The new travel rules: ensure a smooth trip by knowing how to tote your sports equipment in today's security-conscious skies

Robert McGarvey

Call it vicarious rage.

That's what I felt when a security guard at Phoenix's Sky Harbor Airport told the guy in front of me that he could not pass through the checkpoint with his Leatherman tool. It had a knife and multiple other sharp points, so it failed on many counts. The guy had exactly two choices, explained the guard. He could toss it into security's growing heap of jettisoned contraband--a veritable mountain of nail clippers, cigarette lighters and pocketknives loomed before us--and then pass through. Or he could exit the security line, go back to the terminal, rustle up an envelope and mail the Leatherman to himself. "Probably take you an hour; you'll miss your plane," the guard said.

Great, I thought. No doubt that Leatherman had serious sentimental value for the guy, perhaps a gift from a girlfriend, owned for the last 10 years or so, even if she had moved on long ago. But in the end, he did what any time-pressed rational person would do. He flipped it into the garbage and shuffled through security.

An old utility knife is just the beginning of what an incautious traveler can lose. It has become downright easy to foul up a fitness vacation before it ever gets off the ground, for while you may make it to your destination, your mountain bike or golf clubs or fishing pole may not. Correction: That gear probably won't be there for you unless you know the new travel regulations. The guiding rule is: Take nothing for granted. What was true before Sept. 11, 2001, isn't true today--and it's especially not true after Jan. 1, 2003, when every piece of checked baggage on every flight originating in the U.S. began to be inspected before being cleared for loading.

Although doomsayers predicted that the new baggage mandates would trigger chaos at airports, implementation went rather smoothly. However, be prepared to watch inspectors paw through your dirty underwear, shirts and worse.

In theory, bags are supposed to zoom down sophisticated X-ray machines with only a tiny number then pulled for hand searches. But airport personnel have encountered bumps in getting the X-ray machines working right. So they're doing a large number of hand searches. On a recent trip, my bags were searched both coming and going (the inspector leaves behind a card announcing the search). On another occasion, I watched an inspector in Orlando dump out my sack of dirty laundry accumulated during a weeklong trip--not one of my proudest moments.

The antidote? Pack knowing that the odds are decent your bags will be among those singled out for hand inspection--and do not lock your luggage. Inspectors have the right to pop any locks (and you won't get a dime in compensation; they're allowed to do it by law).

The bottom line is, as dicey as the process of taking luggage onto a plane has become, the chances that you and your fitness gear will be happily reunited in a timely fashion will only lessen over the next year. What's a cautious traveler to do? "Plan ahead," advises Bill McGee, former editor of the Consumer Reports Travel Letter. "That's become essential for travel today. The more you think beforehand--and the more options you consider--the smoother your vacation travel will go."

KNOW YOUR CARRY-ONS

Accept that "if it theoretically could be used as a weapon, you cannot bring it aboard," says lawyer Con Hitchcock, a member of the Orbitz.com advisory board. Interpretations of "possible weapons" are broad. That's good for passenger safety, but bad for you if you goof up. Try to pass through security with banned items in tow, and you open yourself up to massive delays--as well as the possibility of having your belongings thrown away before you ever get to the gate.

What's forbidden? Hitchcock ticks off this sample list:

* Pocketknives

* Baseball bats

* Golf clubs

* Hockey sticks

* Martial arts throwing stars

* Pool cues, spear guns

* Ski poles

* Toy weapons

Travel Tip: The day before departure--and before you pack--surf over to the Transportation Security Administration's Web site, www.tsa.dot.gov/public/theme_homel.jsp. Click on "Permitted and Prohibited Items." This list, updated frequently, will be your single best point of reference. Also take a glance at "Travel Preparation." If you check with the airlines, you may get conflicting information from different carriers. Also, you may find different rules interpretations at each checkpoint. Although the process is getting more consistent, if there is any question in your mind, print out the TSA list and bring it with you as backup. And ask at the check-in counter--before your bags disappear down the chute. At this point, there is still time to stow, say, a throwing star and shed yourself of any potential problems.

CONSIDER RENTING

Before entrusting an airline with valuable fitness and sports equipment, think about alternatives. Odds are your suitcases will greet you when you deplane, but those odds lengthen when applied to more unorthodox baggage, which surely will come under careful inspection. How many places are there to hide explosives in a bike or a bag of golf clubs? Don't even think about it. Think instead about ways you can ensure a happy outcome.

"Ask yourself what you can rent at your destination. It may really simplify your travel," says McGee.

As a consequence of 9/11, an increasing number of companies are focusing on renting fitness gear to vacationers. Oftentimes, too, hotels will provide necessary rental equipment. At what cost? To pick two examples:

* At Winter Park Resort in Colorado, about 65 miles outside of Denver, mountain bikes rent for $33 for a full day.

* At Beaver Creek Resort near Avon, Colo., a day's use of a kayak is $20.

Sound like a lot? Shipping a bike as checked baggage on an airplane runs about $80 each way, and the bike has to be prepped (pedals removed, handlebar turned). Similar costs apply to kayaks and other bulky items--if the airline will handle them at all. Do the math, and in many cases renting makes keen economic sense and will also speed up your passage through security.

Travel Tip: Ask the hotel where you plan to stay for names of local rental outfits, and comparison shop before you go.

CONTACT A THIRD-PARTY SHIPPER

If you really love using your own personal gear and don't want to rent, "think about using a third-party shipper," suggests McGee, who says that more and more savvy travelers are putting their pricey gear in the hands of such outfits. Usually the gear is picked up at your home and delivered directly to your hotel, meaning no hectic schlepping of unwieldy items around a busy airport. "This is no-hassle, no-worries shipping," says Sascha Segan, author of Frommer's Fly Safe, Fly Smart.

Segan points out that it's also easier to properly insure your gear when you go this route. Airlines offer stingy compensation for lost or damaged baggage, but go with a third-party direct shipper and, usually for minimal additional expense (about $1 per $100 of declared value), you can fully insure your $2,500 bike or $1,000 golf clubs.

What does direct shipping cost? "Maybe even less than an airline," says Mike Smedley, a spokesman for Durango, Colo.-based Sports Express, which specializes in shipping sports gear. That's particularly true when you plan ahead, opting for three-day shipping. Ship a bike from New York to Los Angeles, and instead of the $80 an airline will nick you, Sports Express, for instance, charges $72, and that includes door-to-door service.

Travel Tip: Compare multiple third-party shippers--such as Sports Express (www.sportsexpress.com), Virtual Bellhop (www.virtualbellhop. corn) and Skycap International (www.skycapinternational.com)--and ask tough questions. Who does the actual shipping? (Typically it's Federal Express, but sometimes UPS gets into the act.) What guarantees are there for on-time delivery? What insurance options are available? Keep probing until you are satisfied this is the best means for ensuring your prized surfboard a safe trip.

SURVIVING SECURITY

If security is hassling you--if they want to seize that prized aboriginal boomerang you crammed into your carry-on--keep cool. If you hassle back, by arguing or acting belligerently, you may find yourself escorted into a tiny, windowless room for intensive questioning. And you very well could miss your flight. There are plenty of reports of folks who wised off and were kept cooling their heels until their plane was in the air.

How to keep any of this from happening? Start by following our rules about what to bring and what to leave behind. If you nonetheless are interrogated, know and use this stress-busting technique: Silently count to 10, and with each new number envision where you're going--perhaps beautiful Banff or balmy Bermuda. If that doesn't cool you off, what could?

COPYRIGHT 2003 Weider Publications
COPYRIGHT 2008 Gale, Cengage Learning