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Monday, 12 March 2018 15:51

Friendly Skies? Nope.

Written by

TSA 03 copy large

A few days ago I recieved this message on Facebook from a longtime member and friend, who shall remain nameless, and who has had their Leatherman Tread confiscated by airline security.  Naturally, as you can imagine, this member was seriously concerned.

Hey do you have a contact at leatherman as bought a tread and it got taken at the airport
As the product states allowed on planes and it clearly is not

Here’s the Leatherman Australia reply:


##- Please type your reply above this line -##
Your request has been solved. To reopen this request, reply to this email.

Mar 9, 11:34 AM AEDT

Good Morning XXXXX,

In the FAQ's about flying, we note that the TSA allow the tread to be carried/worn on the air crafts as they do allow this, however, the TSA is not the governing body for Australian flight services (it is for the US where Leatherman Tools are manufactured). Some people find success in advising the airport security that the TSA allow them due to the fact there are no tools etc on the tread and the US have notoriously strict flight conditions so if they allow it then it may be considered here, but ultimately, it is up to the individual agents assessment. Australia does not have one governing security body that has the same rules for each flight or even airport, so we can't say the tread is allowed or banned from all flights, as some airlines may accept them and others would not. As well as this, despite them not having any knives on them, we do not have the authority to overrule a decision made by an airport security agent regarding the Treads.

I am very sorry to hear that yours got confiscated, but unfortunately we cannot replace products that get lost or confiscated.

Kind regards,
XXXXXXXXXXXX

Three things to take away from this:

1- If you are an international traveler, please remember that TSA compliant doesn't mean it will comply with the rules of your airline, airport or national security agency.

2- Regardless of your location, please remember that the AGENT has ultimate discretion on whatever they feel constitutes a danger, regardless of the regulations.

3- Leatherman has no jurisdiction, responsibility or authority to say what can and cannot go on the plane, nor are they likely to do much more than shrug and apologize if your tool gets confiscated.

I know some of you have flown successfully with different items that are labelled as TSA friendly, but I have time and again warned everyone not to take chances with it. And now, one of our members has lost a $200 bracelet because someone felt it was a threat.

I don't agree with this kind of thing, and I strongly suggest you all write to whatever governing agency in your area handles these matters, and I suggest even more that you do not argue with anyone while you are in a line up at security as you are really not going to win, and could end up losing an awful lot more than your tool.

Have your say on the Multitool.org Forum or email me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. with any thoughts you may have.

Grant Lamontagne

As the founder of Multitool.org Grant has been a collector of Swiss Army Knives and multitools for over 25 years, and a user for over 40 years. 

With a day job working in the field, either out in the woods or on industrial sites, Grant uses tools every day for all manner of different purposes.

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