Flying To The US With Proteus Light

TAZA · November 1st, 2006, 10:28 PM

Fly out to the US for a three week holiday and want to take my Proteus 3
will I have to inform customs before I fly.

Cheers

Divingniknaks · November 1st, 2006, 10:58 PM

Not particularly, but tips based on the reaction when I hit Manchester and then Orlando in Dec last. 3 HID's in hand luggage lol.

Make sure before it goes in the x ray that you tell them there's a battery with wires etc.

It does cause a stir, and the "snap" of that rubber glove is not a nice sound

Put's AK's Bastard Blue Finger to shame for sure.

Or did you mean from a "bringing it back and duty" point of view ?

Does that help ?

.

.

limeyx · November 1st, 2006, 11:12 PM

Quote: (Originally Posted by Divingniknaks)

Not particularly, but tips based on the reaction when I hit Manchester and then Orlando in Dec last. 3 HID's in hand luggage lol.

Make sure before it goes in the x ray that you tell them there's a battery with wires etc.

It does cause a stir, and the "snap" of that rubber glove is not a nice sound

Put's AK's Bastard Blue Finger to shame for sure.

Or did you mean from a "bringing it back and duty" point of view ?

Does that help ?

.

.

Check the battery and canister, carry the lighthead I would suggest

I learned the hard way at SEA airport that battery packs coated in black plastic with wires sticking out the end that look just like bombs .. well, get treated just like bombs.

Apparently the scanners for hand luggage have a hard time penetrating the batteries so they have no choice but to call the bomb squad (really).

They finally let me through but only after 4 TSA people, 2 cops and 1 bomb squad person had interrogated me, taken photos of all my bags and made me fill out a "TSA incident report" form, and scanned my drivers license.

This was just a domestic flight too.

Divingniknaks · November 1st, 2006, 11:39 PM

I know things might have tightened a bit since last december, but I worked on the principle of being able to show them what it was eg a torch.

I'll bow to more recent local knowledge of course.

The TSA guys are sh*t hot though, and VERY thorough, allow plenty of time to get through the check, DO NOT leave it late, they will take their time and quite rightly so I guess.

Also they may not share our "english" sense of humour, the guys at Orlando cetainly didn't

Be very straight and serious, honestly.

Dive HID's are not the best of things to be travelling with these days it seems, specially to the US. I also had my regs in carry on which kind of helped the explanation a bit.

.

TAZA · November 1st, 2006, 11:57 PM

Shit might take my UK400 instead

Cheers

**Alastair** · November 2nd, 2006, 12:11 AM

I travelled through the US in May with my Nimh light in my hand luggage. I did get stopped and they had a look but I'd stuck the airspeed press label on the battery and printed out the manual.

Airspeed Press Ordering Info

No problem after that.

Cheers
Al

limeyx · November 2nd, 2006, 01:30 AM

Quote: (Originally Posted by Alastair)

I travelled through the US in May with my Nimh light in my hand luggage. I did get stopped and they had a look but I'd stuck the airspeed press label on the battery and printed out the manual.

Airspeed Press Ordering Info

No problem after that.

Cheers
Al

I had the label, but had forgotten to attach it to the light.

To be clear: The people at LAX (Los Angeles) were only interested in confiscating my sunscreen and let the rest pass without comment.

The most "amusing" part was when I offered to show the TSA guy @ sea the lights "working"

his answer: "I'd actually rather you didn't sir. In fact, I'd rather you didn't touch anything right now."

So it will definitely vary by location. The Seattle guys are very jumpy despite LA in general being the bigger "target" (and the Seattle guys are extremely proud of how much more "switched on" they are than the LA guys -- the TSA guys almost exact words)

kamyk · November 2nd, 2006, 03:36 AM

Hey,

Just stuck your battery in your bag that u hand in, thats it will be allright to take H tourch on a plane with u.

Just dont take your battery with u

Did i few times and its working, just let them know its diving gear

tim · November 2nd, 2006, 03:05 PM

Same experience with LAX, no problem at all carrying the whole light in checked luggage - rolled up the lighthead and battery pack in my undersuit and put the whole thing in a hard shell suitcase. It got opened by TSA and they even kindly locked the case after inspection (I'd left it unlocked) and put a note in explaining they'd opened it for a routine scan. They hadn't as far as I could see unpacked the case at all (dirty laundry on top perhaps being one reason?) so I'm not convinced the battery triggered the 'scan' as opposed to it being routine.

