane.

 

[Melensdad]

I don't quite get this. I've carried my poles on the plane in San Francisco, Heathrow, Gatwick and Santiago. Never a problem. It seems that if they fit in your pack they go on the plane. I think if you are friendly with the TS, security person you have a good chance of getting your walking sticks on the plane.

TECHNICALLY they are not allowed on the plane, even if they are in your pack.

There are lots of reports on this forum of people getting them confiscated at Santiago, which is fairly netorious for taking trekking poles.

I don't want to check anything...too many bad experiences of lost luggage for me...

You may want to buy the optional rubber tips for your poles too. They look a lot less threatening/dangerous with rubber tips (or rubber caps over your tips).

 

[peregrina2000]

TECHNICALLY they are not allowed on the plane, even if they are in your pack.

Hi, Melensdad, I'm not trying to be snarky or challenging, but I just don't think that statement is accurate, at least not if you are referring to US security regulations (TSA). What do you mean by "technically?" The only thing that determines what is technically allowed or not allowed are the federal regulations, and they do not deal with hiking sticks. So I think it's more accurate to say that technically, the federal regulations are silent as regards to hiking sticks. That said, I have carried them through TSA security on dozens of occasions and have never had anyone bat an eye.

This reminds me of one of my earliest times trying to find a place to park in Lisbon near a big shopping mall. There was a line of cars, but I was pretty sure that the signs indicated that parking was prohibited. I saw a cop, so I asked if parking was "prohibido" or "permitido" in this spot, and the cop answered that it was neither prohibited nor permitted. That state of gray zone legality is one that most of us in the US are not used to, but that is exactly the situation created by the federal regulations.

Buen camino, Laurie
and p.s., I bothered to make this point only to reassure US pilgrims that they should have no problem carrying their poles through US security. Not trying to be uppity.

 

[Meldelcamino]

TECHNICALLY they are not allowed on the plane, even if they are in your pack.

There are lots of reports on this forum of people getting them confiscated at Santiago, which is fairly netorious for taking trekking poles.




You may want to buy the optional rubber tips for your poles too. They look a lot less threatening/dangerous with rubber tips (or rubber caps over your tips).

And they don't irritate everyone in Towns and Villages (not least oneself) with their incessant 'click-clacking'. For that reason I covered my Lekki Poles with rubber tips for my recent Portugese Coastal Route: they show minimal wear and good for many more Kms. .

 

[kevguy]

FWIW flew Santiago to Madrid on Ryanair 3 weeks ago with carbon fiber Z poles in my pack and didn't have a problem. Security however was not happy about the plastic 18 inch massage stick which they took out to inspect and ask me about. Never a word about the poles even after they ran my pack through the scanner a second time.

 

[Beverley-Ann Fink]

Asking this forum to second guess airport security won't help you get your poles on the 'plane. NSA and several other bodies have already read this post. A search of the forum will take you to endless tales of success and failure, cruel treatment by brutal officialdom and smugglers delight. Or you could just check your poles.

Last year my friend and I flew from Durban South Africa to Barcelona and had our backpacks plastic wrapped and had no problems with the poles . Good luck

 

[Margaret A]

I know the US TSA says no to poles, but was wonderfng if anyone had any experience in 2015. Mine are collapsible to about a foot , fit in a case and can easily fit in my pack. I would rather have my own poles, but if they will be confiscated, I'll buy in SJ. Once I get thru the first security, I am home free...correct?

We are flying Dublin to Madrid tomorrow with Ryanair - in previous years we checked one rucksack plus poles and carried on one rucksack. But this morning I had an email from Ryanair to say that because of airport workers strike in Madrid there will be no checked baggage allowed. What to do with my poles? They are newish and cost a bit - I don't want to have them confiscated but I also need them to walk.

