FYI if you need portable power, Zagg is having a 50% off sale. You can grab a ZaggSparq 2.0 for $50, which offers nice juice for portable USB devices like phones, iPads, etc.

Thank you.These solutions are not for me as they prohibitive and massive, as in heavy. I want to be able to carry it with on travel. They are suitable for a home office.

Spare or external battery for the laptop, laptop charges phone and any other accessories you may have via USB. (Some external laptop batteries can do this directly.) No need for separate/multiple batteries or chargers for each device.

If the battery is big, it should definitely be removed from your bag and the TSA agent will often visually inspect it and sometimes there will be further checks.

you can always get a laptop that has a slice battery, lenovo, dell, and HP's enterprise notebooks have this option, gives you up to 26 hours of battery life. you could use the USB port on the laptop to charge your phone or whatever else that needs charging

Not technically UPS's but Energizer, Black & Decker, and many others make small battery power packs. The one that I have that is a Black & Decker will re-charge my iPhone 4 twice before dying on me. I take it in my carry-on every trip with no issues. I also have an Energizer unit that charges 'just' my iPhone. :) If your worried about charging, get two battery units so you have a couple of days worth of juice and they are low impact and lightweight. :)

-Patrick

"two APC 1500VA UPS"? Do yo mean the smart UPS? They must be heavy as hell (even w/o battery)

The reason why I come across this thread is because I am thinking of buying some SLA batteries for my APC 1500VA UPS from HK. They are much cheaper over there and it is just like other 'OEM' APC batteries, they all made in China anyway.

From what I have read so far on internet, it is totally YMMV. And I have read so many different stories, some check-in, some hand carry, some OK and some get denied... Sounds like it is totally depends on the mood of the security...

One key point is try to fly as direct as possible to reduce number of transit (hence reduce the chance running into issue...)

But yet, I still can't find any 'official' document from DOT/TSA etc saying sealed lead acid battery is OK (or not). I found some brand name battery manufacturer have some paper work saying it is OK. But it still doesn't link directly to official document.....

For replacements I've been using:

http://www.wholesalebatteriesdirect....s-battery.html

You give up about 10% of the capacity this way but it's a *LOT* cheaper.

As for how to replace the batteries in the external case:

http://www.yourwarrantyisvoid.com/20...-battery-pack/

I bought some APC replacement battery in SZ at the electronic mall 2009, cheaper than HK at the computer centre or SSP.

Not a problem at HK TSA and boarding check at gate.

I saw a powerpack that has different charging adapter plug that uses 16 AA batteries at MK computer centre just three weeks ago for $200HKD.

Hyperjuice (scroll to the bottom of the page) gives you the most external battery power for the least amount of space in your luggage.

Although most airlines do not weight carryons, they do publish weight limits, and these UPS batteries are heavy. I have had my carryon weighed by Hawaiian, though.

Plus, there's simply the factor of hefting those things through the airports. I'd really go with one of the specific spare/external battery solutions.

Most UPS batteries are pretty standard and used in other devices. You can save a great deal by going to your local medical supply company and replace them with SLA batteries used in motorized wheelchairs or scooters. Identical in all respects except for the nice APC logo. Sure you do not get the extended APC warranty but I've never realistically had to collect on it. There are also a few online vendors that sell high quality batteries.

Another vote for the Engerizer Xpal series. I have two: an XP18000 and an older and smaller one called a Harry (?!).

The Harry, aka XP2000, looks like this:

http://ak.buy.com/PI/0/350/212519385.jpg

It's a 2000 mA lithium battery, about the size of two matchbooks, and perfect for powering a cellphone, smartphone or iPod. It charges via a mini-USB input and can charge from either a laptop or a plug-in 5v power supply. Its output is a standard USB jack.

The XP18000 looks like this:

http://ak.buy.com/PI/0/300/212003408.jpg

It's an 18000 mA lithium battery, about the size of a PDA (though thicker and heavier) that can run a laptop. I charges from a 19v source, i.e. a laptop power supply. It has multiple outputs, one for powering a laptop, another for a 9-12 v device, and a USB jack.

Both come with with monitoring lights that indicate the power status, and nice little pouches for carrying. The XP18000 also includes a variety of cables and adapters for powering a range of different devices.

I use these when I fly transpac and they've never let me down.

Glad to know HKG tsa is ok about it. But my flight will be hkg- IST-LAX-YYZ. That could be troublesome.

i always just take my external battery out and toss it in the bin next to my laptop when I go thru security. Never had a problem. In fact, the only time I ever *did* have a problem was when I forgot to take it out...the xray machine could only see a big dense brick with circuitry in it, which the TSA people did NOT like. :)

But now that I think about it, I guess I've never had occasion to pass thru international security with my external battery, oddly enough.