Rocket won't Fly!

[Papa Bear]

I use an MSR Pocket Rocket camp stove, which I like very much.

Last Saturday when flying home from Burlington VT, JetBlue would not let me take this in my checked baggage because fuel (in this case Butane) had once "touched" it. I knew enough to ditch the fuel canister, but the stove!! Give me a break!

Sooo .. . I called UPS and it would cost me more to have them pick it up and ship it (about $40) than a new one would cost.

My question: does any one live near Burlington VT who might pick it up, stick it in a bubble wrap envelope and mail or ship it to me? (At my expense of course). Or just hold it till I return to the Green Mountain State later in the summer. Or just keep it and use it so they don't throw it away!! Just thoght I'd ask.

If you plan on flying with camping stuff, be forwarned!

Thanks
Pb

 

[ExploreTheEast]

I had a problem this past Memorial Day weekend on America West to Phoenix... a pack of matches.

Not some huge box, mind you. Just a little box, with a striker, and maybe 10 matches in it. In my checked luggage-- NOT carry on!

But hey, if it means someone's not going to be able to create an "incident" while I'm on the plane, whatever it takes I guess...

 

[sp1936]

TSA is pretty explicit about what's allowed and what isn't. I found this out when I flew Memorial Day weekend for the first time in several years.

Interestingly, matches and lighters are allowed in carry-on, but not checked baggage. The opposite is true of meat cleavers, cattle prods and firearms.

Steve

 

[ExploreTheEast]

...meat cleavers, cattle prods and firearms.

Steve

This is where my other problem was. That's right-- they would't let my cattle prod on! I mean, how can you have a good time in Arizona without your own prod?! What are you gonna do, RENT one when you get there.

These people are out of control.

 

[LittleBear]

We just came back from a trip to the Grand Canyon. After hearing lots of conflicting stories about what you can take and can't take in your carry on luggage, we decided the safest thing to do was to ship our stove and fuel bottles out to a friend in Phoenix. It was kinda expensive to send it UPS (we did 2nd day air just to insure it got there in time). On the way back, we just packaged everything back up (we kept the box just for that purpose) and mailed it by US mail (no hurry to get it back home). There is a post office conveniently located right inside the park. Sent that by priority mail late on a Friday afternoon and it was at our P.O. box when I picked up the mail on Monday morning!

 

[Holdstrong]

Interestingly, matches and lighters are allowed in carry-on, but not checked baggage.

Thats a big thanks to the Tobacco Lobby. Matches and lighters were originally on the list of banned carry on items, for obvious reasons, especially AFTER Richard Reid tried to blow up a plane with a shoe bomb, but the Tobacco Lobby went after the Bush administration hard and got them removed.

Nicotine fix first, safety second.

I personally mail the entire stove when travelling just so I dont have to deal with it. But with the price of some of these cannister stoves dropping it does push the issue of "disposable" stoves, since mailing them will cost almost as much as a new one.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Matches

It is very obvious why matches are verbotten in your checked luggage. They are in a bag/case packed tight under a mountain load of other bags, with a lot of vibration. There is a remote chance that friction could cause them to ignite. Not an option on a plane...

 

[Danielle]

We flew with both empty fuel bottle, stove and lots of matches last summer from Boston to Dallas, Dallas to Seattle and up to Alaska, around Alaska and back on American. Never had any problems, despite all the horror stories... although when we got back into Boston there were tags on our bags that said they had been searched after we checked them. Poor guys! Our week's worth of stinky clothes, wet tent and fly, hiking shoes, etc. UGH! I think they must have simply opened the bags, realized how gross it all was, and zipped the bags back up

We'll be flying out to Tahoe/Yosemite for a friend's wedding and some camping (hey, have to take advantage of being out there!) in July. We're flying on American again, and we'll be taking the stove and fuel bottle but maybe we'll just pick up matches once we're out there...

When we get back, I'll let you know if everything made it through OK.

-Danielle

 

[Doc McPeak]

Papa Bear,

I am climbing Mansfield later this month (either the third of fourth week) and would be happy to swing by and retrieve it for you. Just let me know via e-mail.

Doc

On a side note, I flew to San Fran last Sept with my Primus in the middle of my backpack and didn't have a problem either way. We bought our cannisters out there, and gave some climbers our leftover can.

 

[Bob]

send by USPS

It's a PITA, but I think the USPS would be much cheaper to ship with than UPS. Probably $1.49- $3. I'm always returning gear this way, I always just ask for the cheapest options. Sometimes an upgrade is only a few pennies more.

 

[Warren]

Since 9/11 I've flown with gear to the Northwest twice. The first time I packed a pocket rocket in checked luggage, no problem. Note: I also realized on this trip that there were two marine smoke bombs in my emergency kit. Bad Thing, but it went through unnoticed by me as well as security. I still have two canisters at a friends house waiting for my return.

The second time I needed to bring the whisper-light, so I shipped it. Both times a zippo made it through, I think I had it in my checked luggage.

Considering the lack of humor or understanding that one may find these days if I didn't have a house to ship to I'd build a pepsi can alcohol stove and bring that as a disposable/ give a way stove.

 

[WalksWithBlackflies]

I checked out the TSA website, which wasn't overly helpful... so I e-mailed TSA. Their response effectively skirts around the issue (btw, I never specified "Coleman"):

"Thank you for your message expressing your concerns about airport security and travelers with camping/sports equipment; specifically, a Coleman Propane Stove without the propane fuel.

This information along with other travel tips is located on the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) website at <http://www.tsa.dot.gov>. All travelers, and particularly those who travel infrequently, are encouraged to visit the section on travel tips before their trip. Frequent flyers should review the information periodically for changes and updates. The website has information about prohibited and permitted items, the screening process and procedures, and guidance for special considerations, that may assist in preparing for air travel. You can go directly to these tips at www.TSATravelTips.us.

For your convenience, we are including the following information from our website about traveling with sports equipment. We hope this information is helpful.

New screening guidelines prohibit certain sporting equipment from being brought on-board an aircraft. These items include: baseball bats; bows and arrows; cricket bats; golf clubs; hockey sticks; hunting knives; martial arts devices; pool cues; scuba knives; ski poles; spear guns; and any other equipment determined by the screener to be dangerous.
While these items are prohibited from your carry-on baggage, they may be transported to your destination in your checked baggage. Any sharp objects in checked baggage should be sheathed or securely wrapped to prevent injury to baggage handlers and security screeners.
The airlines must adhere to Federal regulations and they may establish additional policies for passengers and baggage to ensure safety and compliance. You should always notify your air carrier of any special needs before you arrive at the airport and request their assistance with these needs. This should include any assistance you will need with connecting flights.


TSA Contact Center


-----Original Message-----
From:
Sent: Monday, June 7, 2004 5:25 PM
To: TSA-ConsumerResponse
Subject: Customer Service Feedback

I am flying to Denver in September for an extended backpacking trip. One of the necessary items is a white-gas fueled camping stove. The stove will not be attached to any fuel source, is not capable of harboring spent vapors, and does not have an attached ignition source (ignition is via matches, which I will not pack). I also plan on bringing an empty (and free of vapor) 1-liter non-pressurized fuel canister with removable top.

I flew with these items in December 2002, but wanted to assure that these items are allowed on either carry-on or checked baggage. Thank you.

 

[Pete_Hickey]

You will also have a problem trying with an ice axe and crampons as carry-on.

TSA... This is the minimum. Individual airlines are free to have stricter rules. You chould check with the individual carrier, and try to get the response in writing.

Note also that they prefer that the counter person errs on the side of caution. Think about that for a minute, and you'll probably agree.