Wyeast
Enlightened
- Joined
- May 6, 2005
- Messages
- 322
Maybe he went to the same security seminar with the Belgian who confiscated my friend's RR 1AA. :shakehead
Traveling around the world with flashlights
- Thread starter loszabo
- Start date
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american lockpicker
Enlightened
Is your Mont Blanc a meisterstuck?
loszabo
Enlightened
Yes, it was a graduation gift by my mom. My favorite EDC pen is the Benchmade 1001 pen.
I've just orded a Mil-Tac pen as well, because I don't like to travel with the BM pen...
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loszabo
Enlightened
WTF, they confiscated a flashlight???
I don't want to know how many of those confiscated items end up in someone's pocket... I once saw an airport guy (Vienna Airport) throwing away a bottle of whiskey -- he let is "slip" into the bin, instead of throwing. But, he was very careful with the bottle... I guess they had a party later! I was really on the verge to say: "can you please open the bottle and dump the content in the bin..." :green:
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thats canada,
in the UK any kind of knive is restricted
(... but they had quite a bunch of kills with knives there, more than anywhere else in Europe. Seems some regulation is silly and leads to less security)
nice that You did not really got problems with the lights. Even with strike bezels that would just be silly)
Not true. A citizen in Canadamay defend themselves using lethal force if necessary in Canada. However a Canadian citizen may not own a firearm strictly for the purpose of self-defense, (another however--it can still be used as a weapon of opportunity for self-defense, you just can't OWN it for that purpose). Also, in Canada you may carry whatever length of knife you wish. There are only restrictions on flick knives and push button knives, and other "knives" that have no purpose other than to injure. I'd need another 8 pages to go on about this...
I travelled mainly in the UK, Germany, Austria and Italy. When asked about my lights, I always said I would be doing quite a bit of hill walking which, in fact, is true. I could also state the places I will go. This explanation was all right everytime. The Customs officers may look at the lights, take the batts out and ask me to turn the lights on to show them it does work as a light. But at the end they would let me get through. Not sure about other countries.
It is not necessary, indeed, unwise, to mention anything like self-defence. The most important use of your lights must be for lighting only.
It is not necessary, indeed, unwise, to mention anything like self-defence. The most important use of your lights must be for lighting only.
TITAN1833
Flashlight Enthusiast
I almost died laughing when I heard this,UK has given it's citizens the right to shoot an intruder LMAO,but have no right to own or buy guns.
****oo
****oo
loszabo
Enlightened
This kind of logic didn't work with my Petzl carabiner. I tried! I even played out my LEM card. Nope! Too dangerous on a flight from CDG/Paris to Vienna!!!
But, with flashlights I had nooooo problems so far. If there would be a problem, I would challenge the head of airport security and ask him if confiscation of high-end/expensive objects by his employees is typical at his airport??? (And, then I'd call my embassy to bail me out... :nana
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Illegal in Canada to own a firearm for the most important reason of all.... Self-defense.
No need for 8 more pages. That says it all.
I almost died laughing when I heard this,UK has given it's citizens the right to shoot an intruder LMAO,but have no right to own or buy guns.
****oo
You can own or buy guns in parts of the UK. But the process is designed to be a giant pain, with numerous ridiculous restrictions.
I'm half tempted to post detailed instructions on how to bulid a double-barreled shotgun from parts found even in a UK hardware store. (Complete with working safety "latch." No, not kidding about that last part).
But that would likely fall into the "illegal" category on CPF.
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yaesumofo
Flashlight Enthusiast
I have traveled a fair amount.
I always carry ALL of my lights in carry on, in my backpack with batteries.
Lights in luggage are too tempting for some people to resist. I am not willing to risk loosing a nice light to theft.
I have never been asked to do anything but turn on a light once or twice.
Never carry a knife of any kind.
IMHO they are more concerned about lithium cells (primaries) not being packed properly and only in carry on. When I travel I take rechargeable cells as well as primaries. I carry them using Surefire battery carriers (they are very safe). The chargers go into the luggage.
Flashlights are a good thing to travel with.
Once on board I always put my EDC lanyard around my neck with a Lunasol 20 (these days) on. In case of emergency on an aircraft a flashlight could well save your life. Just being able to see your way out can be a big plus.
