Texas Look: Sure Fire Tips to Avoid Travel Drama

It's a new year, but the air travel rules are still the same. Navigating through the airport and TSA is difficult enough, and the last thing you want to do is mistakenly take something with you that could delay your travels, get you a fine, or worse, land you in jail. To help avoid all of that here are some definite no-go items, and I’m also sharing a few that you are surprisingly allowed to take with you on your trip. 

You would think that by now everyone would know that you can’t take a full water bottle with you through the TSA checkpoint. Still, every time that I travel there is always someone dumping out their newly purchased bottle of water. However, what you should really be aware of are the toiletries that you can’t take with you. Don’t try to take anything over 3.4 ounces or else you’ll be throwing away some pretty expensive products. Shaving cream, colognes, hair gels, and toothpastes are all items that will get confiscated if you try to travel with them in their normal sizes. Most brands sell their products in a TSA approved sized container, so before your next trip check out the travel section of the toiletry aisle. 

Please leave your weapons at home. Don’t take any knives or axes. I don’t care if you’re going on a backpacking trip into the wilderness. Those things have to be put into your checked backage. Do you have a gun? What about a BB gun or a toy cap gun? Do not try to walk through TSA with any kind of gun. It doesn’t matter if it is real or fake. It will get you into a lot of trouble. 

Don’t try to bring anything explosive with you. That includes fireworks and fuels like butane or propane. Are you going somewhere to celebrate? Well, buy your sparklers when you get there instead of trying to take them with you. Do you want to enjoy a cigar after you land? Ask somebody for a light when you get there, because you aren’t taking a lighter or the fuel with you! 

If you are traveling for sports, whether it’s for you or the kids, don’t try to bring any large blunt objects with you as carry-on. Baseball bats, bowling pins, and 9-iron are all items that could be considered bludgeoning weapons, and they’ll land you in hot water if you try to take them with you into the cabin of the airplane. 

That may all seem a little restrictive, but don’t worry because here are some items that you have probably been avoiding traveling with even though they are absolutely allowed to go through TSA with you. 

You can’t take knives with you, but if you’re going to need to cut some stuff while you travel you should feel free to bring some scissors with you as long as the blades are under 4 inches long. 

If you’re going to need to shave you can bring an electric or disposable razor with you. Make sure that you pick up your shaving cream and after shave in the travel section so you can bring that with you too. Travel is miserable enough as it is without adding dry shaving to it. 

Travel can get boring, and reading a book or watching a movie isn’t necessarily everyone’s preferred choice of pastime. Luckily, you can always bring your knitting needles and crochet hooks which are perfect for calming pre-flight jitters. 

I feel pretty confident in these does and don’ts, but it’s always best to double-check TSA’s official list

before flying. It’s also a good idea to double-check your bags. You don’t want to be the guy getting arrested because there’s a bullet in your bag leftover from your last hunting trip.