Quart bag questions

[TwinCruiserMom]

I have flown many times but for some reason I have never had an issue with the quart bags. Maybe because I usually fly with my sons and can use some of the room in their bags :)

 

For the first time, it is just DH and I flying and I want to make sure I am staying within the proper guidelines with our quart bags. Is there a limit to how many 3 oz or under bottles you can put in the bag? Or, is any amount ok as long as you can zip the bag closed?

 

Can you use the quart bags from ziploc with the expandable bottom? There is a picture on the back of the box showing it used for airline travel, but I was wondering if TSA just wants you to use the standard flat quart sized bags.

 

Thanks!

[TravlGrl]

I use the expandable ones, and the rule is that you can stuff as many 3 oz containers in your bag as long as they can be flat...HOWEVER, I jam pack it every time (but can still close it), and haven't had an issue. We are MVP fliers and travel quite a bit, and would have thought someone would have called me out on it...but nope. :) ;):p

[PennyAgain]

I use the flat Zip-Loc 1 quart bags or 1 liter if I am in Canada. I put plenty of those 3 ounce size bottles in the bag, small tubes of toothpaste, 1 lip stick, some liquid make up in a very small size and a 2 ounce bottle of Purell. As long as the bag zips, you are OK.

[paul929207]

Anyone quart bag is fine. As to the number of 3 oz. containers, if they fit, they are fine.

[scottbee]

I use the flat Zip-Loc 1 quart bags or 1 liter if I am in Canada. I put plenty of those 3 ounce size bottles in the bag, small tubes of toothpaste, 1 lip stick, some liquid make up in a very small size and a 2 ounce bottle of Purell. As long as the bag zips, you are OK.

 

The global standard is 1 litre bag, and 100mL containers. 1 quart and 3 floz are merely approximations for the USA audience.

[Keith1010]

I have flown many times but for some reason I have never had an issue with the quart bags. Maybe because I usually fly with my sons and can use some of the room in their bags :)

 

For the first time, it is just DH and I flying and I want to make sure I am staying within the proper guidelines with our quart bags. Is there a limit to how many 3 oz or under bottles you can put in the bag? Or, is any amount ok as long as you can zip the bag closed?

 

Can you use the quart bags from ziploc with the expandable bottom? There is a picture on the back of the box showing it used for airline travel, but I was wondering if TSA just wants you to use the standard flat quart sized bags.

 

Thanks!

 

Please go to the following URL which is on the TSA web site which provides the details on all of this. At the bottom of that page is more information you can click on as well.

 

http://www.tsa.gov/311/index.shtm

 

Keith

[TwinCruiserMom]

Thanks so much for the advice everyone!

 

I have always packed the quart bags nice and flat like the picture on the TSA website (which I have read many many times), but that is because I never had an issue with the amount I needed to pack.

 

The TSA website never comes out and says that the bag must lay perfectly flat with all items completely visible. I know I have seen people in line holding quart bags that were crammed full. I am just a worry wart and like to do things by the book to alleviate any chance that I will be singled out for extra screening :o

 

I know my quart bags will have no problem closing, but we are taking extra sunscreen and the bags will not be able to lay completely flat like usual. It is good to know that TSA does not make an issue as long as the quart bag easily zips closed.

 

Thanks again - 1 less thing to worry about :)

[Globaliser]

... but we are taking extra sunscreen and the bags will not be able to lay completely flat like usual.

Don't forget that you don't have to carry on all your liquids. The rule only applies to those liquids which you choose to carry on. There is no reason why you can't pack liquids in your checked baggage - this applies particularly to "extra" stuff. You really only need to carry on essential items.

[boulders]

3.4 oz is quite small. Just about the size of a travel tube of toothpaste. If you are carrying sunscreen, that is best placed in your checked luggage. Those containers are often 12 or 15 oz.

 

Remember, only one bag per person.

[TwinCruiserMom]

Luckily, I am flying Airtran like I usually do, and they allow carry ons up to 55" (mine are 49") so DH and I are traveling with one carry on each. Very easy to do with a Caribbean cruise and less headache.

 

We buy our sunscreen and other products in larger bottles and transfer them to 3 oz containers, of which I have many.

 

When we used to travel with more luggage, I would always pack the liquids in the checked baggage.

 

Now, to see how much I can cram into each of our quart bags :D

[Globaliser]

Now, to see how much I can cram into each of our quart bags :D

Not many. The restrictions are intended to secure that, very roughly speaking, each passenger can take on board a total of about 20 fl oz of liquids - or, in other words, about 5 or 6 little bottles per person.

