Taking lasers on planes

[Emosmeth]

I have both a wicked lasers Artic S3 1W laser and a home built 2.6W 445nm laser and I live in Ohio. I am planning on flying to equador and I want to take my lasers, but I'm scared they will get taken or not allowed through. My brother went there and his laptop was stolen. I would like to actually have them on me in the plane so they don't get stolen, but even without batteries I'm assuming the chance of that is pretty slim.

So my point being has anyone taken there's out of country on a plane, did it ever get stolen/taken, did you have trouble getting through, is it a good idea over 5mw or worth the risk? 750$ worth of lasers is quiete a loss.. Any attempt at a helpful answer is appriciated

 

[grainde]

Yup no issues if you take the batteries and lens out. I also take out the heat sink with diode and driver too (as one unit) and pack it elsewhere in the checked luggage just to be sure. I wouldnt put it in carry-on. :beer:

 

[jArdi]

hmm. strange, i was actually just thinking about this, trying to figure out the best way. IN MY OWN OPINION, i think taking it through carry-on would be more of a gamble than anything. You never know what they will do, but with some social engineering you might be able to. they always make sure you take out any electronics, and sitting there with a bigass laser (bigass because people are used to normal keychain ones, not ones that take 18650s) on the x-ray machine could be a no-no. If it where me, i would keep them home. But if you absolutely need to take them, i would either:
1.put them on carry-on, and keep them in whatever other bags/suitcases you have. I would wear a shirt that has something possibly to do with lasers, and if they take it out and question it i would say im going to a laser expo and point out the shirt then show them the safety glasses next to it in the bag.

2. put them in a suitcase with the rest of your stuff, NOT on carry-on. keep the laser in its seperate own little box with a note that they could read, and a label that says <5mw
Lock BOTH boxes with a good lock (which can be hard to find, every small lock that might fit I've been able to pick in around 20 seconds, if not less) a combo lock might work better if there is no key hole

I cant promise you either of these will work, but i've been stopped for having a dozen meat probes (sharp thermometers) in my carry-on. Luckily, we had our BBQ-Brethren hat on - they understood and let us proceed
other times, we havent been so lucky. They actually took an (empty) butane and propane torch and deodorant and tooth paste from us before. Sad thing was, it was a half empty sample tube. yeah, imona definitely do some damage with that -_-



EDIT:

Yup no issues if you take the batteries and lens out. I also take out the heat sink with diode and driver too (as one unit) and pack it elsewhere in the checked luggage just to be sure. I wouldnt put it in carry-on. :beer:

if hes done it, go with what he says

 

[grainde]

if hes done it, go with what he says

Only about 5 times and all international flights...Never had an issue :beer:

 

[Emosmeth]

Yup no issues if you take the batteries and lens out. I also take out the heat sink with diode and driver too (as one unit) and pack it elsewhere in the checked luggage just to be sure. I wouldnt put it in carry-on. :beer:

Good answer, but I didn't build it and I'm nervous to take it apart any more than taking the batteries out. Would that still pass? Also have you ever tried shipping it down before you have gone? I don't know what chance there is it could get stolen.

 

[Emosmeth]

Thanks @ jardi too. Some good thoughts and ideas(I like laser expo idea).

 

[danefex]

I've flown with lasers several times & had no problems. My process was taking the batteries out, tailcap off, focusing lenses off & even the head separated from the body if you can do this. I stored these parts in different areas in my laptop bag except for the lenses & batteries - those were packed securely in my suitcase with my toothbrush, deodorant, toiletries, ect. These parts are cheaply & easily replaceable if my luggage were ever lost, the expensive important parts are scattered around my laptop carry on bag.

Nobody ever questioned me through multiple airport securities or asked about anything specific in my carry on when I traveled like this. Random flashlight parts dont seem to pose any concern to TSA. There's also no way to make a laser work in my laptop bag without batteries or a lens which are packed in luggage I dont have access to, so nobody could say I was up to no-good if they found out my scheme

:beer:

 

[grainde]

Good answer, but I didn't build it and I'm nervous to take it apart any more than taking the batteries out. Would that still pass? Also have you ever tried shipping it down before you have gone? I don't know what chance there is it could get stolen.

You should be able to take the lens out and without the batteries, and as Danefex suggested tailcap, they wont know its a laser and wont be able to test it. Thats assuming it doesnt have a big scary laser sticker on it advertising the power!

@Danefex Im surprised you got it through in cary-on!:gj: My bag has been inspected many times in the past, as they simply didn't like the look of something on the X-ray. I guess if it really looks like a flashlight youd be ok, but then the actual lasers with those huge heat sinks IMO really dont look like lights...Guess its up to the person checking it over... :beer:

 

[Emosmeth]

I've flown with lasers several times & had no problems. My process was taking the batteries out, tailcap off, focusing lenses off & even the head separated from the body if you can do this. I stored these parts in different areas in my laptop bag except for the lenses & batteries - those were packed securely in my suitcase with my toothbrush, deodorant, toiletries, ect. These parts are cheaply & easily replaceable if my luggage were ever lost, the expensive important parts are scattered around my laptop carry on bag.

Nobody ever questioned me through multiple airport securities or asked about anything specific in my carry on when I traveled like this. Random flashlight parts dont seem to pose any concern to TSA. There's also no way to make a laser work in my laptop bag without batteries or a lens which are packed in luggage I dont have access to, so nobody could say I was up to no-good if they found out my scheme

:beer:

Aha good plan I think I may try that see how much comes apart on it. Idk if its a custom host or flashlight though. They will never find out! :eg:

 

[Bob_Boyce]

Aha good plan I think I may try that see how much comes apart on it. Idk if its a custom host or flashlight though. They will never find out! :eg:

With current rules on batteries on planes, they require batteries to be placed in carry-on luggage, not checked bags. Batteries must be secured so they cannot short out, like inside of electronics or packaged securely and well insulated.

I dismantled my lasers. The batteries, I taped over both ends of each cell then rolled them up in pairs in thin white foam, taped solidly. I put the heatsinks and diodes with drivers attached in an antistatic bag and placed them in one compartment of my carry-on laptop bag, along with my safety glasses. I put the cells and chargers in another compartment with my cables and other computer accessories. I put the empty hosts in my checked bag. My logic in splitting them up was that parts are legal to import even if lasers are not. I passed through all airport security checks, no problem.

 

[ixfd64]

Another idea is to have an astronomy field guide in your possession. That way, you could claim the laser is for star pointing.

 

[InfinitusEquitas]

I went though several airports with lasers... I kept the heatsink with diode in my carry on, with laptop. The rest in luggage.

Batteries in carry on, but in a plastic battery container.

Didn't have any issues. Even if they had asked me what it was, no reason to lie... it's a LED in a heatsink, part of a diy project :angel:

 

[MassLaserGuy]

I just returned from a business trip across the country. I had the 4 lasers in my .sig (tailcaps and batteries removed) in my carry-on briefcase, along with a total of 9 16340 LiOn batteries, 2 18650s, and 6 AA batteries (for camera gear). Also in the briefcase were 2 laptops, 2 outboard USB drives, Bose noise-cancelling headphones, and assorted pads of paper and pens. I watched (with some mild concern) as the briefcase passed through the X-ray machines, but the TSA folks paid it no mind.

As always, YMMV.