Your Favorite TSA-friendly Tool?

[JBoone]

I have not flown in a few years but assume that the TSA does not know or care what is legal or not. Their default is to confiscate,

Checked bag or purchase at your destination unless you want to go through potential hassle.

 

[ShaiHulud]

Usually TSA have guidelines as to what's allowed and what's not. But on the official website there should be a list of what can and cannot officially be taken on a plane, but "every airport is different".
At the airport I worked at, all blades irregardless of size are not allowed, but they allow 4 inch scissors on the plane , as long as they aren't knife-tip scissors or can be separated at the fulcrum (rivet).
You can't have a swiss army knife classic, but you can have a 7 inch crochet needle.
All tools had to be 7 inches and smaller, so a super long screwdriver is allowed...
Besides all that
I never needed a multitool on an airplane, never needed to screw. Snip, or pry anything, just waiting until I land, which is essentially what people do. I did run into a few passengers who would go so far as to remove the blade from their Swiss army knife.

 

[Drop bear]

Usually TSA have guidelines as to what's allowed and what's not. But on the official website there should be a list of what can and cannot officially be taken on a plane, but "every airport is different".
At the airport I worked at, all blades irregardless of size are not allowed, but they allow 4 inch scissors on the plane , as long as they aren't knife-tip scissors or can be separated at the fulcrum (rivet).
You can't have a swiss army knife classic, but you can have a 7 inch crochet needle.
All tools had to be 7 inches and smaller, so a super long screwdriver is allowed...
Besides all that
I never needed a multitool on an airplane, never needed to screw. Snip, or pry anything, just waiting until I land, which is essentially what people do. I did run into a few passengers who would go so far as to remove the blade from their Swiss army knife.

Back to the reason for my trauma shears. They open packets like nobody's business.

Which sometimes I will by a clam shell packet thing at the airport. And have to cave man my way in to it.

And they are cheap. If they get confiscated. Not a big deal.

 

[fuyume]

No wrong answers. What have you actually carried successfully through airport security that you'd recommend someone else take?

I would never recommend anyone carry any bladeless version of a multitool through airport security. The reason is that under the scanners, they cannot be distinguished from the models with blades, so they have to be hand-inspected, and that gums up the process. What I carry instead is a set of Three Swords manicure scissors, which are expressly permitted, and look like scissors under the scanners, so they don't cause any problems.

I expressly do not take my trauma shears, because they are the type which has a seat belt cutter on them (Leatherman Raptor knockoffs), so they would be confiscated. On my "to buy" list is a set of XSHEAR trauma shears, which are just shears, unless I get the new Leatherman Raptor Response, which lacks the prohibited seat belt cutter.

 

[Drop bear]

I would never recommend anyone carry any bladeless version of a multitool through airport security. The reason is that under the scanners, they cannot be distinguished from the models with blades, so they have to be hand-inspected, and that gums up the process. What I carry instead is a set of Three Swords manicure scissors, which are expressly permitted, and look like scissors under the scanners, so they don't cause any problems.

I expressly do not take my trauma shears, because they are the type which has a seat belt cutter on them (Leatherman Raptor knockoffs), so they would be confiscated. On my "to buy" list is a set of XSHEAR trauma shears, which are just shears, unless I get the new Leatherman Raptor Response, which lacks the prohibited seat belt cutter.

X shears are amazing. They need to make a decent belt sheath for them though.