Trekking poles are normally not allowed in hand luggage at British airports. Is this the case specifically for trekking poles which are folded into multiple sections (three or more)? I am also interested in people's experiences at other strict airports (for example Dublin).
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I just had a look and saw one answer on there about taking tents with metal tent pegs through security in UK airports and it seemed convincing enough. However on the whole I am not really familiar with Travel Stack, so I am happy with whatever users with higher rep than me want to do with my question.– noviceCommented May 7, 2023 at 21:54
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2 Answers
The primary question the airport security should be thinking about is "can someone effectively hurt or incapacitate other people with it, if it ends up in malicious hands?"
If it does its job reasonably well as a trekking pole, then it probably also works as a melee weapon, which makes it a problem for airport security. If it is foldable, it will be more easily concealable, which I'd guess would make it less acceptable, not more.
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Regardless of the pole structure the tips are functionally crude weapons. I've drawn blood by getting a pole tangled in my legs. Commented May 17, 2023 at 15:08
According to the UK government, hiking poles are not allowed in hand luggage in the UK. There is no stated exception for poles which fold up. In practice, you may get lucky and encounter a screener who does not know about this restriction, but it would be a big risk to rely on that.
For what it's worth, the US has the same restriction.
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I find this quite interesting, as I know senior citizens who use hiking staffs in lieu of a traditional cane. Commented Jun 2, 2023 at 2:55