While traveling or going on a camping trip, sometimes you have to travel by plane. As we all know, carrying things on planes is a little tricky as you have to follow certain rules. So it is normal for you to wonder whether you can bring your tent on a plane or not.
As per the rules and regulations of the TSA, you can carry your tents in checked or carry on luggage. But the poles, pegs, and spikes of the tent can not be carried as carry-on luggage. You have to carry them in checked bags.
Let us take a look at how you can carry your tent on a plane and what the TSA has to say about it.
Carrying Tents on A Plane
When you are flying with camping gear such as tents, you would want them to be carried as close to you as possible, that is as carry-on luggage. But this is not possible for a couple of reasons. First, although the tent itself is made of cloth, it needs poles, spikes, and pegs to be erected. Carrying them with you inside the plane is impossible as they take up a lot of room.
Second, the TSA has rules in place about what things you can or can not take with you on the plane. If you have something that doesn’t fall under TSA guidelines, you can not carry them with you, no matter how much you want to.
TSA Rules Regarding Taking Camping Equipment on a Plane
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has some specific rules regarding checking a tent on a plane. According to the TSA, you are allowed to carry your tent on the plane so long as the tent can fit the requirements of the airlines you are traveling with.
But, the complication arises when you consider that the tent itself is not the entire camping gear. You still have tent spikes, poles, and pegs to carry to erect the tent. When it comes to carrying them, you won’t be able to check them in as carry-on luggage. You need to carry them as checked-in luggage. Because these spikes and poles can be used as potential weapons, you might not weaponize them, but not everyone who boards the plane has good intentions.
What Can You Carry on a Plane for a Camping Trip?
Now that the issue of what not to carry when flying with a tent is resolved, let us see what else you can carry with you when going on a camping trip.
1. Sleeping Bags
Apart from the tent, the most useful as well as the most important thing to carry when going camping is a sleeping bag. But when carrying them, you must take the size of the sleeping bag into account. As impossible as it may sound, when packed, tents become smaller than sleeping bags. To avoid any kind of complications, just pack your sleeping bags with your poles and spikes in the checked-in luggage.
2. Lantern
When you are out in the open and it starts to get dark, what happens? Surely you can’t have electricity in the woods. Carrying a lantern or even a hanging flashlight will promptly get rid of the darkness for you. These lights will light up your tent so much that you can even read a book.
3. First Aid Kits
You never know what medical issues you will face in the wild. From minor scrapes and cuts to burns and bites of animals such as bugs and worse, snakes, the possibilities are unfortunately endless. So, it is a must that you always keep a first aid kit on hand. If you can find a first aid kit that is watertight, even better.
4. Rechargeable Batteries
The very concept of camping was derived from man’s willingness to get away from the humdrum of city life. So hypothetically, there’s little need for you to worry about the charge on your phone. But what happens when you face an emergency? What will you do when you need to reach the outside world? We have seen plenty of horror movies to know that you should never go camping being detached from civilization.
Keep a pack of fully charged rechargeable batteries with you. Anker’s PowerCore products can come in handy in these situations. Always keep in mind that lithium batteries should always be carried in carry-on luggage instead of checked ones.
5. Water Bottles
Last but most certainly not least, it is a must that you keep hydrated all the time. This is even more applicable when you are out in the wild where there is no supply of tap water. So keep at least a couple of refillable water bottles with you all the time.
Final Thoughts
Carrying a tent on a plane is not straightforward by any means. You have to go through various steps and follow various rules to get all your camping gear checked in. But this is all worth the hassle once you get to enjoy your camping trip to the fullest.