# Flashlight with Carry-On Luggage during Air Travel?



## flipe8 (Mar 26, 2008)

I'm heading down to Florida next week and wondered if I should pack my E2E in my suitcase, or if it would be fine in my carry-on luggage? Anyone have any recent expereinces, good or bad, when bringing lights on planes?
Thanks.


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## Dead_Nuts (Mar 26, 2008)

I was concerned when I went to the Virgin Islands last month, so I only carried a P1D (easily replaceable) with me. No one gave it a second glance except to ask me to turn it on once. You should have no trouble with a light in your carry on. As with anything you think they might want to look at, pack it on top, perhaps in a ziplock. By the way, I had to go through Customs as well.


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## rkJr (Mar 26, 2008)

you're more likely to have it stolen out of your checked luggage.

I carry on both surefire and fenix everytime, and the most they've ever done is try them to see that they work. they have asked me why i carry two lights, plus glo-toobs, plus all my other EDC stuff, but otherwise no problems.


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## nbp (Mar 26, 2008)

Numerous threads on this topic if you do a little searching, lots of good info and experiences. 


(Whoa! Did I just say that? I think I'm still too new to say that...the old timers are supposed to tell us newbies to use the search tool. Eek!)


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## Daylo (Mar 26, 2008)

I flew into Reagan Airport at D.C. with a Surefire E1b, a Novatac, and extra batteries in my carry-on and securlty didn't say a thing. It was pretty nice.


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## Everett (Mar 26, 2008)

Took a Nitecore DI across the country and back, never even had to take it out of the carry-on bag to show anyone.


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## Chrontius (Mar 26, 2008)

your big problem will be preventing anyone from swiping them. I recommend carry-on.


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## DieselTech (Mar 26, 2008)

I flew to New York and back at the first of this month with my A2 in my pocket with my keys. The TSA was more interested in the plastic bottle of water I had than my light.


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## Glasstream15 (Mar 26, 2008)

I flew from Jacksonville to Nashville and back last month with a Dorcy 6AAA in my carryon. They were more curious about my palm TX.


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## PayBack (Mar 27, 2008)

So they don't care about your lights having Assault Bezels?


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## generic808 (Mar 27, 2008)

Uhh...I wouldn't recommend taking a strike bezel unless you really don't like it and won't mind them confiscating it. Every time I fly, I put my original bezel back on my primary 6P, which I carry everywhere.


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## MikeSalt (Mar 27, 2008)

I've just come back from Florida, and I was carrying a Fenix P1D-CE, Surefire E1E, Fenix L1T V2.0 and Lummi Raw Ti onto the plane including NiMH, Lithium and Li-ion cells. It is not only a good idea to carry the spare cells in your carry-on luggage, it is ESSENTIAL! The logic behind this is that the cabin crew can access you carry-on baggage using fire-fighting equipment if there ever was a battery-induced fire. If the cells were in your checked baggage, a battery-induced fire could jeapodize the aircraft.


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## flipe8 (Mar 27, 2008)

nbp said:


> Numerous threads on this topic if you do a little searching, lots of good info and experiences.
> 
> 
> (Whoa! Did I just say that? I think I'm still too new to say that...the old timers are supposed to tell us newbies to use the search tool. Eek!)


 
. I actually did two searches before posting, but I found most of the info was a couple years old and wanted the most recent, first-hand knowledge could get. 
It sounds like the best bet is to carry it with me. That's likely what I'll do. Hopefully, no problems. Thanks guys.


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## BSBG (Mar 27, 2008)

PayBack said:


> So they don't care about your lights having Assault Bezels?



In my experience, no.


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## yaesumofo (Mar 27, 2008)

A search would yield many previous threads with the same question and answers.

It is completely OK to fly will all but the most aggressive flashlights.
in fact it is smart to fly with the light in the cabin with you should you need it in case of emergency it will not do you any good in your bags.

Flashlights are completely ignored by the usa most of the time the rest of the time they want to see them out of interest. If you show up with a Novatec that they have never seen they may want to examin it because it is so cool and they will have (unfortunately) little or no chance of ever having seen one.
Yaesumofo


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## 9volt (Mar 27, 2008)

MikeSalt said:


> and Li-ion cells. It is not only a good idea to carry the spare cells in your carry-on luggage, it is ESSENTIAL! The logic behind this is that the cabin crew can access you carry-on baggage using fire-fighting equipment if there ever was a battery-induced fire.



