I have often wondered what the official stance on this is, but it turns out there’s a simple page on the TSA website that tells you the answer. Clearly it says that monopods and tripod are ok to travel with, as long as they fall within luggage dimensional limits.
Of course those vary from airline to airline, but roughly speaking I’d say that it gives you room for a 21″ long tripod, as long as when strapped to the side of your bag it doesn’t then push your other bag dimensions over the limit. Seems reasonable.
The CATSA (Canadian version of the TSA) also has a similar page on their website that says the same thing. So those are the rules in N.America at least. Please make sure you check with other countries if you’re leaving the continent! Have you ever flown with a tripod?
My first job in the USA was a baggage handler in Chicago O’Hare in 1990, so I know first hand how badly luggage can be treated. I’ve flown across the Atlantic enough (having moved back after living 22 years in the Midwest) to know that I would never fly with a tripod connected to the head. I own a few ball heads from Kirk, and I also own a dedicated pouch that you can get for them.
Whenever I fly, I take the head off the tripod, put it in the pouch and put that in the bag in with my clothing. Now I only have to worry about the tripod legs. That screw-on connection is the weakest point especially with larger ball heads. If your tripod is damaged it’s easier to replace that than finding the same kind of head in a foreign country. Here in Scotland, you’d easily be able to buy a new tripod today – but from experience – a decent ballhead that uses an Arca-Swiss style bracket would typically need to be sent by post and might take longer to arrive than your trip.
Obviously it doesn’t apply to all-in-one tripod+head setups, but thats my 2¢.
Thanks for your insight Dean!