Traveling with Grip Gear

[RyanFrancis]

Hey all,

We just worked for a VIP client in Kentucky. Our flights were last minute so we didn't have time to call ahead to grip houses to rent gear. We landed on a weekend and literally every grip house was closed until Monday. We needed (2) C-stands. 1 for video village and 1 light. We ended up having to rent some heavier photo light stands and rig them up to work. It was not the best setup. My company owns 40" C-stands so they are too big for normal luggage cases. We were thinking about buying some 20" stands to be able to shove in a big bag of luggage. Has anyone else traveled with stands and have any better solutions than this?

 

[Maximilian Schmige]

Get turtle based c-stands. You can remove the base. Easier to pack. Get a hard case for travel and make sure to travel with media rate.

 

[Nick Gardner]

If you must travel with c-stands, pelican cases like this https://www.pelican-case.com/1742rica.html with turtle base c-stands work. They are awkward and heavy, and you'll pay a bunch of excess baggage, but when you absolutely can't just put your monitor on a table - it's the way to go! I wouldn't put more than 2 stands in a case even though you could fit more.

Nick

 

[Maximilian Schmige]

Media rate allows up to 100lbs per case. Make sure to bring credentials

 

[Alex Lubensky]

We have traveled with 20' c-stands within EU, unpacked. No hassle at all. Aslo with a packed car-mount. Simply goes to bulky luggage. Don't fly day-to-day before a shoot, if the flight has overweight - bulky luggage will be left first and may come late.

 

[Phil Holland]

Tubular hard cases are your friend. Along the lines of those from HPRC. Keep themaround 96lbs each. You'll pay to travel with them, but you can travel with them.

This is interestingly why I own both steel and aluminum combo stands.