heres a noob Q: airport security and flashlights

My wife and i are headed to the Philpians next week for 6 days. I want each of us to be packing a couple reliable lights for this journey as we may find ourselves in who knows what conditions while there. So #1- is it a bad idea to be carrying one or 2 lights per person in our pockets while boarding the plane/going through security check? that is to say... do they have the discretion to confiscate these valuable objects in the name of security?
Would it be wiser to keep the lights in our bags til we land? same Q regarding a few extra batteries. Thanks in advance, i know many of you have been through this.

ballistic

There have been a couple threads about this, try doing a search. General concensus is to not bring too many, put them in your carry-on, and to avoid aggressively styled lights.

Going to Philpians? Where is that? I'm thinking Philippines! Am I right kabayan? Anyway, you can cary flashlight as many as you want and batteries as many as you want BUT never include/cary a flashlight that has a crenelated vessel on the head or tail coz they will be mistaking it as a weapon. That light will stay on the house. About batteries, you can carry hundreds of batteries as long as they are Alkalines and NiMh, say eneloop rechargeables, duracell or enegizer. A SPARE lithium battery is NOT accepted. Those mentioned can be had in your carry on or on your checked baggage. I know you want to carry many flashlight coz it's a necessisity/need in our country. Enjoy your vacation kabayan.

Bad idea



Bad idea



Ok!


Anyway, you get the idea.

Also, I think they might have issues with lithium batteries. Maybe primary or NiMh is the way to go... :thinking:

don.gwapo said:

Going to Philpians? Where is that?

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What he said^^^

Philpians?

I just flew domestic and international in/from the US and in Europe and I had several flashlights from small (iTP A1 SS) to large (SF M6) in my carry-on baggage as well as about 20 spare lithium cells and nobody cared. They swiped my carry-on for explosives once but other than that they weren't interested.
They showed more interest in my laptop bag with all the cables and stuff in it.

Slightly crenelated lights like the E1B were also no problem during any of my travels although I would refrain from bringing any of the extreme examples shown in the post above.

Markus

Philpians? I have no idea where that is, but I figure that's a typo, and the Philippines is the most likely suspect. Anyway, going to what Sir Handsome said:

don.gwapo said:

A SPARE lithium battery is NOT accepted.

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Any chance you can point me to anything that explicitly states this? I know the local 'rules' are hardly ever written down (it's easier to abuse them that way), but I wasn't aware of any restriction on lithiums.

On a related note, I'm guessing CR123As wouldn't get through security, but do you think L91 and L92 (Energizer AA & AAA lithiums) would pass?

Here's the link:

http://safetravel.dot.gov/documents/airline_passengers_and_batteries.pdf

I think that will explain up.

don.gwapo said:

Here's the link:

http://safetravel.dot.gov/documents/airline_passengers_and_batteries.pdf

I think that will explain up.

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Thanks for posting that link. Please read before "banning" CR-123 cells...

My 6-8 CR-123s never, ever made problems as I had them in a pouch in my carry-on. At Lugano airport security once asked me to remove my two cells from my SF A2 "Aviator" flashlight and put them lose in my pocket... ;-)

So, be prepared against stupidity but don't be afraid of confiscations by airport security. And, don't bring your entire Spy 007 collection with you as common sense would suggest...

don.gwapo said:

Here's the link:

http://safetravel.dot.gov/documents/airline_passengers_and_batteries.pdf

I think that will explain up.

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Thanks for the link, I wasn't aware of the exact rules, I just never had any trouble.

But it also seems that those rules are not common knowledge within the TSA as I had 24 new SF CR123s in my checked baggage that they actually searched and they didn't have a problem with that.

Here's what the TSA has to say about travelling with batteries: http://www.tsa.gov/travelers/airtravel/assistant/batteries.shtm

Markus

I think it still depend on the TSA officials you will encounter. Some of them may permit you to carry extras and the others don't. Well, who knows it's their discretion. Let's just be cautious.

don.gwapo said:

Here's the link:

http://safetravel.dot.gov/documents/airline_passengers_and_batteries.pdf

I think that will explain up.

