Strobes as a carry on?

Panza

Senior Member
Howdy! I'll be traveling to California to take a great deal of portraits.

I've traveled with cameras before, but this time I plan on bringing my strobe kit and I'm unfamiliar with the rules of travel as I know they're getting more strict.

I'll be bringing a 500W strobe and a 3' Octabox. I plan to put the octabox, battery pack, and reflector in my check-in with my clothes. Will I be able to take the strobe on the plane in my Pelican as a carry on? I'm afraid the rules for travel have gotten more strict and let's be real, these things kind of look like mini-cannons.

Thanks,

Pan
 

Daz

Senior Member
I have just watched a Jason Lanier video where he got delayed in the airport and he showed his carry on, he had 2 Interfit Strobies and battery packs in his carry on luggage so I would say it is ok :)
 
It has gotten pretty ridiculous what they make you go through at the airport. I was getting on a plane in Los Vegas a few months ago and I have a mobility scooter. I went to the security check in and they asked if I could stand and walk and I told them that I could so they asked me to walk through security. I have a full knee replacement and a brace on my ankle so that set off all the alarms so they had to do more pats downs and hand scanning, ANYWAY they had checked out my scooter by this time and it was sitting on the other side of security still and I had already gone through. I told the guy I needed my scooter and asked them to bring it through so i could go on my my to my plane. He then told me they could not move my scooter and that I would have to get it and then go through security all over again even though I would be in full sight of them the entire time. I pretty much went ballistic then and discussed their sanity and parentage. I finally got their boss over to me and told him that I had done everything they asked and in the order and way they asked and he pretty much just looked at them like they were crazy and opened the gate and told me to get my scooter and go on my way. he did apologize to me for the stupidity of his agents there.
 

Panza

Senior Member
It has gotten pretty ridiculous what they make you go through at the airport...
Sorry to hear! It's good that you got to speak to their manager and have it all sorted out quickly as it would be ludicrous to have you go through those stupid lines again because they couldn't get their **** together over a mobility scooter.

I've been "randomly selected" screened, searched, questioned, etc before quite a few times over the years. I try to check into my plane two hours early, because these TSA "random selections" last between 30~45 minutes every time I go through them. The woes of being/looking middle eastern with a lot of gadgetry :(
 
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