Can i take my TK75 on a JetBlue plane??

Hey LPF members, I was wondering if any of you have any experience with the TSA?? I'm going to be flying from Vermont to JFK>PDX, i was wondering if the TSA would have any problems with me bring my TK75 with extension tube and 8x 18650 Panasonic 3200mah in my carry on?? I'm going to be out West for 2 weeks and want to bring some of my toys:can:
The flashlight would be the main thing i would want to bring, but what about my 2.8w Zaser?

i73770k said:

Hey LPF members, I was wondering if any of you have any experience with the TSA?? I'm going to be flying from Vermont to JFK>PDX, i was wondering if the TSA would have any problems with me bring my TK75 with extension tube and 8x 18650 Panasonic 3200mah in my carry on?? I'm going to be out West for 2 weeks and want to bring some of my toys:can:
The flashlight would be the main thing i would want to bring, but what about my 2.8w Zaser?

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Not a good idea to bring it as carry-on
I put my lasers in the other luggage. Be sure to take the batteries out or isolate them somehow.

Sometimes I think the TSA somehow lets some of the confiscated items slip into their individual possession as an employee to take home, that would be a tempting one to get for free. The last time the tried to take something from me, I made them let me have it back to give to some random person leaving the airport.

Not in your carry on but in the checked luggage. Be sure to remove the batteries as trussmonkey25 stated.

From the TSA instructions, loose cells are the problem, and IN the light is preferred, as that way, they can turn the TK75 on to confirm it IS a flashlight...and, if you have spare cells, in cell carriers (Not loose) is OK.

Carry on is a big no no for any light/device large enough to be deemed "club-like" etc.

So a maglight, large flashlight (TK75...), etc, IS considered "Club-like" (Ask me how I know...), so, checked baggage for them, NOT carry on.

I have traveled with lasers and large lights though...with nothing stolen.

I did have to get out of line to mail myself a knife I forgot I had on me though (A key chain one of all things...)...so, you don't HAVE TO give it "to some random person", you can mail/ship it to yourself.

Again, if its in CARRY ON, it can be a problem, but checked, even guns and ammo, etc, go through as long as you don't try to pretend they're not there.

I HAVE heard of TSA agents supplementing their meager incomes with your stuff...but, they leave a note when they open your bag, and if the bag has a note, you know who took your stuff, and, if they left no note, then you can call TSA and report theft in their possession as well, etc.



Percentage-wise, a teeny portion of bags get inspected, and, of those, the vast majority are not stolen from...so the actual odds of your bag being checked AND stolen from, are quite small...better odds than after you get to your hotel room for example.

:eg:

Have the light taken apart, head with tailcap, and the two tubes nice and empty, or filled with something soft like say socks, facing up when the bag is laying down on the conveyor so they can see right through them on the xray. Batteries separate in plastic clear boxes, light battery carriers also separate, and empty.

The big problem where lights are concerned is as Teej mentioned, they don't want to see anything that's big enough to be a club, which a TK75 flashlight, especially with an extension, would qualify as. Taken apart in pieces, and odds are you won't have an issue. While it's great having that extension... consider not taking it, and just the second second set, or altogether another set of batteries instead.

Same goes for the laser... there are no rules afaik for having a flashlight host, heatsink, driver, and lens, all in nice separate pieces. Keep the lens completely separate on the off chance that you get an extra intelligent and zealous tsa agent who decides to try to put it together and succeeds... less chance of him blinding himself or others.

The second big red flag to them would be anything that they don't understand/or that looks complicated. Keep things taken apart in pieces, and odds are you won't have any problems. Flashlights at least are 100% legal, so it's not like you have anything to hide. Lasers, I'm not sure about. You can take comfort (lol) in the fact that TSA recently failed in 95% of security checks.

I did fly out of newark with a TN31 in my carry on back in 2013 without any issues (and that's a pretty big light) but I was also very early for the flight, and would have checked it if they had an issue with it. Or mailed it to myself for that matter. No way I'm giving some grubby handed TSA agent a $150 light as a present.