Click to expand...

I've read (and saved) that document already, and based on that, all my flashlight batteries (CR123A, AA & AAA lithium, Eneloops) should be fine, especially since I keep them either in the lights, or in battery carriers.

What got me confused was your statement that "A SPARE lithium battery is NOT accepted" - I was wondering if there were any specific rules here in the Philippines that restricted spare lithium batteries.

Anyway, thanks for the link, kabayan.

thank you all very much for the responses. Yes i should clarify it is the Phyllipeean islands we are going to, Bohol to be exact via Manillah.

I bet lights do get seized, at least occasionally. Maybe not. Has anyone even heard of a light being apprehended at an airport? I collect spydercos, and so i have noticed on ebay there is regularly entire lots (100's) of pocket knives seized by the TSA for sale. Usually the expensive knives are culled out of these lots and its mostly no-name or low end knives like fake swiss army and the like. Ive seen 100 knives go for less than 100.00. Could you imagine if a lot of 100 confiscated high end LED lites went on ebay for sale ((drool.. drool..)).

anonymoususer said:

What he said^^^

Philpians?

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I'm not sure where he's headed but i'mnot sure if a crenelated vessel is the way to get there. :laughing:

Ahem... It's the Phillipines...

I wouldn't take any lights that you wouldn't want to part with. A Fenix E01 and Maratac AAA light apiece would be a good deal, and at under $60 for the two lights, and an 8 pack of Lithium AAA's. Multiple outputs and good runtimes on both, and the Fenix E01 has shown to be indestructible.

John_Galt said:

Ahem... It's the Phillipines...

I wouldn't take any lights that you wouldn't want to part with. A Fenix E01 and Maratac AAA light apiece would be a good deal, and at under $60 for the two lights, and an 8 pack of Lithium AAA's. Multiple outputs and good runtimes on both, and the Fenix E01 has shown to be indestructible.

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yes, the Fylippeens.. lovely this time of year i'm told. I am pondering if i want to use a common format for batteries ie. all cr123 lites, or mix it up to cover more possible bases like AAA/CR123. Hmm.. decisions decisions.

I travel all over the world with a Muyshondt or McGizmo and a LensLight or SureFire... Been to some weird places as well.

You take one light in your carry-on and your wife as well, while going through security. 90% of time nobody even cares. Put a cheap light (e.g. SureFire G2L) WITHOUT cells in your luggage -- wrapped in clothes, etc. Buy one fresh pack of CR123 (4x) and one pack of either AA or AAA (4x). Hell, you can even buy those at the airport. The key issue is, that the batteries/cells cannot shorten each other. So let them in the original blister pack or take something from SureFire, TAD Gear, etc. for transport.

If asked my answer to airport security would be, that I don't see in the dark and need a flashlight for navigating the hotel room when I wake up from another panic attack...


There are again many threads and some include cool examples of security spotting certain customs.

AND PLEASE: let's make this thread sticky for once and all!

I have traveled with cr123's before, as have many other people from feedback I see here. One thing you may want to keep in mind if traveling with lithium batteries is that they may be confiscated. As has already been noted, different TSA and other security staff may ask for different things depending on how familiar they are with the rules, and their level of attentiveness.

My $0.02 is that if asked to remove/dispose of your batteries by security personnel, don't put up a fight or make a big scene. It sounds like they are probably within their rights to do so. Confronting security personnel, especially if they are exercising their authority justifiably, is never a good idea.

ballisticmike said:

yes, the Fylippeens.. lovely this time of year i'm told.

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Right now it is VERY hot in the Philippines according to my friend who currently lives there. The best time of year to go is between October and February when it is cool.

But anyway. If you bring a flashlight with crenellated bezel, maybe you should disassemble the crenellated bezel from the flashlight and store separately just to be on the safe side?

so you guys are saying that spare lithiums may be a no no. what about the lithiums IN the light? are those ok? is it ok to put a pack of lithiums in your checked bags?