Great advice, PL. My evperience confirms your observations. I once flew during a time of heightened security probably due to some terrorist activity getting a lot of coverage on TV news. I was carrying nothing suspicious, just my car keys and wallet. I couldn't make it through a single security station without at least a manual wand search. They were picking up a metallic signature from my hiking boots. Maybe the lace eyelets or the shank. At one point, one of the wand operators was beeping on a zipper. She refused to let me pass. I explained to her that she had found a zipper and I showed it to her and I requested a hand search. I had to ask to speak to her supervisor to get through the station. You never really know what to expect. Other times I have carried a folding Gerber LST knife with no problems.<br><br>I would never carry anything unusual through a security checkpoint that I wouldn't be willing to lose. I would definitely check my survival kit with my luggage. If you really feel like you need some survival items on the plane, put a disposable lighter in your pocket and a small folding knife that you wouldn't mind losing. Those won't look unusual to a security person. You might even assemble some other miscellaneous goodies in a zip-lock bag in your carry-on luggage. A zip-lock bag is far less suspicious than a carefully sealed metal box. A bottle of Potable Aqua, a signal mirror, flashlight, and whistle would all be fine. Anything that could be used as a weapon such as a wire or a wire saw, hatchets or blades could easily give you problems. Chances are good that they won't inspect it closely, but even if they do, your real kit will remain untampered-with and will be ready to go hiking with you when you get to Colorado.<br><br><br>