The Cost Of Doing Business?

The Cost Of Doing Business?

Now that I have the injury portion of my year (hopefully) out of the way I’ve been looking forward to taking a few different trips in the second half of 2009.  Later this month Mrs. Narc and I will be heading to Tuolumne Meadows for a week and other possible trips, including one to Hueco Tanks, are in the works.

One thing that is a constant with just about all of our trips is that we bring a lot of stuff.  We try to camp wherever we go for obvious cost saving reasons which necessitates bringing a fair amount of camping equipment.  Then there is the equipment needed for climbing itself which often takes up a good amount of room regardless of the type of climbing we’ll be doing on a given trip.  This isn’t really a problem for “local” trips, but when we need to fly it means getting everything onto an airplane which is becoming increasingly expensive.
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Never a problem a few years back, nowadays airlines have been consistently ratcheting up various fees and restrictions when it comes to luggage.  It’s increasingly common to have to pay for each of your checked bags which generally means an additional $40 tacked on to the cost of your flight each way.  Throw in a crashpad and you never know what will happen.  Most crashpads are, depending on the mood of the person checking in your bags, “over-sized” luggage which can incur an additional 0-0 penalty each way depending on the airline.
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 I’ve had instances where the airlines haven’t looked twice at our pads and other trips where they act like we are trying to bring a 500 lb. safe onto the plane.

The sum of all this is that in addition to paying for a plane ticket one must take into account additional expenses of up to a couple hundred dollars to go on a trip that requires flying.  For us this has meant a few things.
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 First, we’ve consciously tried to focus on trips we can take that don’t require any flying.  Second, when going on a trip that requires a flight we’ve chosen to use those trips for things other than bouldering.  For instance, on our upcoming trip to Tuolumne a crash pad would be nice, but since bouldering is only a diversion from our main goal of long trad routes the additional costs wouldn’t really be worth it.  The final thing is that whatever we do decide to bring is packed with ruthless efficiency and we unfortunately become “that guy” with an absurd amount of our belongings stuffed into our carry on luggage.  Gotta do what you gotta do, right?

I’m wondering what experiences others have had these past couple of years.  Have you changed your travel habits due to the new luggage fee structure?  What has your experience been when flying with crashpads or other large pieces of gear?  Take the poll and leave your thoughts in the comments.

[poll id=”85″]

Posted In: From The Narc

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43 Responses to The Cost Of Doing Business?

  1. sweatpants July 8, 2009 at 9:52 am #

    one nice thing about southwest is they dont charge for baggage. so that’s cool. ive never tried to bring a pad with me and i would be really interested as to how that works.

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  2. sock hands July 8, 2009 at 10:25 am #

    i really really hate to suggest it, but do “air pads” pack down tight enough to avoid the oversized baggage fees?

    though i’ve never had a good impression from the air pad models that i’ve seen or heard about, flight could be the niche for them. otherwise, key beta seems to be coordinating a local contact w/ pads to lend.

    for instance, if you are in the denver area, i’m not located in a convenient place, but anyone willing to pick up and drop off pads is welcome to borrow mine…

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  3. Narc July 8, 2009 at 10:28 am #

    It’s getting to the point where it would be cheaper to mail a pad back and forth to wherever you are going.

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    • Luke July 8, 2009 at 12:48 pm #

      I have heard of ppl shipping pads or buying a new pad when they arrive and shipping it home.

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  4. sock hands July 8, 2009 at 10:32 am #

    not that i get to go on climbing trips anymore, but this situation really ups the ante for deep water soloing trips…. can’t america go over and steal mallorca… drag it to the gulf of mexico?

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  5. Nicros July 8, 2009 at 10:52 am #

    1 normal sized organic does meet all airline requirements and you can fill it full of stuff duct tape it shut and fly to Hueco with 1 carry on and 1 personal item.

    SO.

    here is how it works

    Crash Pad
    -sleeping bag
    -tooth brush and other cleaning stuff
    -tent
    (under 50lbs)

    carry on 1
    -clothes/climbing shoes
    -other stuff

    carry on 2
    -Lap Top
    -camera

    I heard Josh is going to make a “Airline” pad, that will be the max of what the airlines allow.

    p.s.

    when going Hueco, stay in the house! 20$ a night and it will be full of rock stars and poker games.

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    • Narc July 8, 2009 at 11:01 am #

      Are you sure about the pad size? The specs on the site say 36x48x4 so folded in half that is still something like 68 inches which barely exceeds most airlines limit of 62 inches.

