Paul C. Buff, Inc. Technical Forum

Has anyone ever checked in the Mini Vegabond lithium battery with the airlines?

I am travelling internationally in January but can't find any relevant information specific with the Vegabond lithium Battery and airline regulations.

any input is greatly appreciated..

cheers,

General consensus is to carry it on. You should also contact your airline(s) for specific policies.

Has the Lithium Vegabond Mini been tested to fit the requirements to be a check in luggage with any airline or NTSB guideline?

From my understanding is that there is an UN certification for Lithium batteries and that certificate will help the airline / NTSB determine if the product meets the requirement of a certain jurisdiction. Example would be for Delta airline checking the certificate to see if it meets the NTSB regulations before allowing the passengers to check it in or carry on the battery.

Here is the example:

http://www.phmsa.dot.gov/staticfiles/PHMSA/DownloadableFiles/Files/UN_Test_Manual_Lithium_Battery_Requirements.pdf

It would difficult for me to expect the airline employee to know what a Paul Buff Mini Lithium battery is when I call and if I can carry it on or check it in as a passenger....

Profoto 7B has the certificate to facilitate the process but I'd prefer to purchase your products.

Any thing you can provide is greatly appreciated.

VML batteries have not been certified for NTSB purposes. You should be able to travel with them as carry on luggage, but not check them.

Pertinent information on the type of battery can be found on page 15 of our current manual, http://www.paulcbuff.com/manuals/vmini.pdf

Airline Travel With Your VAGABOND MINI™ LITHIUM System
The battery in the Vagabond Mini™ Lithium system is a 14.8V, 8.8AH lithium
ion battery rated at 130 watt-hours. Lithium ion batteries such as these are
regulated for air travel by both the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) and
the International Air Transport Association (IATA). Based on the specifications
of the battery, the current DOT and IATA regulations indicate that you should
be able to travel by air with your Vagabond Mini™ Lithium system as carry on
baggage. However, each individual airline carrier interprets and enforces these
regulations as it sees fit, allowing or prohibiting travel on its vessels individually. Unfortunately, this means that there are no standard policies from airline to
airline and they are subject to change, without notice, at the discretion of each
airline. You must check with your individual airline carrier before traveling with any
Vagabond Mini™ Lithium components each time that you wish to travel by air in order to
find out the updated, applicable regulations for your specific flight based on the
specific items that you wish to travel with. To determine eligibility for travel, you
may be asked for certain specifications of the battery which are both printed on
the battery and provided in this manual. If needed, the complete Material Safety
Data Sheet (MSDS) for the Vagabond Mini™ Lithium battery is additionally available
for download on our website (http://www.paulcbuff.com/manuals.php) or we can send
you a hard copy by mail. To request a hard copy, please contact our Customer
Service team.