Perhaps LAX get lots of divers coming through with canister lights?

Tim

leoc · November 2nd, 2006, 05:16 PM

Quote:

Same experience with LAX, no problem at all carrying the whole light in checked luggage - rolled up the lighthead and battery pack in my undersuit and put the whole thing in a hard shell suitcase. It got opened by TSA and they even kindly locked the case after inspection (I'd left it unlocked) and put a note in explaining they'd opened it for a routine scan. They hadn't as far as I could see unpacked the case at all (dirty laundry on top perhaps being one reason?) so I'm not convinced the battery triggered the 'scan' as opposed to it being routine.

Perhaps LAX get lots of divers coming through with canister lights?

Tim

I had no problem with my Lamar English can. light (similar to a big AUL or Sartek halogen) on the same trip, and packed the same way as Tim. It has big SLA batteries so I made sure to label the pack "Dive light battery pack" and printed and affixed the airspeed SLA labels. On the way back , in LAX they asked me to come down and give them the keys to unlock my suitcase, (so I would use TSA locks in future) swabbed the battery pack to see if it had been near explosives and then carefully repacked and locked it in front of me. If the proteus has SLA batteries your only alternative might be to pack it for the hold as it could be too heavy for hand luggage.

As an aside, I put regs in my hand luggage, and wasn't even asked about them.

Cheers,
Leo

November 1st, 2006, 10:28 PM	#1 (permalink)
TAZA(Offline) New Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Warrington Cheshire Posts: 114	Flying To The US With Proteus Light Fly out to the US for a three week holiday and want to take my Proteus 3 will I have to inform customs before I fly. Cheers

November 1st, 2006, 10:58 PM	#2 (permalink)
Divingniknaks(Offline) Resident purveyor of shiney kit.... Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Midlands UK Posts: 1,038	Not particularly, but tips based on the reaction when I hit Manchester and then Orlando in Dec last. 3 HID's in hand luggage lol. Make sure before it goes in the x ray that you tell them there's a battery with wires etc. It does cause a stir, and the "snap" of that rubber glove is not a nice sound Put's AK's Bastard Blue Finger to shame for sure. Or did you mean from a "bringing it back and duty" point of view ? Does that help ? . . __________________ Phill ----------------------------- Salvo Lights, DirZone Gear , Frog Wings Dive ? http://www.divingniknaks.com

November 1st, 2006, 11:12 PM	#3 (permalink)
limeyx(Offline) New Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Los Angeles, CA Posts: 708	Quote: (Originally Posted by Divingniknaks) Not particularly, but tips based on the reaction when I hit Manchester and then Orlando in Dec last. 3 HID's in hand luggage lol. Make sure before it goes in the x ray that you tell them there's a battery with wires etc. It does cause a stir, and the "snap" of that rubber glove is not a nice sound Put's AK's Bastard Blue Finger to shame for sure. Or did you mean from a "bringing it back and duty" point of view ? Does that help ? . . Check the battery and canister, carry the lighthead I would suggest I learned the hard way at SEA airport that battery packs coated in black plastic with wires sticking out the end that look just like bombs .. well, get treated just like bombs. Apparently the scanners for hand luggage have a hard time penetrating the batteries so they have no choice but to call the bomb squad (really). They finally let me through but only after 4 TSA people, 2 cops and 1 bomb squad person had interrogated me, taken photos of all my bags and made me fill out a "TSA incident report" form, and scanned my drivers license. This was just a domestic flight too. __________________ my divelog: http://www.mydivinglife.com/limeyx

November 1st, 2006, 11:39 PM	#4 (permalink)
Divingniknaks(Offline) Resident purveyor of shiney kit.... Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Midlands UK Posts: 1,038	I know things might have tightened a bit since last december, but I worked on the principle of being able to show them what it was eg a torch. I'll bow to more recent local knowledge of course. The TSA guys are sh*t hot though, and VERY thorough, allow plenty of time to get through the check, DO NOT leave it late, they will take their time and quite rightly so I guess. Also they may not share our "english" sense of humour, the guys at Orlando cetainly didn't Be very straight and serious, honestly. Dive HID's are not the best of things to be travelling with these days it seems, specially to the US. I also had my regs in carry on which kind of helped the explanation a bit. . __________________ Phill ----------------------------- Salvo Lights, DirZone Gear , Frog Wings Dive ? http://www.divingniknaks.com

November 2nd, 2006, 12:11 AM	#6 (permalink)
Alastair(Offline) DIRX Supporter Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: UK Posts: 693	I travelled through the US in May with my Nimh light in my hand luggage. I did get stopped and they had a look but I'd stuck the airspeed press label on the battery and printed out the manual. Airspeed Press Ordering Info No problem after that. Cheers Al __________________ Helium is our friend - GI3

November 1st, 2006, 11:57 PM	#5 (permalink)
TAZA(Offline) New Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Warrington Cheshire Posts: 114	Shit might take my UK400 instead Cheers

November 2nd, 2006, 01:30 AM	#7 (permalink)
limeyx(Offline) New Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Los Angeles, CA Posts: 708	Quote: (Originally Posted by Alastair) I travelled through the US in May with my Nimh light in my hand luggage. I did get stopped and they had a look but I'd stuck the airspeed press label on the battery and printed out the manual. Airspeed Press Ordering Info No problem after that. Cheers Al I had the label, but had forgotten to attach it to the light. To be clear: The people at LAX (Los Angeles) were only interested in confiscating my sunscreen and let the rest pass without comment. The most "amusing" part was when I offered to show the TSA guy @ sea the lights "working" his answer: "I'd actually rather you didn't sir. In fact, I'd rather you didn't touch anything right now." So it will definitely vary by location. The Seattle guys are very jumpy despite LA in general being the bigger "target" (and the Seattle guys are extremely proud of how much more "switched on" they are than the LA guys -- the TSA guys almost exact words) __________________ my divelog: http://www.mydivinglife.com/limeyx

November 2nd, 2006, 03:36 AM	#8 (permalink)
kamyk(Offline) New Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: New Zealand Posts: 128	Hey, Just stuck your battery in your bag that u hand in, thats it will be allright to take H tourch on a plane with u. Just dont take your battery with u Did i few times and its working, just let them know its diving gear __________________ www.cavedivers.com.au

November 2nd, 2006, 03:05 PM	#9 (permalink)
tim(Offline) Big Grin Syndrome Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Oxford Posts: 455	Same experience with LAX, no problem at all carrying the whole light in checked luggage - rolled up the lighthead and battery pack in my undersuit and put the whole thing in a hard shell suitcase. It got opened by TSA and they even kindly locked the case after inspection (I'd left it unlocked) and put a note in explaining they'd opened it for a routine scan. They hadn't as far as I could see unpacked the case at all (dirty laundry on top perhaps being one reason?) so I'm not convinced the battery triggered the 'scan' as opposed to it being routine. Perhaps LAX get lots of divers coming through with canister lights? Tim

November 2nd, 2006, 05:16 PM	#10 (permalink)
leoc(Offline) New Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: UK Posts: 11	Quote: Same experience with LAX, no problem at all carrying the whole light in checked luggage - rolled up the lighthead and battery pack in my undersuit and put the whole thing in a hard shell suitcase. It got opened by TSA and they even kindly locked the case after inspection (I'd left it unlocked) and put a note in explaining they'd opened it for a routine scan. They hadn't as far as I could see unpacked the case at all (dirty laundry on top perhaps being one reason?) so I'm not convinced the battery triggered the 'scan' as opposed to it being routine. Perhaps LAX get lots of divers coming through with canister lights? Tim I had no problem with my Lamar English can. light (similar to a big AUL or Sartek halogen) on the same trip, and packed the same way as Tim. It has big SLA batteries so I made sure to label the pack "Dive light battery pack" and printed and affixed the airspeed SLA labels. On the way back , in LAX they asked me to come down and give them the keys to unlock my suitcase, (so I would use TSA locks in future) swabbed the battery pack to see if it had been near explosives and then carefully repacked and locked it in front of me. If the proteus has SLA batteries your only alternative might be to pack it for the hold as it could be too heavy for hand luggage. As an aside, I put regs in my hand luggage, and wasn't even asked about them. Cheers, Leo