Is a lacrosse or hockey bag OK for fencing gear, and how do I fly with my weapons?
For driving to practice and local events, any bag that holds your kit and protects your blades is good enough, and a lacrosse or hockey bag with external stick sleeves is a popular cheaper choice. The one hard requirement is length: a full-size foil or épée can be up to 110 cm long and a sabre up to 105 cm, so weapons need either a bag that long or a sleeve or hard tube strapped to the outside. Look for a divider or separate pocket that keeps sweaty whites away from blades and body cords, because damp kit rusts blades and corrodes connectors. Backpack straps save your shoulder.
Wheeled roll bags earn their price when you haul several weapons, a spare mask and a full kit through airports and big venues. The trade-offs are weight, cost and wheels, which are the usual failure point, so judge wheel and handle construction more than the logo. Many traveling fencers skip fencing bags for flights altogether and use a hard-shell golf travel case, which fits weapons easily, survives baggage handling and is readily accepted as sports equipment, though it has no internal dividers. Either way, a compact shoulder or strip bag for carrying essentials around the venue is worth having.
Weapons go in checked baggage, full stop. The TSA lists fencing foils as cutting or thrusting weapons that are not allowed in carry-on bags but are allowed in checked bags, and asks that sharp items be sheathed or securely wrapped to protect baggage handlers. Treat épées and sabres the same way, and remember the final call at the checkpoint belongs to the officer. Airlines generally handle fencing gear as sports equipment, with normal checked bag fees plus size and weight limits, and some waive oversize fees for it. Policies differ by airline and by country, so read your airline's sports equipment page before you book.
Pack so a lost bag does not end your competition. Carry on the things that are hard to replace or borrow: mask, lamé, glove, shoes, body cords and whites. Shoes, glove and cords stuff neatly inside the mask, and rolled whites pad it. Check the weapons, which are the easiest item to borrow at a venue, and if you travel with teammates, split weapons across bags so one lost bag does not leave anyone without a blade. Keep armory tools in the checked bag with the weapons to avoid a checkpoint conversation. On the flight home, the sweaty kit can ride in the checked bag instead.