Beverage transportation to DEFCON

[wrøng!]

Has anyone looked into various airline's policies on checking a stocked cooler as "luggage"? Just wondering if it would be cost-effective to do this way instead of paying inflated prices in Vegas.

The TSA's site has nothing on the matter, and none of the airlines' websites explicitly prohibit it.

[TheCotMan]

Re: Beverage transportation to DEFCON

Has anyone looked into various airline's policies on checking a stocked cooler as "luggage"? Just wondering if it would be cost-effective to do this way instead of paying inflated prices in Vegas.

The TSA's site has nothing on the matter, and none of the airlines' websites explicitly prohibit it.

Most airlines have requirements on checked lugged which include:
* size
* adequately sealed
* Content restrictions apply just like other checked bags

Most coolers don't "lock" closed, and may not qualify as "adequately sealed." Dropping most luggage does not cause the luggage top to open up and spill contents. Many coolers will do exactly this.

Also, for, "size," there is usually a linear measurment that can be subtracted from for each measurment of length, height and width. If your cooler's dimension exceed this, expect to pay an oversiezed bag fee.

Next, the contents would have restrictions like any other checked luggage.

Last, if your cooler contains ice, or liquid and it spills, you should exepect there to be a risk of delays imposed on your luggage while it is checked, or examined with more detail

Online list of items not allowed for check-in or carry-on:
http://www.tsa.gov/travelers/airtrav...ted-items.shtm

[wrøng!]

Re: Beverage transportation to DEFCON

They make coolers with latches, or it wouldn't even have to be an actual cooler. I've flown my Pelican 1610 many times- meets the size restrictions, latches, water-tight, and hard case. It wouldn't make much sense to put the ice in before getting on the plane.

[sintax_error]

Re: Beverage transportation to DEFCON

Depends on the airline. For example, Southwest has a 5 Liter limit on liquor in your checked baggage. American Airlines has a similar policy. A quick Google search will yield the information you seek for the airline you plan to fly and their policies on alcohol. The restrictions on packing the booze is also in those policies. most often, you can't just toss it in a cooler.

[Deviant Ollam]

Re: Beverage transportation to DEFCON

i would be hard-pressed to believe that someone can show me a column of numbers adding up to a meaningful savings by doing this. i'm not saying you shouldn't try (follow the advice of others, use a hard-latching case like something by Pelican, pack it all well, still be prepared for breakage and spillage so maybe clothes should be elsewhere) but this is likely best left to people who are bringing homebrew or spirits that you can't get anywhere else.

the costs alone for a second bag, and most likely an overweight one, cannot possibly offset the costs of buying your own hootch out in Vegas. there are loads of stores where cheap beer, liquor, and wine are attainable. getting to them takes either (1) a cab, (2) a rental car, or (3) local friends. even if you add up all the costs involved locally (fare, rental, or giving buddies a cut) i still think it majorly outweighs the cost (not to mention hassle of carrying and risk of breakage) involved with flying your booze around.

bottle of really nice whiskey or something? sure, double-bag that sucker in ziplock and then pack it really well amid your stuff inside of a hard-sided case (maybe locked up tight because you're flying with a firearm! )

six packs of Budweiser or something? hell, just get it in town.

[sintax_error]

Re: Beverage transportation to DEFCON

I've gotta second Dev's thoughts on this. Typically the only booze I bring to con is homebrew. A sub-ten mile journey down the street from the Rio is all it takes to avoid those inflated Vegas prices for just about any type of sauce you fancy.

[wrøng!]

Re: Beverage transportation to DEFCON

Thanks for those links Sintax.

As Deviant says, it looks like the best way to do it is buddy up with someone local or with a rental car.

[Deviant Ollam]

Re: Beverage transportation to DEFCON

and who's to say you couldn't have a thread here on the forums (don't know if it would go under "ride and room sharing" or elsewhere) called "booze run" or something?

heh, probably you'd want to rephrase it to something more innocuous like "Grab-N-Go Carpool" where one person gets a rental car for a single afternoon (possibly even an SUV) and then others all chip in to make the trip cost-neutral for the driver. OR even a local person with a large vehicle who is willing to spend some of their valuable time at DEFCON helping others could start that thread.

plan for maybe two runs, one on Thursday and one early Friday? you get 6 people in the vehicle, each kicking in $5 or $10... that's mighty fair if it means they are all able to buy $1,000 of hooch (what a casino would charge) for under $200 (when purchased at a store well off the strip)

my best advice... do not get into any situation where people are making "lists" and/or money is changing hands before the run, etc. not because folk will be dishonest (i have lots of faith in the community) but because shit ALWAYS falls apart.

i've been the poor jackass at the store (back in college i was the one with an ID) with a laundry list of requests, one-third of which weren't in stock, one-third of which were not the price someone was expecting, and one-third of which are just fucking foolish. so i'd do my best to get people on the phone (which was actually an EASIER task before cel phones, since i'd just call back to my dorm room where everyone was sitting and waiting) and go along the long, tired task of trying to scribble out some things, write down others, etc. Nowadays with spotty GSM and laggy texts? i can't begin to imagine the headache that part of the process is.

then you get up to the counter, feeling like a fool with 17 different kinds of beer, expensive vodka shaped like a head, cheap gin in a plastic bottle, whiskey ranging from top-shelf to rot-gut, a whole rainbow of Boone's Farm wine bottles, and some obscure promotional nonsense from an upstart Rum producer that has leaves coming off the bottle. The total rings up to $356.32 and you look at the $268 that people gave you and sigh.

Back at the location you arrive to find that utterly everyone has left to do other things, so there's no one to help unload the car and all these people who wanted alcohol (even the people who HAD paid enough money) are nowhere to be found. So you get to spend the next one or two hours of your evening trying to chase them down and make deliveries, or sitting in a room waiting for people to show up. And even then, when you finally do get out for the night there will invariably STILL be assorted things left in your room and some pissy guy coming up to you at a party saying "shit, man... is my bottle of Old-Grandad still in your room?! i really wanted to get it from you. i even went to the ATM to take out another $7!"

Heh, so that turned into a fun little story, didn't it? Yeah... don't be that guy. Planning a fun get-together and carpool to a store: good idea. Making a list, checking it twice, and getting F'd in the A three times over: bad idea. Saying the hell with planning and just starting your Friday with free beer at the BCCC then rolling with the punches for the whole rest of the weekend: DEFCON.