UKC

We bought a DMM Flight for my Wife a few years ago and she has used it twice as Cabin Baggage on non climbing trips and never used it since so we are going to sell it.

Anyway, I thought we will sell it so looked at some websites to get an idea how much it is new, and was startled to see one of the features is,
 

Sized to fit in airline hand luggage

The Flight fits within most airlines' hand luggage allowance, maximising your carry capacity without needing extra hold luggage space.
 

all the websites seem to be copying the script from DMM https://dmmwales.com/products/flight-bc21

now, if I thought I could use it for Sports Climbing trips abroad as Hand Luggage I would keep it, but I do not think Airport Security would be impressed with me taking as hand luggage, my 70mtr rope, set of Alpha Sports and Click Up with Krab.

So is DMM and everyone else misleading people, or have I got it totally wrong and I can take a sport rack as hand luggage.

I don't have one, but I'd stick clothes in my hand luggage, it's still extra luggage space after all. Then use it for cragging when I got there.

"So is DMM and everyone else misleading people, or have I got it totally wrong and I can take a sport rack as hand luggage."

Neither and you know it.

I've taken trad gear as hand luggage many times.  I'm sure some draws and a belay device would be fine

If I was new to climbing and off on my first Sports trip, I would think from reading that website that I could pack all my stuff in that bag and take it as Cabin Baggage.

Its a total PITA having to put ropes and larger Krabs in the hold as it adds £36 to £50 to a trip, but thats the way it is, but that advert implies one could take climbing stuff in the Cabin.

I've never had a problem taking a sport rack and rope in hand luggage, but it's always felt a bit risky and it's harder to do these days with less hand luggage allowance.

Being more objective about this, I'd say the advert doesn't imply that, but more that you've inferred it. 

You might just be a victim of marketing which suggests you need an expensive climbing branded thing rather than an old knackered rucksack for cabin baggage on a climbing trip.

Maybe I'm being as thick as the OP, but the advert to me certainly implies that the bag is intended to enable you to carry climbing equipment in it and that it is small enough to be considered as hand luggage.
Versatile bag, for day trips or travels
The Flight gives you maximum carry space while still fitting on airline hand luggage. It comfortably handles an 80m rope and a large sport rack with room to spare for clothes and food.

Were either you or your wife actually misled and caught out? Sounds like you’ve used it as hand luggage without issue.

Victorinox has a whole range of hand luggage bags, but I can’t imagine anyone buying one and assuming they can fill it to the brim with knives and get on a plane. 

https://www.victorinox.com/en-GB/Products/Travel-Gear/Carry-On-Bags/c/TRG_C...

Yes, but the DMM advert categorically states that it will carry climbing equipment and spare clothing and in the context of using it as hand luggage.

I'd be impressed if someone could take a 70m rope, full set of Alpha Sports, harness, shoes, helmet and clothing + sundries for a week away in a Flight. I'd read the advert as implying that you don't need extra hold luggage space, so a really big hold bag to pack absolutely everything that you're taking with you. Clothes in the Flight, climbing gear in a 15kg hold bag, job done. 

Hey.. I just saw on a website and article about how great it is to take an emotional support Alpaca (or why not go full-size and have a Llama?)on a flight https://eu.usatoday.com/story/travel/2024/07/23/portland-emotional-support-...

It seemed a good idea on a website so it must be literally true. Why not take an emotional support Alpaca with you on a lead. You can hold the bag of climbing equipment (that airport security just love) in one hand and the Alpaca's lead in your other hand. I'm sure Ryanair could have no problems, if they ask, just refer them to that web link and DMMs site as well and it'll all go smoothly.

If you wannt to knoow what you caan and can't take on a plane, its the airline and airport security I'd be looking at.  There are enough UKC threads on the topic too. 

According to the advert, the bag (The Flight), can comfortably handle a 80m rope and a large sport rack with room to spare for clothes and food.
That is basically the opposite of what you've stated.
Pre 911, if you were staying in accommodation, then the aim was to get everything in your hand luggage so as to maximise trip time.  That's the sort of message I'm getting from the DMM advert - Pack, Flight, Climb, Flight, Home.
That I believe is the market DMM are targeting and if people are willing to take the risk with airport security, etc. then good luck to both the climbers and DMM for making a good product to enable them to do so.

There are still some flights in small aircraft where you walk up to the plane with your luggage and the pilot opens the luggage hatch under the plane  (very much like a coach driver and loading bags under the coach ) tells you where to put your bag. Have flown like that, not for some years though . The DMM bag would be good for that, probably it suits more adventurous trips than an easyJet to Alicante 

We flew from Manchester to Carcassonne last week with sports draws in our hand luggage no bother.

We flew back this week and had to remove them from our hand luggage and book them into the hold in an additional bag (our hold bag having already gone.)

