There are no specific prohibitions on traveling with a laser, where TSA and FAA are concerned.
If anything they are more concerned about batteries at present.
For the most part, if you do get to be unlucky enough to be questioned, the worst that is likely to happen, is you will be presented with the option to either toss the laser in the trash, or mail it back to yourself.
If you're even more unlucky, you may be forced to "voluntarily" surrender it, and may or may not miss your flight. A common practice in this situation is to pressure you to leave the questionable item behind, by giving you the option at the last second, so if you want to argue with them, you miss your flight.
Basically where security is concerned, just go out of the way to make everything appear as harmless as it actually is.
You specifically definitely don't want to for example take that MSSSW host you have coming.... on an xray it will look like a pipe bomb.
Stick to just having 1-2 lasers, that you would not go crazy over losing.
Also since you know where, and when you are traveling... just mail it yourself. A priority package will get here in 2-3 days max.
I use a laptop bag as my carry on which have several compartments that are perfect for taking a laser apart & storing them with small flashlights, pens, ect. I take off the focus lens, tailcap and anything else that's easy to put back together and store them in separate places in the laptop bag. I take the batteries & pack them securely in my toiletry bag with the checked luggage, the rest on the carry on.
Never have any security passes suspicious of anything I've had in either my carry on nor my checked luggage. I believe it's all about presentation & it's nearly impossible to tell if someone is carrying something taken apart & scattered like this in your carry on. Throw some AA batteries in there along with a few cheap pen-flashlights. Even under the worst of circumstances where you were to be caught or questioned for traveling like this, you or your attorney can argue that the batteries were stored separate in checked luggage so there's no way you'd be able to put it together & kill people on an airliner.
I've done this almost a dozen times now in the past 2 yrs & I'm yet to experience any holdups while going through the TSA, this process doesn't even make me the slightest bit nervous. Just my .02, good luck! :beer:
+Rep - Excellent advice.
I take the same exact approach, except I do keep the batteries in the carry on, and some of the laser components with a flashlight & toiletries.
Keeping the more expensive parts with me, and the cheaper in the checked luggage, but never with parts in either set of luggage to put together the complete laser.
Without the lens... the laser is nothing more than a bright flashlight.
Go mad Geek on TSA "What?!!! Didn't you see the movie?" A Darth Vader helmet may help too :thinking: