Overseas Taking bushcraft (and EDC) gear on a plane - airport experiences.

[Shade]

So ......
Ive been meaning to start this thread for a while but never seemed to get round to it.

I'm interested to hear what you folks take with you when you all travel?
Those little pouches of goodies / EDC bits and bobs that you'd rather not do without.

Now, when I say travel, what I'm realistically meaning is travel specifically abroad usually via a plane.
The reason I ask is that I've had a variety of experiences at the luggage check point / x-ray machines in the past.

I guess ever since I became a bush crafter and went on a few courses, the idea of preparedness has never really left me.
I usually have a small pouch of bits and bobs that pretty much goes everywhere with me and is transferred bag to bag in one form or another.
So .... naturally..... when going abroad for work / holiday / trip / whatever ..... it just gets put in my luggage.
I alway use carry on luggage to make things easier getting on and of the plane and out of the airport at the other end.

However ..... I have found virtually no continuity in the way certain items are dealt with by airport staff - both from different airports in the uk and at different airports worldwide. Incoming or outbound ..... its always different.

Such has been my frustration in the past that I have now taken to carrying a small padded envelope (with prepaid postage) with me in case anything gets refused - so I can mail it back to myself before leaving.

A good example for this thread is my trusty Victorinox Gel Card - that credit card sized repository of small useful items.
Whilst not a frequent flyer by any stretch of the imagination, I think over the years I have had just about every main part individually refused at some point. So I can keep the blade but not the scissors .... or another time .... I can keep the blade and the scissors but I can't keep the tiny four way screwdriver !!! (I kid you not).
#bonkers

Anyway.....
I'd love you hear all your experiences / lessons learned / wisdom

 

[TLM]

In the last 15 years I get to be checked almost every time, last time without was in Madeira when the whole airport was in some kind of frenzy and the disorganization was way beyond normal.

So nothing metal, only mobphone and binoculars as my tablets and laptops have gone through more explosive searches than I can remember. (DLW carries all those past the check point and then gives them back.) Even plastic belt buckles have been looked at.

So I am a bad example as I have to put almost everything in the checked luggage, which also means that nothing very expensive is carried along.

I don't know who bloody idiot put that bit in the wrong position by my name but I would like to kick him/her for all this trouble.

 

[Great egret]

I take nothing as carry on, everything goes in the suitcase/bagpack. I don't want to risk having to leave anything behind.

 

[BigMonster]

I only travel light with my carry on. Here is my experience:

YES:
Flashlights, lighters, ferrorods, matches, tarps, ponchos, 1st aid kits, sewing and repair kits.

NO:
Anything sharp (blunt nose scissors in a clearly marked 1st aid kit will work), any multitools, any tools (I got in trouble for stubby screwdriver with phillips bit and a handful of 10mm screws), fishing hooks, glue (put it in your liquid pouch), any 1st aid liquids (put it in your liquid pouch), any prescription pills (my friend got in big trouble for having a box of Tramadol without a prescription on him). Anything tactical like lockpicks or wire saws.

Rule 1: Doesn't matter what TSA or on-line rules say. It's down to the security person to decide if you can keep it. Most times they will ask their supervisor and the answer will be NO so they are on the safe side. That's how I lost a small packet of tiny fish hooks from my survival kit.
Rule 2: Don't make it look weird or tactical. Don't call it survival kits, don't call it tools. Say it's your travel kit, put fishing line on tiny spools and mix it up with your sewing kit. It's not a bushcraft kit, you will be hiking and need matches for your stove. Avoid military kit. "Tourist" and "travel" sounds much better than prepper, survival, combat.
Rule 3: Don't take anything you are not willing to loose. It's all about control and there is no point disputing anything. If a dumb person on the other side tells you to drop that titanium butter knife in the bin you drop it in the bin. If you start to question their decision they have ways to make it very unpleasant and uncomfortable for you, and it's irrelevant who is right.

So I just take what I can from my EDC like a flashlight and a lighter just to avoid the stress at the airport. I also have a little tradition of buying cheap knife or SAK in the country I visit and then on return I mail it to myself as a souvenir.

 

[MartinK9]

Lost a bungee to customs going to Norway, still smarts to this day as I was sat next to a woman on the flight knitting with number 10 needles


How Twodogs laughed.....

