Flying with small prybaby?

[jericho_joe]

I saw some old threads on flying with prybabys but it didn't look like anything conclusive...

Does anyone fly regularly with a mini-prybaby on their keychain? If screwdrivers and sharp, pointy scissors are allowed on a plane, I would *think* it is ok... but I haven't tried it yet.

-JJ

[karlito]

I wouldn't risk it.

[nicknwong]

from my understanding it was allowed. There was a thread where one of the members checked with the TSA.

Edit - I couldnt find the exact thread but I found the one I started - Click (http://edcforums.com/index.php?topic=7682.0)
I own a special wedgie with Area 51 grinds so I wouldn't risk it. But In the end its up to your choice or how the airport guy sees it.

[ironraven]

from my understanding it was allowed. There was a thread where one of the members checked with the TSA.


Remember, the examiner has final say as to what is and isn't allowed. Showing them the list and asking for a supervisor means you miss your flight and possibly more, as you are being "non compliant". Remember, at certain times of the year, iPods (but not most "lesser" mp3 players) and hand held video games become potentially dangerous- if someone knows what that little hunk of metal is...

[Fozzy]

I've flown many times with a small PryBaby. It's been looked at exactly once- TSA: "What is it?" Me: "It's a bottle opener/screwdriver/mini-prybar." TSA: "Oh- Neat."

Small tools are now allowed on flights. Just make sure it doesn't have a sharpened edge as knives are still not allowed at this point.

[luigi]

I think that as a "bottle opener" you should be fine but there is a level of risk. Maybe you can put it in your checked in lugagge and secure it with a zip tie so it doesn't get "lost" that would be more secure and I think you are not going to need while on the plane.

Luigi

[BSBG]

You can bring a wrench or pliers up to 7" long, but not a "crowbar" or hammer.

I don't think it will be an issue. I'm going to try it next week.

[Peter Atwood]

Should be fine with a Prybaby, Keyton or whistle. :)

[TKC]

I didn't have any trouble flying with my Prybaby at all.

[bpa]

I have never had a problem with it, although I have not flown east of Detroit since such things mattered.

However, small crybabies are another matter altogether. :laugh:

[jericho_joe]

Flew with the mini prybaby in carry-on for the first time this week and had no problems in two of the larger airports in the US. So far so good...

[souptree]

I wouldn't worry about flying with a PryBaby at all, and I am super paranoid about the TSA confiscating stuff.

I do have a silver bullet on my keychain from the Gene Autry Museum gift shop. You know, in case of werewolves and the like. I flew with it for years, no problem. Then one time, they noticed it and said I couldn't take it, so I had to go back, tape it to a carton and check it as baggage. Ever since, I leave it home. Interestingly, in the 2000 election cycle, I went to see Gore speak once, as he was speaking at a rally literally 1 block from my work and we got a bunch of tickets. I totally forgot that the bullet was on my keychain until the Secret Service agent handed it back to me without taking so much as a glance at it, as I passed it around the metal detector in a tray. It was only then that I realized "Holy Sh**, the Secret Service just handed me a bullet!" Fortunately for all concerned, I am pretty much a menace only to myself, and I think that bullet would be most effective as a weapon if it was thrown very hard, still attached to the keys.

All of these events were pre-September 11. But I still wouldn't worry about a non-edged Atwood with the TSA.

[beardy]

I always fly with mine and nhave never had a problem. That said, I did notice that "prybars of any size"are specifically listed as forbidden! My prepared excuse, ït's not a prybar. It's a bottle opener."

[bpa]

I fly twice a week, and have never had a problem. Granola bars have caused me more difficulty than my mini prybaby XL.

[brix]

Never had a problem with my prybaby as well.

[jggonzalez]

I've flown with a keyton on my keyring without problems. From now on I'll probably use one of these. I just got a few and they're pretty nice. Try a keyword search on "Moai" and they should pop up. The maker, Joshua, is pretty cool.

[Bolster]

Just went through LAX and MCO screening with a Gasbaby on my keyring, clipped inside my travel vest, which went through the Xray machine. No issues and no interest on the part of TSA. However if I am ever challenged, I'm going to omit the word "pry" from the description. It's a key-fob bottle-opener.

