I have 14 days holidays coming up in the near future visiting 6 countries in Europe, well the last time i was there was probably 10 years ago i am sure the regulation is now more stringent.
I haven’t flew to Europe since then, i would like to ask fellow flashaholic on how to proceed, my intention is to carry 2 EDC sized flashlight plus a single 18650 charger (Xtar MC1Plus).
Few questions arises, should i carry a known brand such as Nitecore, Fenix or it doesn’t matter? and how should i carry the battery should the battery stored inside the flashlight or kept separate? stored inside checked in or carry on luggage?
Now come to think of it it is a good idea to have flashlight with build in charging (never thought i would need that) ergo i never have to carry separate charger.
My choices are (i will only carry 2, one for me and one for my oldest son with no spare 18650)
Nitecore Concept 1
BLF A6
Fenix UC30 (old and not bright by today standard but has built in charger)
these lights are still on the way to me so not sure how it performs
Nitecore EC23.
Lumintop SD Mini II XPL (with side light could be useful)
I am leaning toward Nitecore Concept 1/Nitecore EC23 and Lumintop SD Mini II XPL.
Flashlight could be considered as potential weapon by paranoid check in officer so I suggest to put it to registered baggage.
All batteries/power banks, camera batteries and so on must be in carry on baggage.
Mike
Always have a S2+ on me and never had a problem. Lithiums are supposed to be with the passenger at all times (not checked bag) - last time I checked. However, never attempted to carry a bigger light on a flight.
I never had a problem with flashlights in carry on baggage. For being more precise, I always have them in my pocket and just put them in a basket like a laptop, smartphone etc.
I was always hesitant about bringing my lights to travel too. Always afraid one of the attendants may like my light so much, he will just confiscate it from me haha. I wonder if it would make it better or worse if I took the cells out and put them in the plastic case?
Yup. Just before my trip to Africa and to Europe a few months ago, I bought a Jetbeam EC-R26 exactly for this reason… I wanted something very small with decent output that takes an 18650 cell and that has a built-in charger. It worked well. I had it in my carry-on, along with my camera gear and other battery packs. Nobody asked any questions.
No offense to some of the people offering advice but is this based on actual experience or just something read on the internet. I travel overseas on vacation at least once each year and have never had a problem carrying up to 6 flashlights and 8 18650 spares in plastic containers. Most of the lights I carry are S2 size since they take don’t take up much space and provide more than enough light for our needs but I wouldn’t be concerned taking larger lights. I also carry several small chargers along with the lights.
I put everything into my carry on backpack and just have them run it through the scanners.
Based on my experience traveling to/from Europe and other countries there’s no problem in carrying flashlights and batteries on international or regional flights. I’ve been to a number of 3rd world countries (Africa, Cambodia, Vietnam, South America) and my experiences weren’t any different from countries such as France, Spain, Japan, etc.
As a FYI I carry all the lights so that my family has them when they need them even though they always say they don’t
The rules are that all lithium batteries need to be carried on board the airplane with you and are not allowed in checked luggage.
However if you do happen have lithium batteries in your checked luggage, it is very unlikely they will stop you.
I’ve always carried lithium batteries in checked luggage long before that rule was made, and have also carried them AFTER the rule was made, and have never been stopped or had my luggage opened.
Obviously yeah there are reasons why you shouldn’t carry lithium batteries in checked luggage, so I don’t recommend other people do it.
My personal experience has been that flashlights are no problem carried both on my person (pocket clip and then through the machine in a tray) AND carried in my small personal bag or carry-on bag. Cells in the lights and on occasion a spare cell in a plastic box. (We have been carry-on only travelers for years… beats waiting at the baggage carousel.) I carry on of those Olight chargers with the magnetic ends. NO Spare lithium cells in checked bags.
TSA recommends “Devices containing lithium metal or lithium ion batteries (laptops, smartphones, tablets, etc.) should be carried in carry-on baggage when possible.”
When i travelled in Europe from the UK, i took a torch, and a back up, then a few others and a selection of cells and chargers - you know just in case lol -
Kept them in my carry on and had the extra cells taped over the positive terminal.
Plus had a my 18650 edc in my pocket
I had no problems at all,the only thing i would say is you may find yourself subject to a swab, they simply ask if you mind your hands being swabbed, whipe a swab over your hands put it in a machine that i quess looks for traces of explosives.
That was it, thanks for your understanding and i was on my way, only happened at one airport, but i guess - although nothing was said - that it was to do with all the torches/electronics etc showing up on the airport xray scanner and whilst on here carring many torches etc is the norm, to people outside of BLF its possibly a little strange, unless your a travelling torch salesman lol
So i would have no problem with carrying torches etc to most places by air, only time i might be cautious is to certain countries, where its not so much its not allowed, but the under paid airport official/boarder guard might decide it is, cos they quite like the idea of having your expensive torch or torches for themselves and are you really going to argue with him