 

[Rockfarm]

The power of a TSA agent is literally insanity to me. The items they go after to "protect" us seems to be a flavor of the month thing, no real consistency. I've traveled quite a bit from the States to Costa Rica the last few years. My wife was searched because of "explosives residue" on her baggage and hand....turned out to be baby powder! Lol
Back in 2017 I was using a bag that I had made with a ballistic panel sewn inside the leather, been using as carryon for years. The TSA girl spent 15 minutes and held up the line, determined to dig it out. Finally a supervisor came over a yelled at her, "I've told you twice, it's FINE!" LOL
So I always put anything dear to me in check-in, gear, knives, ammo or guns.

 

[Wildgoose]

I like the majority of posts have seen inconsistencies in what is and isn’t allowed and I suspect it’s the individual officers understanding of the rules.

I had a led diving torch seized on route to the Maldives. I suspect it’s because the security agent fancied it, to the point he insisted on seizing the pouch and charger too….

 

[forrestdweller]

for several years i lived a nomadic lifestyle, which meant going rather often across borders...

- every time i entered or left New Zealand i got "special treatment" from authorities rummaging through my hand luggage ( no idea why...) -- last time flying out i realised a quick trip to the toilet AFTER the special check was in order to get rid of half a film container of gun powder (=left over and forgotten from my last solo trip in a remote mountain area...) edit: i consider myself EXTREMELY lucky they didn't find it and don't recommend anyone trying to repeat this event...!
- due to several negative experiences at South Korean border points (airport + international ferry terminal in Busan) i insist(ed) on being present when my check-in luggage gets checked as those clowns soil their pants when seeing a tool on the screen and then feel like playing with it, causing damage to my gear on several occasions... edit: taking a ferry from Busan to Japan with cutting tools meant some discussions with security personnel telling me to put a 8" knife in a 4" envelope ( i insist on finding a larger envelope which gets sealed by me to avoid this clowns playing with my tools) -- before i'm allowed to board the ship with my Gransfors SFA in my backback...
-a security guy in beijing liked my Zippo (which had neither flint nor felt, == being non-functional...)
--every time flying out of Darwin some security guy idiotically grins at me, wordless shoves a piece of cardboard (either they employ mutes or think i'm deaf...) into my face which says i've been 'randomly' selected for an explosives check -- when i politely ask what made them think i carry explosives== lame excuse "it's just randomly"... every time...
-- a tin of bees wax was was fine in Seoul and Moscow, but got confiscated in Madrid...(connecting flights)
--during an overnight stop in Singapore an arrogant uniformed guy sees my carving tools on the screen: "how many knives do you have?!"" - -silence from me... "i said: how many knives do you have?!?!" - -"i understood you very well! i'm still counting... "
i still have a special import permit, stating i'm allowed to bring my "machete" through Singapore (different stopover) but was advised not to walk down the street with it (to which i replied that wasn't my intention...) when my PARANG showed up on an x-ray....

 

[SaraR]

It's never the things you think might cause an issue that get picked up on by security. Also, just because something was fine the first 15 times you flew with it on the same route, doesn't mean you won't get the "oh my god I can't believe you thought this was ok" treatment the 16th time...

 

[BigMonster]

The surrealism of the whole situation is that you can buy everything you need to hijack or destroy an airplane in the shops past the security. Glass blade made out of a wine bottle? A gallon of alcohol to burn the thing down? Electronics and tools to disrupt the workings? No problem. Not to mention a "free" stash of resources in the plane kitchen...

Just don't let them have any nail clippers.

 

[Jared]

Was a talk awhile back about various bits of weaponry could fashion from airport bought items. Terminal Cornucopia it was called.

 

[MrEd]

Opposite question but the most ridiculous thing I have taken through airport security was a deactivated warning maroon flare, vintage 1960’s - was taking it from one museum to another and didn’t want to pay the ridiculous baggage fee easyJet charged abs it was to fragile/rare to let out of my sight.

I had all the correct paperwork, and after being inspected by a police officer they allowed it in my hand baggage.

I actively avoid Dubai airport after my awful experience with security there. It was the most humiliating and embarrassing thing that’s happened to me while travelling.

 

[TLM]

Fun in Dubai:

"A search by customs officials uncovered a speck of cannabis weighing just 0.003g - so small it would be invisible to the naked eye and weighing less than a grain of sugar - on the tread of one of his shoes."