      Amy’s Organic pad got labeled oversized last time we flew with it, although it was only one of the ways.

      Good tips though, I will keep them in mind if I do decide to go.

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    • You Know Who I 'Am" July 13, 2009 at 9:44 am #

      Only problem with the above plan…last time I flew, I was allowed only ONE carry on item..passengers with two had one taken away and checked.

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  6. sock hands July 8, 2009 at 11:15 am #

    word to the organic flight pad.

    however, the organic army has been growing so well [and rightly], that i still think it’s good policy to leach off of everyone else who drove there for hyper-maxx paddage, which makes life better on earth.

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  7. Nicros July 8, 2009 at 11:22 am #

    ok.. every time you fly they will try and say it is oversized. I respond to the “oversized” claims with
    “I just flew with this last week, I am not paying a oversized fee.” if they persist call customer service. I have been on over 15+ pad’d flights I have yet to pay a fee for oversized.

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    • Narc July 8, 2009 at 11:28 am #

      Good call. I’m not known for my assertiveness but this is where traveling with the spouse can come in handy…

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  8. philip July 8, 2009 at 11:25 am #

    I would second the comment about Southwest. On my last 3 or 4 climbing trips I took Southwest and didn’t have any problems with my pad being “oversized.” Also you can check two bags for free with them, which is always nice.

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  9. John Knoernschild July 8, 2009 at 11:32 am #

    When I left for New Hampshire out of Milwaukee, they stopped me and questioned me about my cams I was carrying on. Then they swabbed them and tested them for bomb particles or some shit, and then let me go on my way.

    And yes, the size/weight limit on bags affected what a brought and what I left home. Mostly just extra clothing (that would have been nice to have).

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  10. Jason July 8, 2009 at 12:41 pm #

    I have always found it cheaper (and easier) to rent a crash pad from a local shop or gym near my climbing destination. I would say the average price for a full day is $15. Even on a long trip it is still cheaper than checking my own and I get to try out other pads…

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    • Tyler July 31, 2009 at 9:02 pm #

      where can you rent crash pads from?

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      • Dan October 12, 2009 at 6:22 pm #

        Climb On in Squamish rents pads for $20 per day.

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  11. Josh July 8, 2009 at 12:45 pm #

    Lately I’m finding its cheaper to Drive every where. I mean shit… The amount of time it takes to drive to most places is almost the same time I spend in the Airport waiting on Security, Delayed Flights, etc.

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    • Narc July 8, 2009 at 12:47 pm #

      Case in point: For our trip to Tuolumne we will be spending 4 hours on a plane to Vegas (cheaper than flying to SFO) followed by 7 additional hours of driving not counting the time wasted at the airport itself.

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  12. hayden July 8, 2009 at 12:51 pm #

    i try to fly out of small airports where airline employees seem much more willing to accommodate passengers needs. in the last three years at colorado college i have flown with my mad rock tri-fold (the thing is huge) many times and never once gotten asked to pay more when flying out of colorado springs. i even once flew out with a bd drop zone, my mad rock tri-fold, and my friend flying with me had another normal sized pad and nothing happened.

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  13. Luke July 8, 2009 at 12:53 pm #

    I always fly with two largish carry ons. I put the rope and other heavy stuff (clothes) in my crag pack. This way I can just put bulky stuff (sleeping bag * pad) in my checked bag and not exceed 50 pounds.

    I have had mixed results carrying cams on so I put them in my checked bag.

    Last time I flew for bouldering I put stuff in my BD Drop Zone and didn’t have any over sized fees on United. Granted I did curbside bag check to be tricky.

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  14. Danny July 8, 2009 at 1:16 pm #

    I also recently flew Southwest from CA to PA and decided to check my organic full pad for the trip. Not only was it free to check my baggage but neither of the SW employees even bothered to charge oversize there and back. Overall I was pretty shocked having expected to at least pay a fee for the pad.

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  15. sock hands July 8, 2009 at 1:18 pm #

    i’m laughing cuz my typical session set-up usually weighs close to 50lbs… no wonder my knees hurt so much lately.

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  16. Dennis July 8, 2009 at 1:31 pm #

    We’ve had to bail on crashpads for my Yosemite trip in September. We have now hooked up with a local to borrow a pad for the week we are there…

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  17. God July 8, 2009 at 2:34 pm #

    If you’re planning in advance, I would just mail the shit to the cabin/lodge/friend’s house.