If a Li-ion vented in your carry-on on a plane I think that would make for a seriously bad time for everyone on board.


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## FrogmanM (Mar 27, 2008)

LiPo's ppl!!! runtime:thumbsdow but no additional shrapnel!:thumbsup:

Mayo


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## jufam44 (Mar 27, 2008)

I took a U2 porcupine thru with no problems, other than a "HUH?" look from the TSA screener when she asked how much it cost and I told her! You'll probably be fine, and if they try and confiscate it, a simple chat with their supervisor should get it back to you. I wouldn't put it in the checked baggage, tho. Dishonest baggage screeners nick things all the time, and there's not a way to find out who screened your bag. 

-Max


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## Glasstream15 (Mar 27, 2008)

9volt said:


> If a Li-ion vented in your carry-on on a plane I think that would make for a seriously bad time for everyone on board.


 

It would make for a lot worse time if it was in checked baggage. At least in the cabin they can separate it from other stuff and hopefully, probably, extinguish fires. In the hold it could start a bad fire that the suppression system is not designed to handle. And they can vent a cabin, without depressurizing, very rapidly. Just uses more compresor bleed air which uses a couple gallons more kerosine.


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## 9volt (Mar 28, 2008)

Breathing the fumes that come out when a battery vents is very very bad for you. I wouldn't want to be stuck in a confined space then it happened. That was my point.


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## Gary123 (Mar 28, 2008)

9volt said:


> If a Li-ion vented in your carry-on on a plane I think that would make for a seriously bad time for everyone on board.


 
I can't see a Lli-ion venting sitting in a flashlight thats turned off. But it is best to pack lights that you can unscrwew either the tailcap or head and disable them to ensure they cannot turrn on.

I fly all the time, all around the country, and carry on one or more lights with me always. Never been stopped or asked about them, not even asked to turn them on.

Good point by MikeSalt on carrying extra Lithium batteries: be very careful with them. Put them in a sock, secure them in an envelope. Do not let them loose inside the suitecase or toilett bag. Always keep them covered and protected.


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## vandrecken (Mar 28, 2008)

MikeSalt said:


> I've just come back from Florida, and I was carrying a Fenix P1D-CE, Surefire E1E, Fenix L1T V2.0 and Lummi Raw Ti onto the plane including NiMH, Lithium and Li-ion cells. It is not only a good idea to carry the spare cells in your carry-on luggage, it is ESSENTIAL! The logic behind this is that the cabin crew can access you carry-on baggage using fire-fighting equipment if there ever was a battery-induced fire. If the cells were in your checked baggage, a battery-induced fire could jeapodize the aircraft.



Though security at the international departures end of Boston Logan air did swab my surefire SC2 spares carriers (and da*n near everything else) for explosives last week :laughing:

"far too many electronics in your hand luggage sir, you should have emptied them all out into trays so that we can look at them properly "
As if !

Needless to say no one was the least bit bothered at any of my other transit airports :shrug:

Vandrecken


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## GPB (Mar 28, 2008)

I usually have 3 walkie-talkies, a GPS, 2 flashlights, and a bunch of spare batteries......no one has ever questioned any of it. I don't have much respect for the TSA screeners and I think they focus on all the wrong things. They will hold up the entire line if you have 3.00001 ounces of shampoo, but wouldn't even blink if you had a wiring diagram of a Boeing 757 in your bag, as long as you took off your shoes as you went through the line. I know there are a lot of people on here in Law enforcement and I have the utmost respect for them...but these screeners are definately the weakest link in our security system.


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## GadgetTravel (Mar 28, 2008)

As I have posted before, I fly about 200,000 miles a year, always with multiple lights and never a problem. In fact earlier this week I had my HDS U60 XRGT out and dropped it on the floor as the seat belt sign came on for landing. It rolled and I couldnt find it. I told the flight attendant and she said she would turn on lights on more when we landed so that I could find it. 

After we found it I was crawling around on the floor in first class with my E2e looking for my HDS. I finally found it after most of the people were off. As i came off the pilot asked me if I found my flashlight. I guess the flight attendant told him why I was crawling around. I said yes and showed it to him to explain why it rolled since it was round. He asked it that was a high tech light and I told him it was and he asked if he could take a look at it. This was an American Airlines mainline jet by the way, not a commuter flight. So he played with it a bit and did a wow about how bright it was. Of course he didnt even have it turned on all the way and when I showed him REAL bright he got a good chuckle out of it. So here is a pilot obviously seeing the lights and not giving it a second thought. 

