Hear, hear everything so far said about hand luggage ...
.. but I'd agree with Neil's hard case instincts if there's ANY risk of
pipes being consigned to the hold and, thus, the awesome destructive power
of baggage-handling machines. Anyone who's ever witnessed a rucksack or
ski/boot bag get snagged to a halt, by a strap or handle loop, on a luggage
carousel belt (only to be pummelled mercilessly by the relentless tide of
following suitcases) will have an inkling of what I mean. In this
situation, whilst hard cases erode your weight allowance, I'd regard them as
de rigueur. And the more resilient the better (e.g. fibre-glass probably
stronger than wood). Nor forget to pay particular attention to cushioning
the contents against prolonged mechanical vibration whilst in the hold (even
to using dirty laundry on the homeward leg ;).
To assess the risk of them not being allowed as hand-luggage, of course,
you'd be wise to hit the web and check out the policies of all carriers with
whom you expect to travel. Little things like oil, for instance, may
violate anti-terrorist bottle rules and require forethought in packing them
so as not to jeopardise your pipes' hand-luggage status.
Oh, and I loved Matt's gun-case idea which vividly reminded me of a tip for
travellers obliged to consign valuable equipment to the hold -
"Secure your checked bags -- fly with a gun"
(http://www.travelsuperlink.com/forum/topic.php?id=26).
All perfectly serious, I assure you ! :p
HTH,
Steve Collins
All hail the much-aliased Law of Universal Cussedness (NPL version) ...
Law:
In any set of circumstances, where more than one outcome is equiprobable,
the least beneficial will always result
Lemma:
The above Law will always apply except when, by appearing not to apply, it
will, in the end, do you greater dirt
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