[jonny8642]

I've fly on a regular basis (two to four times a week :brickwall:) with a 5" adjustable wrench and a keychain bottle opener in my back pack, no problems and never been questioned. I don't think a Prybaby would cause any problems.

[minitrue]

I just made a trip to France with my G2 Prybaby on the keychain. No problems in Amsterdam, but the security people wanted a closer look in Bordeaux. They did not have any problems with it after I explained that it merely was a bottle opener. Next I'll probably check it in just in case.... HTH

[gizzyeq]

I just made a trip to France with my G2 Prybaby on the keychain. No problems in Amsterdam, but the security people wanted a closer look in Bordeaux. They did not have any problems with it after I explained that it merely was a bottle opener. Next I'll probably check it in just in case.... HTH


This is it basically...there are NO standards....1 place no one cares... another place you get stopped.... :(
The keyton or whistle will NOT cause any attention from 1st hand experience and well no one else has been come even close to being stopped for them.
The prybaby tho is a different story...its definitely best to call it a "can opener" but it can be hit or miss whether they will take a close look at it or not.

I always carry a self addressed stamped envelope....but I'd rather not trust my prybaby or whatever to 1st class mail :shocked: so for me until Peter comes out with a truly truly keychain sized mini PB, anything that might even come close to causing an issue goes in my suitcase for my own peace of mind.

[Bolster]

So to SUMMARIZE this thread to date:

Nobody has yet reported an Atwood tool confiscation by TSA.
However, many recommend "safe rather than sorry."

Of course, if you ever needed the tool in flight, the defintions of "safe" and "sorry" could suddenly reverse. I think I'll continue to risk carrying my gasbaby because I can imagine needing the use of it more than I need the $75 (or less) to replace it. Would I pay $75 to pry open a stuck exit door? To unscrew my scissors? To jimmy open my stuck luggage? To hold screwdriver bits? To open that darned plastic bag? To open that beer bottle in the airport?

[0dBm]

Along with my Dovo folding scissors, I had a Ti Prybaby in a pouch along with cash, coins, and a Ti money clip in my briefcase this last trip. No incident.

[Komitet]

Something that I've done to avoid the possible hassle or sticky-fingered airport employees, is to find an alternate to what the mini prybar is made for. I found that foreign auto makers have some exceptionally heavy-duty and thick metal keys. I carry an Infinity key blank on the plane. I've tested them out and they can handle a lot of pressure, and some modifications can be made with a file or Dremel tool. Besides that, airport / federal building / court security never gives them a second look. It's just a key anyway, right?

[StrayLight]

I can report that in the last couple months I've gone through airport security in Saint Louis, Detroit, Toronto, Paris and Tokyo with a Keyton and a G2 Mini Gasbaby and they never got a second look. They were attached to my keys inside my carry-on, a Maxped Jumbo-S (the nearly perfect day bag for tourism, BTW).

My Zippo caused a stir when flying out of Tokyo because it was in my checked luggage. Why it's considered safer to carry on a lighter mystifies me. My 32oz Nalgene riding in the side bottle pocket of the Maxped was questioned 2 or 3 times, empty or not. They sure are paranoid about liquids.

Anyway, small non-bladed Atwoods would seem to be innocuous by the TSA. Maybe it wouldn't make a difference, but I wouldn't tempt fate by throwing my Atwoods & keys out in an open tray for screening.

[Bolster]

Los Angeles California, Detroit Michigan, Ottawa Canada...openly carried a Steel GasBaby on my keyring through all these airports recently, and not a single bit of interest was given to the GasBaby. The keyring was screened inside a jacket pocket, so was easily visible, not hidden amongst other things. (My Apple Computer was viewed with suspicion by the Canadians, however, and it received an additional screening.)

I'm beginning to think that all the fearful caution expressed about carrying non-edged Atwood tools on airplanes is just a case of excessive "could be" worry. Despite all the fretful cautions, we have yet to record a single confiscation.

EDIT: I asked Peter Atwood about this. He said that immediately after 9/11, a few people had their PryBabies confiscated. In the years since then, he's not heard of any TSA confiscations at all. So, unless there are planes falling from the sky, my guess is that PryBabies are pretty darned safe to take on board.