Traveling with Your Lightsaber
For most of us, our lightsabers rarely stray far, far away from home. We bring them out to show curious friends, engage in a little combat with others of like mind (and similar weaponry), or just have some quality time with a prized possession. When we’re not doing anything like that, we store or display our lightsaber accessories in an appropriate manner. But what happens when we want to take our lightsabers out on the road?
A lot of enthusiasts like to take their lightsabers with them to conventions and related types of fan-friendly public events, which may require a lengthy car ride or even a plane trip. The good news is that it’s not as difficult to bring along your gear as you might think, but you will need to plan ahead a little.
Compact Lightsabers That Are Easy To Travel With
Sabers on a Plane
What if your travel plans require you to get on an airplane? If you’re traveling in the U.S., this might seem to be a serious problem for the owner of a lightsaber—after all, everyone’s heard horror stories about overeager TSA agents who mistake fingernail clippers for lethal weapons. A lightsaber certainly has the potential to make people nervous.
Believe or not, however, the Transportation Security Administration does permit travelers to fly with a lightsaber. That’s right—TSA rules allow you the option of placing your (disassembled) lightsaber inside a carry-on bag or your normal luggage. There’s even a special section on the TSA website that deals with the matter of lightsabers on airplanes—and that should tell you something about how frequently they see these weapons at the airport.
Keep in mind, though, that airport security will likely want to have a close look at your lightsaber. That’s why you should pack your lightsaber in a way where it can be easily presented to security on request. Some fans prefer to wrap up their lightsaber in a towel, which provides protective padding while still enabling quick access.
It’s also worth keeping in mind that (per the TSA website) “the final decision rests with the TSA officer on whether an item is allowed through the checkpoint.” So there is a small possibility that you could encounter issues with airport security. Back in 2013, Peter Mayhew ran into a slight hassle at the airport when his lightsaber cane was held up by TSA agents, although the situation was soon resolved in his favor when he took to Twitter to complain in real time about the matter.
If you really want to eliminate the potential of a TSA nightmare, you could just have your lightsaber shipped to your destination ahead of time.
Traveling in a Road Vehicle
Things are a lot simpler if you’re going to be traveling by car. The main consideration is to pack up the lightsaber so that it won’t be rattling around inside the vehicle. Using a towel or bubble wrap works just fine for most people. Others use a suitcase with foam inserts—sometimes carefully customized—that can securely hold the various components of the lightsaber. This kind of special “lightsaber case” is a handy accessory for air travel as well.
If you have questions about any of the accessories you purchased through UltraSabers, you can always contact us. Our official discussion forum over at SaberForum.com is another valuable resource that has information on this topic and many others of interest to the lightsaber enthusiast.