IMHO a good LED flashlight should be on every Flight attendant's hip on every flight. Hell it is a write off.
I would NOT ever travel with a flashlight like any of the SF porcupine. That would raise a red flag.
Yaesumofo
I always carry ALL of my lights in carry on, in my backpack with batteries.
Lights in luggage are too tempting for some people to resist. I am not willing to risk loosing a nice light to theft.
I have never been asked to do anything but turn on a light once or twice.
Never carry a knife of any kind.
IMHO they are more concerned about lithium cells (primaries) not being packed properly and only in carry on. When I travel I take rechargeable cells as well as primaries. I carry them using Surefire battery carriers (they are very safe). The chargers go into the luggage.
Flashlights are a good thing to travel with.
Once on board I always put my EDC lanyard around my neck with a Lunasol 20 (these days) on. In case of emergency on an aircraft a flashlight could well save your life. Just being able to see your way out can be a big plus.
IMHO a good LED flashlight should be on every Flight attendant's hip on every flight. Hell it is a write off.
I would NOT ever travel with a flashlight like any of the SF porcupine. That would raise a red flag.
Yaesumofo
Doh!Nut
Newly Enlightened
The link gives a rather more informed overview of what is or is not considered self defence in the UK. (There are no "Parts of the UK" legally as far as guns etc.)
http://www.cps.gov.uk/publications/prosecution/householders.html
Basically you can use whatever you want to defend yourself as long as you consider you / family / others are in danger.
You can chase after them to catch them and perform a Citizens arrest, but if you were to disturb a thief who ran away empty handed, and you went to get a kitchen knife, caught and stabbed him (or her, lets not be sexist:shakehead) Then you would expect to get arrested.
There was a case a few years back where a farmer was jailed after killing a burglar by shooting him in the back as he was running away. (legal licenced gun). Trouble was he had been telling everyone in the local pub for weeks beforehand that he would try to shoot a burglar so he could not claim it was an accident or in the spur of the moment decision.
He got a lot of support, as the only reason he was saying that in the pub was due to previous break-in attempts which the police had done very little/nothing about.:thumbsdow
Anyway on OP I have only been stopped once with a dive light, an internal flight in the Philipines, the light had a pistol grip . What worries me more if an employee gets offended at the homebrew LED electronics and the fact it is a couple of kilos of metal.
N
http://www.cps.gov.uk/publications/prosecution/householders.html
Basically you can use whatever you want to defend yourself as long as you consider you / family / others are in danger.
You can chase after them to catch them and perform a Citizens arrest, but if you were to disturb a thief who ran away empty handed, and you went to get a kitchen knife, caught and stabbed him (or her, lets not be sexist:shakehead) Then you would expect to get arrested.
There was a case a few years back where a farmer was jailed after killing a burglar by shooting him in the back as he was running away. (legal licenced gun). Trouble was he had been telling everyone in the local pub for weeks beforehand that he would try to shoot a burglar so he could not claim it was an accident or in the spur of the moment decision.
He got a lot of support, as the only reason he was saying that in the pub was due to previous break-in attempts which the police had done very little/nothing about.:thumbsdow
Anyway on OP I have only been stopped once with a dive light, an internal flight in the Philipines, the light had a pistol grip
. What worries me more if an employee gets offended at the homebrew LED electronics and the fact it is a couple of kilos of metal.N
Not sure I'd say it's rampant but has certainly got a lot of media coverage. Reminds me of the late-1980s/early-1990s when there was another spate of knife crime that got a lot of media coverage and led to many of the restrictions today. The good news is knife attacks are far less commonly fatal than gun attacks, which seem to be the preferred method of gaining "respect" in the US.
But back to the subject at hand... my last trip that involved a couple of airport security checks made me chuckle. Carrying on a couple of flashlights and a bag full of camera gear, including multiple batteries, chargers, bodies, lenses, cables etc. and the object that got my bag searched at every airport? A candle! I was carrying this dumb thing for my GF and I guess it resembled a stick of dynamite or something. To watch the secutiry person carefully pull it from my bag, gingerly holding it and smelling it, was pretty funny.
WTF, they confiscated a flashlight???
