Hiking poles now allowed in carryon?
 

I know this probably should be in the Air Travel forum but I don't know how many people actually look over there.

I was always told that hiking poles are not allowed in carryon luggage (yes, I checked TSA website in the past and confirmed), but I'm looking at TSA website today and am surprised to see that hiking poles are now allowed?
https://www.tsa.gov/travel/security-...s/hiking-poles

I'm not entirely sure what blunt-tipped is.

(FWIW, 2 summers ago I had hiking poles in my carry on as that was the first time I few with them and had no idea they weren't allowed then. They went through security without any incident. Since then I've always stow them in my checked luggage.)

In reality it varies.

AFAIK blunt / folding poles have always been allowed by TSA**. Same as a folding cane.

It isn't TSA that is the issue -- each airline has its own rules.

**edit: They probably weren't allowed in the early days of TSA but I know blunt versions were allowed a decade ago.

When going through security, TSA does not know what airline you are flying so it’s not an issue of the airlines’ rules. It has to do with the TSA agent and what they believe is and what not is allowed.

Nope -- TSA will let them through screening -- it is the gate agent who would be following the airlines rules. If the airline doesn't allow then they would be gate checked - which is after security/TSA..

I have taken folding canes through TSA and two traveling companions had hiking poles (three different trips/two different airports)

janis - how would the gate agent know one has them in carry on bags?

Inside the bag is no issue. Carried loose is the problem. If they fit inside the carry-on nobody cares . . . as long as they are not the blunt versions and don't have a spike.

Blunt versions are allowed. Blunt tipped is not pointed, I don't know what else to say. I have several like that. Although to be honest, any pole by definition is going to be somewhat narrower at the tip and you could take off the rubber tip to make it more weapon-like.

Here's a picture.

https://www.llbean.com/llb/shop/507761?itemId=268675

I just had purchase a pair for DH from evil Amazon and had it sent to our first b&b for our trip to Italy a couple of weeks ago.

We had tight connections this trip and didn't want to risk a checked bag that didn't make it through the transfers. It would be great to find a blunt tip pair that he could use in the airport. Christina the LLBean ones look like they are added on to an existing pair, right? I would assume there can be no pointed tip available if they go in the cabin.

For a couple of regional jet flights we went through "assistance" at a couple of the airports and what an experience. The airlines/airports were really hands-on and labor intensive and require quite a lot of extra time, but if you need the help, great. You get funneled into a room full of folks in wheelchairs and then each group for each flight gets transferred/transported.

DH is not wheelchair bound but rather is just slow walking right now and can't do the outdoor portable stairs on and off the planes with a bag. We've figured out that he can do them slowly without a bag, so from now on if we anticipate not having a jetway we will check his bag, even if we find blunt tip sticks (we previously were carry-on only folks).

Update - I had my folding trekking poles in my carryon for my recent trip, and did not encounter any issues. Even though mine qualify as "blunt tip" the rubber can be removed and one can argue it's not blunt once you take the rubber off. FWIW, unbeknownst to me, my son packed a full-sized toothpaste and that got through his carryon both ways too.