Traveling With Lighters?

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shaintiques

Lifer
Jul 13, 2011
3,615
227
Georgia
I'm going on a trip this week, flying, and was wondering if I can fly with my lighter. I have a zippo with a Butane insert. Anybody fly with bics or Butane lighters? Have any problems? If you do fly with them did you put them in your checked bag or carryon? This is a sweet Peterson Zippo and I would hate to lose it. In the past I have just taken matches, but was considering the lighter.

 

allan

Lifer
Dec 5, 2012
2,429
7
Bronx, NY
I know my story is right after 9/11, but I flew to Miami with my brand new 100.00 colibri lighter and forgot to pack it in my bag-I had it carry on.
They found it and offered for me to 'mail it to myself' but the plane was leaving in 20 minutes. There was absolutley nothing I could do other than say, "enjoy my lighter'.
That was the last time I travelled with a good lighter.
Times may have changed, however.
Allan

 

papa

Lurker
Apr 24, 2013
40
0
Dallas Tx.
No torch lighters. Bics, matches, etc. Should be ok. Now keep in mind, with human TSA, you never know what to expect.

 

shutterbug

Can't Leave
Apr 12, 2013
306
6
Last time I flew, I asked the TSA guy and he mentioned no high pressure torch lighters but the Bics and matches are okay.

My suggestion is to always store in checked luggage. It's not like you need the light anytime during your flight or even at most airports...so if you don't need to smoke during the flight process, why risk it?
Shutterbug

 

4dotsasieni

Part of the Furniture Now
Jan 6, 2013
756
6
Chances are, they'll grab the lighter. I traveled all the way from Seattle to Cambodia with a lighter I'd forgotten I was carrying with me, and it didn't get confiscated until I went through Incheon (Seoul) on the way back home. But it was packed in a Buddhist monk's robes bag I carried on my shoulder, so maybe that's what diverted attention (no, I don't recommend this as a way of getting things past airport security). But, if you're traveling in North America, the lighter, matches, anything incendiary is probably going to be confiscated. Pack it in checked luggage (and, the way pipes are looked upon with suspicion these days, it's probably a good idea to check them, too.)

 
Aug 1, 2012
4,587
5,131
Lighters with fuel in checked baggage is a no-no. They are ok with no fuel but I wouldn't risk it. Common bic-type lighters are ok in carry-on but not checked. If you have a lighter you want to bring that has fuel, you can bring it filled in a DOT approved case like the Colibri TranzPack.
Full TSA regs here.
EDIT: removed incorrect torch-lighter information

 

allan

Lifer
Dec 5, 2012
2,429
7
Bronx, NY
4dot
Some on the forum have suggested that putting pipes in checked luggage is risky.
When I've travelled so far, TSA has left my pipes alone.
YMMV.
Allan

 

gwtwdbss

Lifer
Jun 13, 2012
2,945
16
53
Right after 9/11 you couldn't carry a lighter. Now you can. I carry Bics and matches. I have yet to carry on my zippo with pipe insert only because it is a lighter I seldom use.

 

billbearcat

Starting to Get Obsessed
Mar 3, 2011
126
0
I am stationed in Japan and have been back to the state twice on commercial air over the last two years. I have kept my bic lighter and two pipes in my carry on. No problems coming or going.

 

dochudson

Lifer
May 11, 2012
1,635
12
no problem with your pipes in carry-on.. I wouldn't take any lighter I didn't want to lose.

 

shaintiques

Lifer
Jul 13, 2011
3,615
227
Georgia
Well made it through security. No problem. I did however leave my zippo at home. Pipes are in my carrying with matches. No problems. Can't wait to fire up some CVP

 

mso489

Lifer
Feb 21, 2013
41,210
60,433
I have a small dop kit that I use as a pipe bag, and this goes as carry-on, and it has a small box or two

of matches, and has gone through without incident. I think the pipes may explain the matches and so

don't cause alarm. It is arbitrary. I assume they might take the matches, but wouldn't have cause to take

the pipes, but I still don't carry my gift pipes or more expensive pipes. So far, I haven't had cause to carry

more than three or four pipes. I don't take along 20, as does one Forums member. Pipes are "good company."

 

4dotsasieni

Part of the Furniture Now
Jan 6, 2013
756
6
"If you have a lighter you want to bring that has fuel, you can bring it filled in a DOT approved case like the Colibri TranzPack."
Thank you for posting this info - I had no idea that such a rule or device existed. Just ordered a TranzPack for my next trip.
"Common bic-type lighters are ok in carry-on but not checked."

Funny, that's exactly the type lighter I had confiscated (once in Las Vegas, and once in Korea).

 
Aug 1, 2012
4,587
5,131
"Common bic-type lighters are ok in carry-on but not checked."

Funny, that's exactly the type lighter I had confiscated (once in Las Vegas, and once in Korea).
Somehow I'm not as surprised as I should be. I work with a law enforcement officer who has worked TSA security as well. He made it clear that not all the security personnel know what is banned and what isn't anymore. Some still haven't realized that bic lighters were taken off the banned list in 2007.

 
Aug 1, 2012
4,587
5,131
I should add that if I did own a lighter I cared about, I would not bring it on a plane at all unless I had no other choice (e.g. moving and never coming back). You never know when it will be taken by someone who doesn't know better.

 
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