Flying to/from US with airbag canister

[teledad]

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Planning to fly SFO-YYC round trip with an Ortovox airbag pack (canister style). I am planning to empty the canister ahead of time and bring both pack and canister as a carry on (putting the canister in a basket since I am sure they will want to look at it), then refill it on the other end. These canisters are getting hard to find so I do not want to lose it.</p>
<p>
The canister has a gauge so it is easy to see that it is empty. The official Ortovox docs say to remove the head when flying to or from the US but I talked to someone at Ortovox Canada who said I just need to empty it, no need to remove the head. Removing the head is a hassle on these and requires a vice, wrenches, etc. (and needing to pack wrenches for re-assembly) so it would be nice to skip all that</p>
<p>
I am looking for confirmation - have others been able to get through TSA with an empty canister (w/ pressure gauge) but not removing the head? Anyone been held up and lost the canister or had to find a way to open it for the agent?</p>

[cat in january]

Yes and no with a perforated abs canister. The no resulted in my flying out with the canister confiscated. I did my best to say it was legal and bump it up the chain to no avail. So it really depends on who you run into at tsa. The argument was I can not see inside (small hole) and it’s heavy. I resorted to renting canisters or buying them where I was flying to. Btw aircanada lets you fly with a full canister so might take the guys advice from Canada with a grain of salt

[teledad]

Yeah, I found https://www.tsa.gov/travel/security-...gas-cartridges which makes me think I should play it safe and remove the head.

[GiantManta]

Yeah - remove the head. I've flown with mine (BCA) many times and they have always pulled it out and looked at it. No issues whatsoever since they could see into the canister. Just pack the tools in your checked baggage.

I bought mine before the big surge of battery powered packs and the BCA ability to easily take head off and manually fill was a big reason I end that direction. I would actually pack a high pressure pump in my ski bag so I could pump up my canister manually at my destination- works great for places wheee getting a fill was an issue.