Do you carry-on the plane with your long strobe arms???

With all the security on air line carry on, is there any issue carrying on 8" ulcs arms or other strobe arms? Do the airport security think it can be a weapon of some sort?

With all the security on air line carry on, is there any issue carrying on 8" ulcs arms or other strobe arms? Do the airport security think it can be a weapon of some sort?

We take strobe arms as carry on in a backpack on every trip we take... Have never had any issues or questions from security in regards to them. Now that may all change after the December 25th incident, who knows? So far, so good though!

Strobe arms are a 'robust' item and, IMO, can live in hold luggage. Carry-on is reserved for cameras, housing and lenses...

Strobe arms are a 'robust' item and, IMO, can live in hold luggage. Carry-on is reserved for cameras, housing and lenses...

How about lost or missing luggage. If this happens, your camera rig is useless. If all but 1 item is carry-on, then why not hold the entire setup.

How about lost or missing luggage. If this happens, your camera rig is useless. If all but 1 item is carry-on, then why not hold the entire setup.

What kind of setup do have....point n' shoot or DSLR? If you can get it all in one legal size carry-on then your good to go. It also depends on where and what you'll be shooting....i.e. shooting dolphins in shallow, sunny conditions doesn't require strobes so if you have limited space in your carry-on then you may want to consider stuffing them in your check-in bag.

for this thread I rather not say what camera I have(G11). If you are able to hold the arms in your carry-on, do you do it, or is there an issue with airline security?

for this thread I rather not say what camera I have(G11). If you are able to hold the arms in your carry-on, do you do it, or is there an issue with airline security?

I don't see how there would be an issue with security unless you have two tied together like nunchucks Carry them.

Recently carried mine in a zip-loc bag (unassembled) and had no issues.

They were a bit overwhelmed with the quantity of "stuff" I was carrying

on. (all within the limits) I didn't want to chance getting on location without

any parts to do the job.

With all the security on air line carry on, is there any issue carrying on 8" ulcs arms or other strobe arms? Do the airport security think it can be a weapon of some sort?

I carry all of arms, clamps, and accessories in my carry on.

Yes, security lately (Nov & Dec 2009) has been hand searching the case each time.

Including the explosive test on the case and random items in the case.

In general, the more metal in the carry on the more likely you will be hand searched.

With all the security on air line carry on, is there any issue carrying on 8" ulcs arms or other strobe arms? Do the airport security think it can be a weapon of some sort?

I normally carry an 8" and 5" arm on with me as part of my "emergency" macro setup -- a complete macro rig just in case my luggage gets lost -- and they've never said anything.

Mike

I carry two Ikelite 160 strobes with arms attached in my carry on camera bag, as late as 12/10/2009 from Purerto Rico, and have never had a problem. My camera case usually gets hand inspected and wiped down but nothing more than that.

Dave

With all the security on air line carry on, is there any issue carrying on 8" ulcs arms or other strobe arms? Do the airport security think it can be a weapon of some sort?

Hi Marc,

The answer probably will depend on where your going and there can be a bunch of variation in the screeners. If you're flying international and limited to the 15 lb carry on it probably makes sense to put your arms in the hold. Up until the 25th, if you were flying to the Caribbean from the US you could carry on your whole rig. This may change with the new rules limiting folks to one carry on. It's easy to see the situation where you can get there but will have different rules coming back. Up until now if you had the arms in a case with all the rest of the equipment the screeners are impressed with all the gear and have let it pass. I'm afraid those days may be gone. Just one more little thing that makes underwater photography exciting.

Good luck,

Steve