I don't want to know how many of those confiscated items end up in someone's pocket... I once saw an airport guy (Vienna Airport) throwing away a bottle of whiskey -- he let is "slip" into the bin, instead of throwing. But, he was very careful with the bottle... I guess they had a party later! I was really on the verge to say: "can you please open the bottle and dump the content in the bin..." :green:
reminds me of a story I read (perhaps here) about someone who accidently left a nice pocket knife in his bag... but, to spite the grinning TSA agent who was probably anticipating taking it home, he deliberaty snapped the blade off before depositing it in the bin. Evidently it wiped the smile off the TSA agent's face
A question for CPFers... what has been peoples' experiences carrying on a SF E2D(L)? I'm a little worried at how aggressive and sharp the bezel is. I guess one option would be to take it apart for traveling. Has anyone had any bad experiences?
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loszabo
Enlightened
The newest from the frequent-flyer front. Yesterday at Lugano (very small Swiss) airport, I was asked to remove the two A123 cells from my SureFire A2 at the security check. The agent at the x-ray didn't even notice the SureFire M2 in the same bag. (Or, didn't care.)
How silly is that? I thought one should not have lose batteries in his pocket or luggage, when flying!
Okay, dear reader, now think about this: in case of emergency "authority" does not want me to have a flashlight ready. Yes, even a flashlight specifically designed for pilots! Welcome to this weird world...
Of course in Zurich at the aiport nobody cared about my SureFires and security was more busy confiscating water bottles (yes, the Swiss do not have a transit area yet!) from innocent people just arriving from other flights and forcing them to throw away over-priced Evian bottles. (So, NEVER buy a water-bottle, if you have a connection flight at Zurich!!!)
Gosh, those airport/airlines regulations...
How silly is that? I thought one should not have lose batteries in his pocket or luggage, when flying!
Okay, dear reader, now think about this: in case of emergency "authority" does not want me to have a flashlight ready. Yes, even a flashlight specifically designed for pilots! Welcome to this weird world...
Of course in Zurich at the aiport nobody cared about my SureFires and security was more busy confiscating water bottles (yes, the Swiss do not have a transit area yet!) from innocent people just arriving from other flights and forcing them to throw away over-priced Evian bottles. (So, NEVER buy a water-bottle, if you have a connection flight at Zurich!!!)
Gosh, those airport/airlines regulations...
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BenjiBot
Enlightened
I almost died laughing when I heard this,UK has given it's citizens the right to shoot an intruder LMAO,but have no right to own or buy guns.
****oo
You can own a number of different firearms in the UK (namely shotguns, some hand guns, a very limited range of automatic weapons), but you have to be licensed, inspected, a member of a club, blah blah blah. It is very hard, but possible (although less likely in a busy town or city where the need is harder to justify).
I think the legislation you are referring to might be some retrospective nod to a guy called Tony Martin who shot (killed? can't remember) a man breaking into his remote and semi-derelict home here in the UK. He got sent down, which caused huge upset in the UK as many saw him as a victim of crime who was defending himself and his property. Can't remember if the weapon was licensed, but I would have thought probably not
this is pretty bad but, i had to travel withing the U.S. about two months ago. from houston, to austin, to san antonio, to salt lake city, back to austin, then back to houston. i took everything out of my B.O.B. to use as a carry-on. unknowingly, i left a spyderco delica II serr/plain in one of the little fold over pockets within another pocket. i made the whole trip without TSA or myself knowing it was there. thats pretty bad on both our parts. i was also carrying a TK11, and a NEX they never questioned those either. i guess i got really lucky, i hope. if not what does that say about TSA
Thank you for providing an example of what I mentioned in a previous post....
Self-defense is, for all practical purposes, illegal in the UK. But no politician is going to be stupid enough to make that fact, official.
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BenjiBot
Enlightened
You are allowed "justifiable force" to defend yourself in the UK. It's a bit vague, but if someone broke into your house with a knife or gun and you managed to disarm and kill them, you'd be OK in the eyes of the law IIRC. However, if someone attacks you with a pencil and you respond with, say, a crossbow, broadsword or M16, you will probably get prosecuted. Sorry, off topic. I'll shhhhh now
