Can someone confirm for me that I can carry flashlights with Lithium 123A's on board commercial flights in the US? Is there a limit? I seem to remember reading about this somewhere but I can't find it now.

Thanks!

Fitz

That's the thing about TSA- there's never anything hard and fast about what you can carry. There are some definite things that you CAN'T carry, but the boundaries of that are up to the whims of the screeners. If they like your flashlight, they can "say" it's a dangerous weapon and it's theirs. If you make a stink, you get to go to the penalty box for being uncooperative.

TSA keeps an updated list online of their regulations restrictions etc. but I have noted variation among the screeners and the airports. The flashlight I carry is AA but I would not be afraid to carry the surefire lights with their 123's on board. If they ask you what it is for tell them its so you can see in the dark and look at them like any child should know the answer to that.
Oh and I have found that it is better to put every thing in a pack or bag not the little trays they have. It’s quicker and they only get to eyeball it on the screen not drool over you $100 light in the tray.

I carry a SureFire everywhere I go. I have carried mine over 10 times on planes since 9/11. I have also carried my SC1 with the extra batteries and bulb. No problems what so ever, eventhough the SC1 looks suspiciously like a mini handgernade. At worst, all you have to do is pull it out and turn on the light. The TSA can be reasonable if you deal with them with respect and openness. They are not the "NAZI's" many here would have you believe.

You're right, they aren't. The Nazi's lost; these clowns are winning.

Exactly right, GoatRider - not that I have had too many things stolen in the name of "national security."
The basic problem with the TSA is it is a law unto itself, and it can MAKE UP the laws as it goes along, or reinterpret them, or ignore them, and basically just do as it darn well pleases.
And Nazis? No ... say what you want about the Nazis, at least they could plan things and get them done. The TSA couldn't fight its way out of a wet paper bag, with holes in both ends.

Flying commercial is one of those times when cheaper gear is better than the more expensive stuff. I try to only take things I wouldn't mind having stolen, by TSA or any other thief.

A Nuwaii QIII and a Spyderco Endura cost about $80, total. I may lose one or the other, but probably not both. Beats losing my HDS Ultimate 60 and Sebenza. <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Don't take anything you can't afford to lose. If the TSA person decides that your flashlight is "dangerous" or could be used as a weapon, it's gone. At the bottom of the TSA page there's a sentance that basically says if the screener doesn't like it, it doesn't get on board. Makes the stealing that much easier for the screeners.

Dave

Dave