"
Meanwhile a Big Brother TV executive has so far been held without charge for five days after being arrested for possessing the health supplement melatonin.

The authorities claim to have discovered 0.01g of hashish in his luggage"

"We even have reports of the imprisonment of a Swiss man for 'possession' of three poppy seeds on his clothing after he ate a bread roll at Heathrow."

"Customs authorities are using highly sensitive new equipment to conduct extremely thorough searches on travellers and if they find any amount - no matter how minute - it will be enough to attract a mandatory four-year prison sentence."

 

[SCOMAN]

Weirdly flew back from Dubai to Heathrow then on to Belfast, opened my camera bag (hand luggage) to show my Dad the new lens I just bought and found my Leatherman wave sat on top of the camera. Neither Dubai nor Heathrow had spotted it. Never done that again.
A colleague was checked at Barra airport when they found a 'long red' screwdriver in his laptop case, he was an engineer. The security guy laughed and said 'Nearly' placed the offensive weapon on the table. After a quick cursory body search my friend started to walk across the beach to the plane to be called back to pick up his screwdriver!

 

[Kepis]

You lot must look dodgy i guess lol, ive travelled for over 20 years, both on business and for pleasure, been to 36+ countries in Europe, Middle East, Africa & the Americas and can honestly say ive never encountered a problem anywhere with airport or port security.

Funniest one though was at Heathrow, i was flying out to Croatia with my boss and id overdone the talc in my shoes a tad, had to put my shoes through the scanner and go through security, got to the other side and saw my boss wetting himself laughing, asked him what was up and all he said was "look behind you", all i could see was a trail of white footprints across the floor, even the security chaps were laughing.

 

[Van-Wild]

EDC gear, in my carry on I'll have a small torch on a key ring, my wallet, passport, my phone and cash. That's it. Everything else goes in my hold luggage.

I've never felt the need to have my other EDC stuff on my person when flying. If the plane takes a nose dive then I'll take that as an omen that my life is over....

Having the remainder of my EDC in my hold luggage has only let me down once in 20 odd years, when it went missing at the destination airport for 3 days and I was left with my wallet, passport, my phone and battery bank, some cash and the clothes on my back...... no problem. I used my cash to buy bits and bobs. The first thing I got was a cutting tool, so I found a DIY store and purchased a multi tool. Med Kit I borrowed off my travelling companion out of his spares until I eventually got everything back from the airport. I've never felt the need to carry a survival kit as part of my EDC. Same for a sewing kit and such, because in my environment I'll not need those things. If I do ever need a sewing kit, I'll find a shop and buy one. Obviously I live and work in an urban environment and not in the wilderness, which does require deeper considerations......

Back to the travelling question, like going on holiday, I'll put sharps and other such things in my hold luggage or buy something appropriate on arrival in country.

My EDC is as follows, if interested:

Phone, small battery bank and lead
Olite i3e EOS torch or head torch
Torniquet and trauma kit
Zebra X-701 pen and RinR note book
SOG Terminus XR
A G10 pry
Sweat rag
Some kind of nutty bars for snacks
Some coins.

I can fit it all in my pockets if I'm wearing walking trousers or jeans. If not, I'll use a Patagonia Atom 8L sling pack.


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[forrestdweller]

an anecdote which just came to my mind: 12years ago i stayed two nights at a hostel in New Zealand, another guest was an elderly guy who for medical reasons needed a walking pole and was allowed to take a ca.160cm "quarterstaff" as hand luggage... the hostel owner came into the room, greeting him with "hi, j Jack!" to which Jack replied "don't say that at an airport!" ...

 

[BigMonster]

Just got a very painful memory. My Leatherman Charge Ti disappeared from my checked luggage at Liverpool airport 10 years ago...

 

[Van-Wild]

an anecdote which just came to my mind: 12years ago i stayed two nights at a hostel in New Zealand, another guest was an elderly guy who for medical reasons needed a walking pole and was allowed to take a ca.160cm "quarterstaff" as hand luggage... the hostel owner came into the room, greeting him with "hi, j Jack!" to which Jack replied "don't say that at an airport!" ...

Classic! That had me laughing out loud!

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[Shade]

Well...... what great stories !!
Glad to see I'm not the only one who gets a "variety" of treatment at airports
Some good advice mixed in with the stories too!
Thanks