I’m headed down South to get a break from the winter and will be getting in a bunch of running.
Does anyone have any experience getting The Stick on an airplane (carry on).
Will they hassle me?
I will not be checking any luggage.
I’d love to have it along and would hate to have it confiscated.
Thanks
I take it with me everywhere I go, It went with me on at least 30 airplanes last year, no problems at all.
For what it’s worth, I flew home after christmas with a J-handle stick umbrella (that is, a non-compact one) that I carried on and worried about the same thing, but no one said anything. If I can fly with an umbrella it seems that you should be allowed to fly with the stick, but that is assuming logic and consistency on the part of the TSA, which can be a reach.
I highly doubt that they will take it. I once carried on a Kryptonite New York lock, the thing weights over 10 pounds and is a solid steel chain. You could literally crush someone’s skull with it. They asked me about it and I explained what it was and they let me take it. I doubt they will give you trouble about a plastic thing like that which is so obviously what you explain it is.
Never had a problem with it. I like the travel size Stick too. I carry my foam roller on the plane too, people wonder what the heck that big thing is in the overhead bin.
That depends entirely on two things - you and the TSA agent(s).
Are you a visible minority? If not, you’re going to have an easier time. It isn’t a guarantee one way or the other, but that’s the reality of it.
You don’t have any control over the TSA agent so there’s no point sweating it. If you do get questioned about it, explain what it is and demonstrate its usage. I’ve had good luck explaining “injury rehab” tools in the past.
I flew with it proficiently for a while. Then lost it in 2007 at the Frankfurt airport. I also lost a U-bike lock at the Lisbon airport.
At US airports they usually see that the stick is flexible and let it go through. Foreign airports can be a real mixed back. Germany is especially tough!
You should be fine domestically.
The rule I got out of TSA agent Fall '07 is that a metal object (bar), cannot be 8 in. or longer. I had a cresent wrench I accidently left in my bag, and it was 8 inches, so they took it. He said “too bad it wasn’t 7 inches!”. That really made me feel better. Since the stick is not metal though, this rule does not apply to it. I didn’t really care about the wrench too much, I was more preoccupied with making sure my girlfriend did not see the engagement ring box I had in my carry on being searched.
I didn’t really care about the wrench too much, I was more preoccupied with making sure my girlfriend did not see the engagement ring box I had in my carry on being searched.
Doh!!! That could be awkward! I guess your contingency plan would be to get down on one knee and go for it right there!
How’d it work out for you BTW?
Here’s how you do it:
Bring an unmarked container of peanut butter slightly above the 3oz limit and leave it on the top of your bag.
Put bag through xray machine. The scanner will go off and the friendly, helpful, and efficient TSA agent will confiscate your peanut butter (which is probably subject to recall anyway) and leave you with your stick, a couple CO2 cartridges, bike lock, multi-tool, and pedal wrench. Oh, and your safety razor.
The above statement is merely a possibility of what may happen leaving the Phoenix Sky Harbor airport after IMAZ. Any relation to any actual events or people is purely unintentional.
Bottom line, there’s zero consistency with TSA. Better to check it if it’s essential.
Didn’t Dev Paul have an experience (albeit in a Chinese airport, if I remember) where they took his Stick as some kind of weapon? That’s gotta be annoying.
TSA once took an allen wrench set from me. Flying sucks nowadays.
See what happened to me at Hong Kong Airport…clear sailing through 20+ check ins before that!!!
I tend to agree with others that safe airplane passage is dependent upon TSA interpretation. Moreover, I tend to think that smaller, regional airports TSA officials tend to be strict than there peers within major airports (ie - ORD).
Last year I had a Stick confiscated by TSA in a small airport (Rapid City, SD). Apparently, “Martial Arts” weapons are not yet approved for carry-on travel.
Those dumb-asses; I’m still pissed about that.
In the end, I suspect that you may as flip a coin in determining your odds of passage with the Stick.
Good luck.
Regarding the stick, on my flight out to IMCDA from Philadelphia in 2007 I had no problem, but on the return trip the TSA agents at Spokane required me to check the bag. It really depends on the agent(s) working. They knew it was a massage stick but still said it could be used as a weapon. I was a bit annoyed about an hour later when on the plane I noticed that girl had walking/hiking sticks on the plane. Now those things have can easily be used as as spear!
Then again on that same trip, I was able to get pocket knife/multi tool on the plane in PHL. It was in my TYR transition bag that I was using as a carry-on. Of course, they caught it on the return trip in Spokane. They were nice, though and even asked about the finishers medal which was in the same bag.
Good luck,
-Tim