Sports draws in hand luggage - in the eye of the beholder I guess. 

(I think that basically the staff didn't know what they were, so, to play safe, just told us to hold bag them. However one guy had a half hearted go at telling us that they could be used as knuckle dusters...) 

My take is the flight is targeting the Eurosport crowd, and I cannot think of a place one would go in a light aircraft with just a sports rack.

When I hear things like this I am surprised.  I have asked security at manchester and they say a rope is a no no, and it's not like even the most gormless security person could miss a climbing rope in a bag.

Oddly Santiago de Compostela airport has recently started allowing hiking poles in the cabin, which surprised me as I thought the rules are set at a national or perhaps international level.

I’ve often thought it was poorly marketed for this reason, but I ultimately you’ve got to make your own choices (in fact most airlines tell you not to bring sporting equipment in the cabin during the booking process)

It seems fairly obvious to me. Climbing gear goes in the hold (in a suitcase/ holdall to protect it). This bag is sized for cabin, so obviously you have it as carry on, but it will also be your climbing rucksack at the destination, which it is also sized and designed for.

Even that is nebulous since Ryanair and Easyjet  have changed free cabin bag policies. I have seen quite a few people who I assume had not flown since before the pandemic get a nasty surprise at the boarding gate. 

But yes, it is sized to fit in the overhead lockers.

I have had security ask coming back from Spain. I just said "escalade" and they shrugged their shoulders and passed it through. Bag security is at the discretion of the officer and airport policy rather than airlines.

They probably wondered why you were speaking French 😝

It seems fairly obvious to me that DMM have designed a Ruksack that cannot actually be used for its designed purpose, ie, take climbing gear in the cabin of a plane on a sports climbing trip. There is kind of a clue in the name, Flight.

Having said that, as more of us are travelling by Coach and Train, if they had called it the DMM FLIX, or the DMM Seat61, then we would be talking

Ha! Quite possible I've mixed my trips up 😉 

Hmm.. maybe if you'd also never been through an airport before, and as a UKC reader had never noticed any of the (many) threads on here discussing what you can/can't put in your hand luggage.

I'm beginning to think that this thread is some kind of bizarre but genius marketing ploy for your soon to be for sale DMM Flight. 

It certainly can be use to take climbing gear in the cabin of a plane on a sports climbing trip, but security might relieve you of some of that gear, or the airline might check it into the hold because it's too heavy for cabin luggage -- that's hardly DMM's fault.

It reads to me as a bag that can be used to take all your gear to the crag, whilst also fitting hand luggage requirements. At no point did I assume that meant it could be used for both simultaneously.....

I have a DMM flight, I’m on my second one actually, and have taken it on flights with all of my gear in on many occasions. 

That being said, I tend to put my gear in the hold bag now, then fill the DMM Flight with clothes and take that as cabin luggage, just to avoid encountering an over zealous security person who starts up with the “ropes are banned as you could tie people up with it” nonsense.

I mean if I wanted to tie people up on the flight I’d tuck a couple of cable ties in my pants rather than taking 80m of rope, but there we go…

Last 2 sport trips I’ve taken to Spain and Turkey I’ve got a 70m rope, draws, shoes and harness in overhead luggage!

Just have to wear your helmet on the flight and maybe skimp on pants!

No self-respecting climber takes a change of underpants on a trip anyway.

Given that the limitation on cabin baggage is generally size but the limitation on hold luggage is weight, I always end up filling my hold baggage with clothes once the climbing stuff is in and putting the dense stuff in my cabin baggage.

Yeah I used to do it that way round too but then people on here kept on telling me horror stories about having gear confiscated so I did a switcheroo.

Never had any problems myself prior to that though, I might add!

I get my Spanish wrong on a daily basis 😂

I think you misunderstood me. My climbing stuff goes in hold baggage, but clothes then do so as well to keep the weight down in hold and bulk down in cabin.

Oh right! Gotcha.

if I’m honest with you, we have kinds these days so what comes with me in cabin has pivoted from a climbing bag stuffed with clothes to a small rucksack filled with snacks, drinks and sticker books.

I just would never try to take a rope as cabin baggage, and stories like yours surprise me and frustrate me, as I could easy do a sport trip with a flight as cabin baggage.

I good weight saver for travelling light is you can get more days out of your under crackers, by turning them inside out.

I can't speak to international flights but I've crammed a big trad rack and other gear into a carry-on bag with no issues on US domestic flights.  I also checked luggage, and my rope and nut tool went there (the nut tool because I thought it might look like weapon).