I use lights a lot on flights, I dont usually drop them. Especially on long overnight flights (transatlantic or transpacific) they are really handy to have since it is dark in the cabin. Lots of flight attendants carry lights on those flights for doing things like checking seatbelts are on while people are sleeping. Ive had some interest as in, what kind of light is that, but never a bit of trouble.


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## jumpstat (Mar 29, 2008)

Ive travel to Europe on several occasion and brought along my lights, at least 2 nos. in the carry on luggage without any problems. Once there was an inquiry by security but when I switch the light on, there was no issues.


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## nizesa (Mar 29, 2008)

I normally will check in the larger g2z. g2 or 6p in the chek in luggage and just carry the e2e or e1e in my pocket when boarding in the airplane. Just take them out at the x-ray and let them scan it as well.. no problem so far.


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## g36pilot (Mar 31, 2008)

Had a River Rock lantern stolen from my checked bag DTW-TPA. A TSA confiscation or interior looksee results in a card place in the bag stating so. That wasn't the case.

Carry on my good lights & battery spares.


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## IcantC (Mar 31, 2008)

Carry on your lights for 2 reasons.
1) To prevent theft.
2) In case of battery vent, it will be easier to contain the fire. Rather then have a fire in the cargo hold.


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## LED-holic (Mar 31, 2008)

I fly often too and I carry 2 lights on my flights.

One is the fairly weak 2AA maglite with a LED conversion. This light throws the perfect amount of power in the darkness of the cabin at night, and won't bother the neighbors.

My second light is the L2D-CE Q5, which is my EDC. This light is awesome, but it's too bright for the dark cabin even at the lowest setting, so I use it once I'm off the plane and need a brighter light.

As they say - one is none, and two is one, it's great to carry at least two lights for backup purposes as well.


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## flipe8 (Apr 9, 2008)

I ended up not taking my E2D, but not because I feared loosing it. Hours before we left, I put in a new set of batteries. Once in, I turned the light on. Nothing. I took them out and put thenm in again...and again, nothing. I ended up playing with the light for an hour or so before giving up. The tail cap had given me problems before, but I've been able to remedy the problem in thepast. Not so, this time. Thanksfully, my trusty little Arc was still on my keychain, so I left the Surefire in my car and borded the plane. Good thing I had it, too, as my wife ended up loosing an earring while taking off a sweater. The white gold hoop showed up quite well in the Arc's light. Now that I'm home, I've put in a call for a replacement tailcap. 
Thanks for the advice, guys.


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## nbp (Apr 10, 2008)

Here is a link to one of the recent threads on the topic I referenced earlier. In case others are still interested in more reading. 

https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/180168


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## generic808 (Apr 10, 2008)

I just got back from an Oregon/Washington trip and was shocked to find out that TSA missed my strike bezel packed away on my carry-on. While heading out on my trip, I seperated the strike bezel into my check-in luggage, but when returning, I forgot to remove it and packed my light into my carry-on. I didn't even realize that I did it until I was unpacking and found my fully asembled light in my bag oo: So much for homeland security at the airport level :shakehead


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## HonorKnight (Apr 10, 2008)

The only thing TSA regulations say is no tools over seven inches as carry on. So, theoretically you should be fine as long as the flashlight isn't over seven inches long. If it was just a little over that size they most likely they wouldn't even bother enforcing that unless you ran across a nit-picky screener. Screening is notoriously uneven, with it missing things at times. Sometimes screeners get overzealous too. Sometimes they disallow things that shouldn't reasonably be disallowed. They woman who recently had to remove nipple rings with pliers before being allowed through, comes to mind. They refused to believe she wasn't hidding something until she could pass through the metal detector without setting it off, even with a female guard confirming that she had nipple rings. Stuff happens. That's why you should never travel with anything you can't easily replace.


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## diddy808 (Apr 10, 2008)

I'm pretty sure that they can tell that it is a flashlight on the xray. I had my PD-S, L1D, Streamlight & a streamlight propolymer in my backpack. No problems at any of the airports I've been to.


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