Can’t bear the thought of leaving your Leatherman at home while traveling internationally? Check out these helpful hints for taking your favorite tool abroad.
Even if it’s a multi-tool that’s on the travel friendly list, international airports and airlines follow their own security rules and guidelines.
And factor in the fact that you might not speak the local language to explain what exactly it is that you’re carrying, and you could be in for a disaster.
There is one Leatherman multi-tool however, that might be yhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GoTrouLPYTkfour safest bet when traveling abroad, and that’s the wearable Tread. As the world’s first wearable multi-tool, the Tread was designed with travelers—and security checkpoints—in mind. While this might be the safest multi-tool to travel with, what about your other multi-tools? Like your new Wave+, or your trusty Signal? Just because you’re traveling, and heading through security checkpoints, doesn’t necessarily mean that you must leave your favorite travel accessories at home—just keep these tips in mind.
Stay on the Safe Side and Put Your Leatherman in Your Checked Bag from the Start
International airlines often have stricter carry-on baggage weight and size restrictions anyways, so planning to go the checked bag versus the carry-on only route from the beginning is never a bad idea. That doesn’t give you a license to pack the biggest suitcase you can find—that simply means just pack accordingly. Put absolute essentials—like daily contacts and medications—in the personal bag that you’re not checking, just in case your checked luggage goes on an adventure of its own.
Checking your bag from the beginning means you won’t be stopped and questioned as you make your way through security (for carrying a multi-tool, at least) and could save you time and hassle in the long run. And those are both things that I know we’d all rather do without when traveling.
Pro tip: To save a few dollars (and to spare yourself from the shock of what some airlines charge you to check a bag—purchase your checked bag when you book your ticket if you’re traveling on an airline that charges for that sort of thing.
When You Have an International Layover, Don’t Forget You’ll Have to go Through Security in That Country Too
Say you’re flying to Thailand from the United States and you have a layover in Hong Kong. Well, before you can board your flight to Thailand in Hong Kong, you’ll have to go through yet another security checkpoint. And each time you go through a security checkpoint, you risk being questioned about your multi-tool. Now, we both know what your Juice CS3 multi-tool is and exactly what it does, and that it’s safe to carry onto flights in the US, but chances are that this foreign security agent doesn’t know any of those things. Especially when they figure out that this small, handy multi-tool has a corkscrew.
So, unless you feel confident speaking the local language, and you’re ok with knowing that you risk being pulled off to the side to explain your tool—and potentially risk losing it—again, put even the smallest of your multi-tools in your checked luggage from the beginning. Traveling is already stressful enough, especially if you have an extremely short international layover, and it just might not be worth the stress to carry it with you onto your flights.
You’ve made it abroad! Now, what about trains, sporting events and concerts in other countries—where can you (and where can’t you) take your Leatherman?
In my extensive travel experience, I’ve never been searched or had to walk through a metal detector of any sort when taking the trains throughout Europe and Asia. But, that isn’t to say that it won’t happen. With recent scares in public places, and the political nature of where you’re traveling, assume that you could be searched anywhere, at any time. Especially if you wear your Leatherman in a visible place, like on your belt, or attached to your backpack.
When it comes to sporting events and concerts, assume that you will be searched and that you will have to go through a metal detector. A few good rules of thumb in these situations are: (1) is the multi-tool you’re carrying on you on the travel-friendly list? And (2) will someone who isn’t familiar with your multi-tool find it threatening?
When it comes to security, these officials don’t mess around. If they find your tool at all threatening (which is a risk that always happens when you carry anything with a blade, scissors—no matter how small—or a corkscrew), then they’ll make you ditch it, and tell you that you can’t enter until you do. At this point, you must decide what’s best for you, and the public around you. And whatever you do, don’t make a scene—it’s never worth it.
Keeping Track of Your Leatherman Abroad
Another important thing to talk about is—how to best keep track of your Leatherman when you travel.
You know how much you love and how handy your Leatherman is, and that’s exactly what might draw attention from locals. This is not to say that every local, everywhere around the world is going to want to steal your Leatherman—heck, this is probably even more likely to happen in your own hometown—but, it is to say that when you pull out a cool, very handy tool like this, you could draw some unwanted attention. If you’re going somewhere where you know the community could really benefit from tools like this, take an extra one that you could spare and gift it to someone when you travel—that goes a long way in this world.
To keep your Leatherman as your Leatherman, always make sure you put your Leatherman back in its sheath when you’re done using it and keep the sheath somewhere close to you—like on your belt loop. If you’re going to hook your Leatherman somewhere, make sure you put it somewhere that would be hard for someone to unhook without you noticing. Hook it to the front of your jeans instead of on the outside of your backpack, for example.
If you’re wearing a Tread bracelet, always be sure to put it back on after you’ve used it.
And of course, Leatherman multi-tools are sold around the world, so, if you do find that yours has gone missing, you can always find another one on the road.
