Saturday, January 5, 2008

Lithium batteries are the new liquids ...

Traveling last year included the fun checking for toothpaste, hair gel, and anything else in which chemicals could be stored that might be combined to do harm to the flying public. This year we have a new threat, although not one linked to terror (at least, not from anything I've yet read.)

The new guidelines for Lithium-based batteries are that you can only carry certain sizes (pretty big, but you may need to prove they are acceptable) and you can only carry them in your carry on luggage. Also, they must be protected from shorting ... tape on the contacts, a baggy (yes, the primary weapon in your toothpaste and hair gel packaging arsenal returns) or even their original case (like anyone keeps those :-) ...

Rather than explain the intricacies, I'll now pass you to Thom Hogan's site, where he goes into a lot of depth on this in his news and comments section. It will either be on his front page at http://www.bythom.com or in his news archives at http://www.bythom.com/oldnews.htm.

Thom is a respected professional photographer and Nikon equipment reviewer who travels a ton ... he is also adept at distilling information down to that which matters. Read through his archives for some illuminating commentary on camera ownership ...

No comments: