I travel internationally monthly and at times have had up to 10 bic lighters in my laptop bag at one time. Never have they looked at them. If you have a torch, they'll look at it so don't do it. Cutters always go in my checked bag, simple as that. Never had an issue but I take a cheap one as I don't want to lose my Xikar cutter to an asshat.
Traveling with lighters/cigars
- Thread starter Kawliga
- Start date
CigarSaint
Who Dat!
I just bring my travel humi and use a lighter at a local shop or buy a bic. Dont' trust the TSA
aroma
Luva Sweet Easy Retrohale
+1
:thumbsup:
I would have made sure that lighter was useless before handing it over. Great thread for me since I'll be traveling via air next month.
I travel both domestically and internationally quite a bit (will do about 100K miles this year)... all the comments here are pretty spot on IMHO..
there are pretty clear rules/regs about lighters..
the problem is most TSA agents couldnt tell you what they are.. and interpret them however they want to.. if you have quite a bit of time to argue with them.. you can normally win.. (ive found that pulling up the reg on my iphone and asking for a supervisor usually fixes the problem if they are screwing with something of mine that is valuable to me).. the problem is I rarely have time...
My solution for cigars is that the sticks go into a travel humidor, which is kept in my carry on luggage... accessories go into checked bags.. rarely does TSA do much more than a terciary check of checked bags..
I avoid the lighter issue all together.. and simply use matches or a bic type lighter that I pick up for less than a buck whenever I get to my destination..
just makes life easier to do things this way (for me)...
there are pretty clear rules/regs about lighters..
the problem is most TSA agents couldnt tell you what they are.. and interpret them however they want to.. if you have quite a bit of time to argue with them.. you can normally win.. (ive found that pulling up the reg on my iphone and asking for a supervisor usually fixes the problem if they are screwing with something of mine that is valuable to me).. the problem is I rarely have time...
My solution for cigars is that the sticks go into a travel humidor, which is kept in my carry on luggage... accessories go into checked bags.. rarely does TSA do much more than a terciary check of checked bags..
I avoid the lighter issue all together.. and simply use matches or a bic type lighter that I pick up for less than a buck whenever I get to my destination..
just makes life easier to do things this way (for me)...
Something that just occurred to me is that I have a punch on my keychain and it goes through x-ray all the time in my carry on. So if you're willing to carry or buy a bic, get a punch and pack your smoked in a carry on. Nothing to worry about.
However, I still check a bag every time I fly.
However, I still check a bag every time I fly.
Cigary43
Just Another Ashhole
Lighters by nature are important to us because if we're not using a bic or matches we choose our own type that we like...I have a variety of different types so when I travel I try to think like a TSA person would think and try to keep things simple....once you start debating with an agent you've already lost because they are trained by their very nature to think differently than the rest of us...they are supposed to find things that are wrong or questionable...it's in there job description. Save yourself the aggravation and just buy a cheapo lighter when you get to your destination...it's not worth rolling the dice to see if you can somehow manage to get your stuff through security. I've checked my bags before and still had things confiscated because they "spot check" luggage which is why they ask you not to lock your bags. I've see their little notes inside my checked luggage that said they checked my baggage for suspected items and lo and behold they took my lighter or 5 ounces of booze.
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Cigary43
Just Another Ashhole
He'd have taken it for sure because he wanted to see the flame....he kept saying it was a torch and I kept saying...it's a soft flame...here, look at the flame. The flame is not a torch but he just kept saying the ignition source was his concern and I thought my head was going to melt. A Bic has an ignition source...every type of lighter has an ignition source so what's the difference here? The difference was that this bonehead already had his mind made up that this lighter wasn't getting checked through so instead of my having an aneurysm I just told him...keep it dude ...you obviously have a need to want a lighter today so today is your day.Señor Maduro;1127746 said:
I would have made sure that lighter was useless before handing it over. Great thread for me since I'll be traveling via air next month.
I fly a lot and have never had any problems. I carry on a traveldor packed with cigars, a Xikar multi-tool, a good soft flame lighter and a Djeep. I pack a Zippo with a Z-plus torch insert in a TSA-approved case made by OtterBox and a SAK with cigar scissors in my checked lighter. The most that has ever happened was a TSA person at the x-ray machine took a long look at the multi-tool and then let it through. YMMV.
Same thing happened to me in Denver. Guy claimed it was because of the coil in the chamber. Still a soft flame. I haven't read anywhere that prohibits the type of ignition system. SMHHe'd have taken it for sure because he wanted to see the flame....he kept saying it was a torch and I kept saying...it's a soft flame...here, look at the flame. The flame is not a torch but he just kept saying the ignition source was his concern and I thought my head was going to melt. A Bic has an ignition source...every type of lighter has an ignition source so what's the difference here? The difference was that this bonehead already had his mind made up that this lighter wasn't getting checked through so instead of my having an aneurysm I just told him...keep it dude ...you obviously have a need to want a lighter today so today is your day.Señor Maduro;1127746 said:
I would have made sure that lighter was useless before handing it over. Great thread for me since I'll be traveling via air next month.
