Originally Posted by
Dread Pirate Jeff
I travel with two power banks, one that is about 20000 mAh (slightly less than 100WH) and one that's about 10000 mAh for phone charging. I'd also suggest you check the limits for coming in and out of Mexico, the Airline's limits and the FAA limits. Also you need to be sure that what you're carrying is very clearly marked from the manufacturer. I have, sadly, had two of them confiscated at the airport on a return trip home (China, of course, both times) because the person doing the security screening couldn't read the printed info on the power bank on one case, and on the second one, just didn't care to bother doing the math or accepting my explanation that it was below the IATA recommended limit for battery packs.
Here's an article that provides some info for both FAA/TSA requirements and international requirements based on IATA recommendations.
China is weird. I had the same thing (one of my first power banks that had seen lots of use)... the serial number on the power bank had rubbed off due to wear and tear.... the security guard would not let me take it with me. Since it had seen LOTS of use by that time and wasn't holding anywhere near 60% charge, I just let him toss it. There was one of those large garbage cans right beside him full of power banks.
Generally I'd rather carry two 10000mah for phone charging (although I do have larger). The reason being, if drained enough, the larger ones (at least back in the day) could take more than eight hours to charge to full (especially if outside of it's "manufactured for" region ... think taking a NA power bank to China or vice versa). I alternate charge them, but don't always have the time to wait for them to get to full. I do keep two larger ones at home just in case of power failures.
Originally Posted by
KRSW
Depends on the country and inspector. I was leaving PTY (Panama City, Panama) and they had a secondary screening section for all flights departing to the USA. The inspector went nuts over the amount of batteries I was carrying. I had ~ 16x AA Eneloops, 4x 18650s, 2x 10,000mAh battery packs. He wasn't going to let me on the plane with them. Ironically he seemed most upset about the AA Eneloops than the Lithium-Ion batteries.
Fortunately the Delta purser saw what was going on and stepped in, saying he had no problem with it nor did the airline, as long as I was carrying it inside the aircraft and not checking the bag.
I can see them freaking out and why. But it would also depend on how they're being carried. I usually travel with a few spare AAA batteries (mix of rechargables and not) for my NC headset) on top of my power banks. But I keep the AA in a rigid battery carrier and the power banks in ziplocks. The reason being is to prevent circuits being formed (which is how many battery fires start) and in the case of the power banks, to prevent things getting into the plugs (dust, long sharp things that can damage the plugs themselves). The screeners usually seem to be fine with that... had a few strange looks but then let them pass.