Edit: To date I consider myself to have been pretty lucky. Only real "issue" I ever had was having my bags pawed through because of a bottle of sunscreen... that's how I now know the max size for anything liquid is 3.4oz... my 5.6oz bottle must have been pretty darn scary, what with smelling kind of like banana

InfinitusEquitas said:

Have the light taken apart, head with tailcap, and the two tubes nice and empty, or filled with something soft like say socks, facing up when the bag is laying down on the conveyor so they can see right through them on the xray. Batteries separate in plastic clear boxes, light battery carriers also separate, and empty.

The big problem where lights are concerned is as Teej mentioned, they don't want to see anything that's big enough to be a club, which a TK75 flashlight, especially with an extension, would qualify as. Taken apart in pieces, and odds are you won't have an issue. While it's great having that extension... consider not taking it, and just the second second set, or altogether another set of batteries instead.

Same goes for the laser... there are no rules afaik for having a flashlight host, heatsink, driver, and lens, all in nice separate pieces. Keep the lens completely separate on the off chance that you get an extra intelligent and zealous tsa agent who decides to try to put it together and succeeds... less chance of him blinding himself or others.

The second big red flag to them would be anything that they don't understand/or that looks complicated. Keep things taken apart in pieces, and odds are you won't have any problems. Flashlights at least are 100% legal, so it's not like you have anything to hide. Lasers, I'm not sure about. You can take comfort (lol) in the fact that TSA recently failed in 95% of security checks.

I did fly out of newark with a TN31 in my carry on back in 2013 without any issues (and that's a pretty big light) but I was also very early for the flight, and would have checked it if they had an issue with it. Or mailed it to myself for that matter. No way I'm giving some grubby handed TSA agent a $150 light as a present.

Edit: To date I consider myself to have been pretty lucky. Only real "issue" I ever had was having my bags pawed through because of a bottle of sunscreen... that's how I now know the max size for anything liquid is 3.4oz... my 5.6oz bottle must have been pretty darn scary, what with smelling kind of like banana

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LOL

Obviously, 3.4 oz of explosive lotion is not enough to worry about, but, 5.6 oz is enough lotion to take down the whole plane with.

Sometimes I wonder what TF they are thinking when they confiscate someone's nail clippers, as they could be used as a weapon.

If I had my choice of a laptop of a nail clipper to use as a weapon...and I was bringing in onboard to take over the plane with...I don't see going with the nail clipper.

One time I had a device used to take biological air samples I needed for a project I had to fly to....and it looked sort of like a long thick battery tube with a "Statue of Liberty" platform on top where the air samples were drawn into...TK70 more than TK75 sized.

An agent was looking at it like it was from mars, and was experimentally swinging it like a club, literally weighing its potential to be used as such.

I asked him to be careful with it, because it was an expensive scientific instrument that I needed to work when I got to my destination.

He said, I don't think I can let you onboard with this, it could be used as a weapon.

I said "Why would I want to use a $20,000 scientific instrument as a club when I could just get a bat for $10?"

He said "I guess you're right, here you go" and put it back in its case and I was on my way with it.

In the plane, I'm thinking, if I wanted to take down a plane, with a club-like device, would I really have cared if it were expensive, it it worked?

I mean, its not like I'd WANT TO take down a plane, but, logically, if he thought it COULD be used as a club, he should have also realized that a terrorist plot, etc....the cell might have spent MANY thousands on planning and equipment and so forth...and an expensive club that got on the plane would have BEEN a pivotal part of that plot.

It would make MORE sense to say, well, one guy with a club would not be likely to overpower 100 passengers with it, so, its an unlikely plot...

...than to say, yeah, its too expensive to be chosen as a club.


I've also seen them have a guy beep going through the hoop, say he forgot to take off his watch, and hand them the WATCH to scan, and, when it beeped, say, OK, thanks! and give him back the watch.