I left my lighters at home on my last trip because I didn't want to risk losing one. My brother is a lifelong cigarette smoker and he claims that he routinely carries a lighter when he flies and has never run into any problems.
My cutter made it through in my carry on bag with no problems.
My cutter made it through in my carry on bag with no problems.
Rupe
Suburban robot that monitors reality -BOM Feb.'13
No need to buy a Bic when you get to your destination. Soft flame lighters like Bics and Djeeps are 100% allowable now in domestic carry-on luggage. In more than 100 flights over the last 2 years the only place that I have ever had one confiscated was at the Pudong airport in Shanghai. I also have a Colibri soft flame lighter that is allowable but basically caused a search every time I had it because it is metal. The TSA people all wanted to check it to make sure it was not a jet flame lighter which made me nervous that one of them would not understand the difference and end up conficating it. I have stopped bringing it along for that reason. As far as cutters, I have never had an issue but I carry an extra punch with me just in case.
According to TSA regs, torch (jet style) lighters are 100% not allowed in carry-on or checked baggage. I have 2 Ronson Jetlites that I put into a Colibri (DOT approved) Transpack and place into my check-in luggage when I fly. Even though they are not allowed, the verbiage on the transpack says something to the effect of "lighters in this container are allowed to be in check-in luggage" and I have never had an issue with them being confiscated. The reason I travel with the Ronsons is that they are $3 each so if they do get confiscated I am not out much.
The other thing to think about is where you carry your cigars. I will always bring mine with me in my carry-on luggage so that they are inside the cabin at normal temperature. If you pack them in your check-in luggage they may be subjected to sub-zero temperatures that are encountered at 30,000 ft which may cause some nasty humidity fluctuations.
According to TSA regs, torch (jet style) lighters are 100% not allowed in carry-on or checked baggage. I have 2 Ronson Jetlites that I put into a Colibri (DOT approved) Transpack and place into my check-in luggage when I fly. Even though they are not allowed, the verbiage on the transpack says something to the effect of "lighters in this container are allowed to be in check-in luggage" and I have never had an issue with them being confiscated. The reason I travel with the Ronsons is that they are $3 each so if they do get confiscated I am not out much.
The other thing to think about is where you carry your cigars. I will always bring mine with me in my carry-on luggage so that they are inside the cabin at normal temperature. If you pack them in your check-in luggage they may be subjected to sub-zero temperatures that are encountered at 30,000 ft which may cause some nasty humidity fluctuations.
Cigary43
Just Another Ashhole
Last post here and while others have sailed through TSA w/o an issue ....doesn't mean that everybody will have that same luck. I travel ...a lot....and it just goes to show you that at some point if you roll the dice and the law of averages will clip you....take that nice $50 to $100 lighter and check it or try to get it through TSA and all it takes is one power hungry agent to make your day miserable. In my best Clint Eastwood voice you gotta ask yourself...."Do you feel lucky?" The brother earlier pretty much summed it up with Bic lighters being one of those things that we pretty much know will make it through every time and it has for me...so either take one with you or buy one at your destination. I'd never advocate anybody roll the dice with one of their good lighters and then get pinched for it. I thought by putting my Ronsons in a checked piece of luggage would be the easy way....nope...they got that one too in a spot check along with my DVD player...nice, huh?
I don't want to come off as a snob, but a Bic or any other Naptha-fueled lighter will almost always ruin a good cigar. For me, it's butane or matches. Of course, you can pack a few dozen cedar strips and solve the problem that way, but there's no way I'm lighting my good sticks with a Bic or a regular Zippo without a butane insert. I have several (supposedly) FAA-approved lighter cases in which I pack a large torch for domestic flights. It also helps that I am enrolled in the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Trusted Traveler (for domestic flights) and Global Entry (for international flights). Aside from issues involving smokes, these programs allow you to keep your shoes on while going through security and, best of all, avoid the long security lines and, worse, the endless U.S. Customs lines when you return to the U.S. by permitting you to go to a line-free kiosk. The program costs $100 and is good for 5 years -- and if you carry an American Express card, Amex will pick up the entire $100 tab. So, smoking issues aside, the program, also referred to as GOES (no idea what that acronym stands for), is a no-brainer that will save you hours (and the humiliation of removing your belt, shoes, etc.) as you breeze past long lines in many domestic airports and virtually all flights to international destinations. So I think I have domestic travel and outbound international travel covered, even with a torch lighter, as long as it is in an "FAA-approved" egg-shaped hard case. Then again, maybe I've just been lucky. But it's impossible to predict what will happen when you try to board a U.S.-bound flight in a foreign country. I had a Xikar cutter in my carry-on confiscated at DeGaulle in Paris (I know, Quelle Surprise!), but I tend to take my vacations in the Caribbean and there is virtually no way to tell how your materials are going to be handled in Cancun, Anguilla, St Maarten, the BVI, etc. Obviously, you can wave goodbye to any Dunhill or DuPont or even a particularly nice Xikar. I just wish that ICANN, one of several international authorities that sets rules for international travel would settle upon a consistent set of guidelines for traveling with lighters. Because it's tough to find a butane lighter -- let alone a can of fuel -- in a Caribbean country.