 

[kelleymac]

Asking this forum to second guess airport security won't help you get your poles on the 'plane. NSA and several other bodies have already read this post. A search of the forum will take you to endless tales of success and failure, cruel treatment by brutal officialdom and smugglers delight. Or you could just check your poles.

I bought wooden poles for me and my son in Astoria. We ended up being quite attached to them, and were glad that we could check them as a second piece of luggage. But then! We had to check our carry-on (we had cheese that couldn't be brought on board in a carry-on), and had to recheck our walking poles as "walking canes".

 

[Anemone del Camino]

We are flying Dublin to Madrid tomorrow with Ryanair - in previous years we checked one rucksack plus poles and carried on one rucksack. But this morning I had an email from Ryanair to say that because of airport workers strike in Madrid there will be no checked baggage allowed. What to do with my poles? They are newish and cost a bit - I don't want to have them confiscated but I also need them to walk.

I just mailed my home. And a word to the wise, because they are Pacer's they do not fit in the long thin box Correos have, had to use bubble wrap,and paper and pay 26 €~

 

[Anniesantiago]

I wrapped mine up in cardboard and checked them to get them home.
No more messing with that.
The inexpensive poles you can buy in the sporting stores or the walking sticks you can buy in every village for under 10 euros work just as well, and save me the trouble.

 

[habanerocat]

Technically - that word again - you are allowed a walking stick on to an airplane, but only if you need it to walk. Proving this is the problem. I've had problems with my walking pole but never my walking stick. So now I reduce my pole to walking stick size and I've not had a problem since. I've often got through security but then had problems at the gate, so best leave it reduced for the duration. Also if they take your pole/stick you'd be entitled to demand a wheelchair. Trying to carry on two poles is just seriously looking for trouble.

 

[Rellrog]

We didn't want to second guess the airport security. Since we had a couple of stopovers on the way to San Sebastian, we decided to not risk losing our treking poles. We carried our backpacks as a carry-on and one other lightweight duffel bag (that can be folded when not in use) that went in the airplane's cargo. In that bag we put our sleeping bags, two sets of detached treking poles, some shoes, and some things that would not make it through on-board security (e.g., swiss army knief). When we arrived at our destination we put these items in our backpacks along with our folded duffel bag (to be used on our flight home). This worked well for us.

 

[HalfDomeOrBust]

Last year on my flight from Syracuse to JFK to Madrid to Pamplona, I put my pack with poles/knife in it, in a old duffle bag and checked it all the way to Madrid/Pamplona. Once at Pamplona I "donated" the old duffle to a local who was very happy to have it. In Santiago I bought a nice new suitcase and put everything in it for the return flights back from Santiago/Madrid/JFK/Syracuse. I love my new European suitcase-one of a type that I cannot get in the US. This year I will most likely do the same in September when I camino again. Hope this helps... Ed

 

[dcorrea951]

We packed our poles inside our backpacks and had no problems. Whether you pack them or buy them USE THEM !!

 

[happymarkos]

I know the US TSA says no to poles, but was wonderfng if anyone had any experience in 2015. Mine are collapsible to about a foot , fit in a case and can easily fit in my pack. I would rather have my own poles, but if they will be confiscated, I'll buy in SJ. Once I get thru the first security, I am home free...correct?

I have collapsed my poles on a number of flights and put them in checked luggage without any problems. You can buy walking poles in ST J at the outdoor shop for from memory E30-80. The shop is on the right side of the street walking up to the Pilgrims office.

 

[Jeff Crawley]

I don't quite get this. I've carried my poles on the plane in San Francisco, Heathrow, Gatwick and Santiago. Never a problem. It seems that if they fit in your pack they go on the plane. I think if you are friendly with the TS, security person you have a good chance of getting your walking sticks on the plane.

Flew out from London Stansted three weeks ago and they confirmed NO poles in carry on bags. Bought a pole for the walk and thought I'd see if the authorities in SdC would let me get away with it but no, they wouldn't let me.
Best buy when you arrive