Ironically, given my cautiousness with the nut tool, I got pulled out of the line once because I had my chalk bag in the carry-on and in a pocket of the chalk bag was a small knife for cutting tat and emergencies---I had completely forgotten the knife was there. To make matters worse, when the baggage scanner guy said I had a knife, I assured him that I had no such thing.  So they emptied my bag but couldn't find the knife, at which point it dawned on me that I had one in my chalk bag and so of course I told them that I had forgotten about it and where it was.  They were actually very nice about it.  Confiscated the knife, of course, but mailed it back to me.

Not on ryanair and easyjet, who have smaller bag sizes in their T&Cs. I can see the padded hip belt being an issue getting it in the bag size cages.

Doesn't that just transfer the skid marks to your trousers; better to keep them where they belong.

Look, stop with the negative vibes.

Obviously it does, which means you can turn outside in again, see, it all makes sense when you think it through

Out of curiosity, how recently was that? 

You get a point for persistence despite the extremely tenuous nature of your case. 

Journey - climbing gear in a suitcase (checked in on flights), clothes etc in a day sack as carry on.
Once at destination - clothes etc in the digs, the day’s climbing Gear in the day sack. 

Last time was, I think, five years ago.

Jesus, you started a thread on this? I had a bag for life and airport security wouldn’t let me take my claw hammer through in it; have Tesco misrepresented the “for life”. FFS

with two going use one hold luggage for gear and clothes in hand luggage.

Dear Godwin

Go commando, even less weight.

Albert 

Rucksack now sold, so my PR has worked.

I have just asked security at Manchester Airport if it's okay to take a Rope as cabin baggage, and they said yes. I have asked before, and they said no. Obviously security is important, but there should be a consistent approach to allow law abiding citizens to go about their business.

The thought of you Mr Tatlock going commando, is disquieting 

It is easy to do a sport trip with just cabin baggage if airport security is consistent.

If you need to pack a kitchen sink and dinner jacket, that is your choice.

I have at various times taken cams, 50m tag line, quickdraws, harness and belay device etc. through airport security. On one occasion the Swiss asked what the cams were for but then let them through once I explained. On no other occasion has there been any sort of issue. Maybe I have just been lucky though?

Need a "UKC greatest hits" category for this, "Dogs at Crags", and probably something about vans or parking fees.

Unfortunately, airport security is not consistent.

Yes, it seems to have excited the Splutteratt, and the voyeurs. Rather surprised TBH, it was all innocent.

Wow, which airport was that? You must have given them a very convincing performance.

Salt Lake City airport.  As soon as I realized I did have a knife in my chalk bag, I apologized to the person on the scanner and told the TSA officer in charge of searching my bag where to find the knife.  I had the feeling the officers were all outdoors people themselves and could see how a small knife tucked away in a small bag and rarely used might have been forgotten. And since the bag was stuffed with climbing gear (full trad regalia minus the nut tool), they could infer that I was legit. If the same thing had happened in New York City, I'd probably have ended up in chains in a basement dungeon.

The rule is if it doesn't look like it has a place in cabin, it doesn't go in the cabin.  Or do you expect every security check to consult a checklist of every conceiveable minority sport and recreation item for every search ? Good luck getting on a flight with those queues. 

If you've seen TSA's Instagram account and some of the things people try and get away with in US airports, a small knife in a chalk bag that you owned up to is fairly small beer.

I mucked up once flying back from new York after the pipe band I played in took part in tartan day parade and ended up with my sgian dubh in my hand luggage (I'd put all my kilt accessories in there as out of room for stuff in the hold).  I'd forgotten I'd put the sgian dubh inside the sporran till it got picked up by the scanner! Surprisingly they let me keep it after I played a few bars on my practise chanter to show I really was a piper!  So glad they did as it was a gift from my grandad and as such irreplaceable.   It's not often I say good things about American airports! 

Conversely I had a big argument flying out of Canada when they tried to confiscate my mechanical SLR camera as I couldn't demonstrate it was a "real working camera".  The utter randomness of airport security!

There isn't a climbing version of the practice chanter to soothe the hearts of savage security beasts.  Although I haven't done this, some friends who put climbing gear in their carry-on luggage add a climbing magazine and a gear catalog in order to bolster their protestations of innocent intentions.

Who uses paper catalogs anymore, never mind takes them on holiday? That almost feels more suspicious! “Methinks the lady doth protest too much”. But if it seems to help…

I'll remember this tip for the next time I try to get my exotic sex toys through as hand luggage.

You could save luggage space by travelling with some in-situ...

It's like how a 'Gaming Computer' doesn't just have to be used for gaming, or a 'Sleeping Bag' doesn't just have to be used for sleeping in. The fact they designed a climbing focused bag that can fit in hand luggage doesn't mean it has to be used for climbing gear. Having a crag pack that can also be my carry on when I go on holiday seems like a selling point to me. 

This only confuses the metal detector...