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  18. dmlipinski July 8, 2009 at 9:34 pm #

    One more idea, you could try my strategy and just be too poor to fly. With this method I’ve so far managed to avoid those pesky fees.

    Seriously though, just come to CO and I expect you’ll have no problem borrowing pads from myself and others.

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    • Narc July 9, 2009 at 8:11 am #

      I probably should have had a poll option for those that can’t afford to fly either way.

      Fortunately (or unfortunately) CO is usually within the distance we are willing to drive for climbing and therefore we can usually bring our own pads.

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  19. crimpersdelight July 8, 2009 at 11:07 pm #

    A crash pad that is 36″ x 48″ x 3.5″, folded in half would be: 18 + 24 + 7 = 49 linear inches. Oversized is anything 62+. Also, for two check bags your about 40-50 bucks depending on when you purchased the tickets.. So, you should be able to carry a regular sized crash pad without problems.

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    • dmlipinski July 8, 2009 at 11:18 pm #

      It only folds in half once, so that’s 36 + 24 + 7 = 67 = oversized

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  20. Nate Derus July 8, 2009 at 11:36 pm #

    We just flew to yosemite, and my bag weighed 52 lbs, and they threw a $40 charge at me, so I took out the draws, and put them in mortiers bag, and mine only weighed 45 lbs:)

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    • Narc July 9, 2009 at 8:10 am #

      Yeah, I’ve definitely had to pull that trick a couple of times.

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  21. Brian Solano July 9, 2009 at 7:33 am #

    SOUTHWEST. Always!

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  22. Jonas July 10, 2009 at 5:13 am #

    I think it’s great that it becomes more expensive to fly! I’m really uncomfortable with all the flying around among climbers, who I thought (before I started to climb) cared about the environment, so this is perfect! Long live the expensive rates!

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    • Narc July 10, 2009 at 2:06 pm #

      Somewhat of a different topic, but if the planes climbers fly on are going to be flying anyhow isn’t there really no harm? It’s not like climbers are flying private.

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  23. Jonas July 12, 2009 at 4:36 am #

    This is only my thoughts on how airlinecompanies work I’m not 100% on this. I don’t know how much more fuel additional persons/weight does on a single plane so that I cannot answer but I guess not very much. But the number of flights is directly proportional to the demand. The more people that want to fly the more flights of course. So it’s not like it’s going to fly 200 planes with two persons if the demand was 400. Instead there would be less flights which means less planes in the air so less airpollution less co2 less heating of the earth less people suffering from drought and floods less people need too flee from their homes yes yes yes!! more peace and harmony and love yesyesyes! And less climbers flying and speaking to people about this more people are getting excited about love towards the earth and people, and flying less and putting more demands on environmental traveling oh yes!

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  24. Chris Eggbert July 12, 2009 at 8:13 am #

    Yes let’s all stay home and grow our food in a garden!

    OK you have a legit point…

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  25. chris schulte July 12, 2009 at 10:47 am #

    I’ve been to font four times, and never have been asked to pay extra for any standard sized Black Diamond pad: Impact/Dropzone/whatever..
    I tend to stuff a sleeping bag and a couple big boxes of chalk in a BD Butler pad (with a perimeter zipper) and fold that inside the regular.. But, that’s international, I guess.. Maybe easier..

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  26. Justin July 13, 2009 at 7:50 am #

    I’m South Africa right now with my Organic pad and I got no beef from either Delta or South African Airlines about its size. It is over the limit of both Airlines’ baggage allowance but I think its close enough nobody even flinched. I think the real concern they have is for weight.

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    • family guy May 30, 2012 at 10:16 am #

      Oversize mean the bag doesn’t fit in the conveyer belts.. This is a hassle… but no big deal.
      Overweight means the plane goes down on takeoff. Recall the Dominican flight out of JFK several years back…

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  27. Narc July 13, 2009 at 7:52 am #

    Perhaps the baggage checker guy being a huge prick had more to do with us getting charged the oversize fee last year than the actual size of our pad…

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  28. Brian Solano July 13, 2009 at 8:12 am #

    International is much easier when it comes to oversized luggage. Its the domestic flights that are tacking on all the fees.

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  29. family guy May 29, 2012 at 2:26 pm #

    Curb-side checkin is key at big airports, e.g. JFK. You can tip (ie bribe) the guy checking in
    and get away with all kinds of oversize. I moved my whole family to Europe this way…

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  30. Bob July 29, 2013 at 8:18 pm #

    Hueco Tanks Bouldering Crash Pads Rentals http://vcrux.com/shop/25-rental-gear

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