Maybe its a lack of proper training/basic understanding of the concepts they are supposed to be responsible for.

Teej said:

I've also seen them have a guy beep going through the hoop, say he forgot to take off his watch, and hand them the WATCH to scan, and, when it beeped, say, OK, thanks! and give him back the watch.

Maybe its a lack of proper training/basic understanding of the concepts they are supposed to be responsible for.

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This was another few years back, 2011 or 2012, I don't remember but I actually got waved through TSA security once. I was standing in that cattle call line, waiting for my turn to go through scanner or metal detector, and I happened to be in front of one of those little metal gates that employees use to pass through.

Well, one of the TSA agents on the other side waves at me. Look around. Look back. Look back at him, point to myself. He nods. I walk through, he got a call on a radio and just walked off. I was already completely past the security checkpoint. Carry on luggage, and all. Came up to another agent asked him if I'm good to go, says no, sorry, but cut the line.

Reality is, not one of them was looking my way, if I hadn't gone back to them to ask if it's ok to keep going, I'm betting no one would have stopped me.

I don't want to post about it on an open forum, but had thoughts like yours about how easy it would be to circumvent the security, and to me it's kind of scary.

If TSA really wanted to improve security, they would model how they work by imitating the security in israeli airports.

Unfortunately, and sadly, TSA is just theater and make work.

The TSA can fail carry on checks. Like the limit for alcohol is something like 70% abv or less.

Someone got through with the 95% abv bottle of get this EVERCLEAR.

it says flammable on the label . what the hell TSA.

Honestly it's probably all up to who you get even if you follow all the rules and advice given. You never know when you might get someone who wanted a new toy.

I'm afriad to put anything of value in my luggage, I suspect the TSA stole my iPhone charger last time I traveled, they were the only people I KNOW were inside my bag, they left their calling card. So, what happened, did you take your flashlight in your luggage or????

I'd say, if you really want to bring the laser with you, then try it. However, make sure it is very unfocused and hard to refocus it again. That's part of how I talked my way out of a 400$+ fine from the police last year.

gozert said:

I'd say, if you really want to bring the laser with you, then try it. However, make sure it is very unfocused and hard to refocus it again. That's part of how I talked my way out of a 400$+ fine from the police last year.

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Or disassemble into components. It's not a laser, just electronics lighting equipment at that point.

TSA has a nickname with flight crews. Toothpaste Stealing A$&goles.
Flew out of Bay Area recently. Brought a couple 40!mw,with me. Just didn't carry them on.
They have fit when they see an electronic cig.

Sorry to be late to the discussion, but I figured I'd chime in here. I fly JetBlue regularly, and have transported lasers between BOS and SFO on two occasions, both times in my carry on.

I had a 400mW green from Lazerer, and the other was a 2.5W blue that I built in a solid copper vintage flashlight host. On both occassions I had both lasers in my backpack (my only carry on, with no checked luggage), and I simply removed the batteries from the hosts (18650s), which I stored in a different pouch in my backpack. Other than that the lasers were fully assembled.

The first time I flew with them, I got through security no questions asked. The second time I did it, the TSA agent pulled the lasers and swabbed them for explosives, but they gave me no hassles, and were perfectly polite. The agent did ask me what the green one was, and I just said, "A laser pointer", and that was that.

Of course there are no guarantees, but from my experiences I am comfortable flying with my lasers in my carry-on, and getting through security. YMMV.

InfinitusEquitas said:

Or disassemble into components. It's not a laser, just electronics lighting equipment at that point.

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You're right. Guess I should've read the OP more carefully. Not sure how I just assumed it was a laser.

gozert said:

You're right. Guess I should've read the OP more carefully. Not sure how I just assumed it was a laser.

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Still applies to a laser though. Just bring one that you can take apart into at least 2-3 pieces, keep the battery and lens separate.