[STARFISH*4]

thanks for mentioning the ZIPLOCKs with "expandable" bottom i NEED all the room i can get:D

[kenish]

Keep in mind people in official positions thrive on exceptions. This includes TSA agents. Put yourself in their shoes...they have a numbingly rote job and see thousands of 3-1-1 quart bags a day. Now comes one that is legal but looks very different and is crammed full of 3 oz containers. Time for them to have some excitement and earn their paycheck.

 

Pushing the limit of the rules although totally legal is a recipe for "special attention" and secondary screening. No different than certain things on a tax return...even if totally legit and legal it may invite an audit.

[njhorseman]

Keep in mind people in official positions thrive on exceptions. This includes TSA agents. Put yourself in their shoes...they have a numbingly rote job and see thousands of 3-1-1 quart bags a day. Now comes one that is legal but looks very different and is crammed full of 3 oz containers. Time for them to have some excitement and earn their paycheck.

 

Pushing the limit of the rules although totally legal is a recipe for "special attention" and secondary screening. No different than certain things on a tax return...even if totally legit and legal it may invite an audit.

 

 

How about this. I was flying from Las Vegas back to Newark. The security lines in Las Vegas are notoriously long and slow moving. As I approach the checkpoint, my bulging 3-1-1 bag in hand and ready to be put through the xray machine, the TSA agent asks me for my bag. I give it to him, he lifts it high in the air and bellows to the mob about how this is what you're supposed to have out of your carryon and ready to be put through the machine. My reward for assisting him as a shining example of someone who knows the procedure and follows it? They pull me aside and do a full hand inspection of my carryon bag as well as making me walk through one of those air puffing machines that screen for explosives! :eek:

[Keith1010]

Don't forget that you don't have to carry on all your liquids. The rule only applies to those liquids which you choose to carry on. There is no reason why you can't pack liquids in your checked baggage - this applies particularly to "extra" stuff. You really only need to carry on essential items.

 

I agree 100%.

 

I would not jam items into the bag. I would check in those items that you do not need to carry on the plane and only carry on those that are needed so that the bag is not jammed with items. Again, use the web site that I provided earlier.

 

For most folks going on a cruise this should not be a problem given they usually have bags to check. And if they don't have a bag to check then when on arrives to their destination they can stop off and buy those few items before boarding the ship.

 

Personally, I want to make it easier for the TSA folks or those in similar roles around the world because the easier it is for them to do their job, hopefully the safer it is for all of us when we travel. These rules are not in place for people to circumvent. They are in place for our safety.

 

Keith

[d&a Delaware]

I agree 100%.

 

I would not jam items into the bag. I would check in those items that you do not need to carry on the plane and only carry on those that are needed so that the bag is not jammed with items. Again, use the web site that I provided earlier.

 

For most folks going on a cruise this should not be a problem given they usually have bags to check. And if they don't have a bag to check then when on arrives to their destination they can stop off and buy those few items before boarding the ship.

 

Personally, I want to make it easier for the TSA folks or those in similar roles around the world because the easier it is for them to do their job, hopefully the safer it is for all of us when we travel. These rules are not in place for people to circumvent. They are in place for our safety.

 

Keith

 

I'm in agreement here as well. I try to put as little as possible into the quart bags for carry on and most of any liquids I am bringing into my checked bags. Works for me.

 

David

[PennyAgain]

I haven't tried using one of the expanded 1 quart Zip-Loc bags as yet and likely won't do so. I just don't carry that much stuff. I don't want to have to argue with a TSA person and risk having my stuff thrown away.

[CtheW0rld]

The global standard is 1 litre bag, and 100mL containers. 1 quart and 3 floz are merely approximations for the USA audience.

 

it is not an approximation, US measurements are used because the TSA is part of the USA government.

[scottbee]

it is not an approximation, US measurements are used because the TSA is part of the USA government.

 

While you'd like to think that the USA rules the world, I'm afraid that you are 100% wrong here. The TSA is following a global standard set by another country, and the rest of the world uses the metric syste. It's merely an approximation for the USA audience. They did not set the standard. Quoting the TSA's website

...3-1-1 for carry-ons

= 3.4 ounce (100ml) bottle or less (by volume)...

http://www.tsa.gov/311/index.shtm

OMG, an American organization using the metric system.

[CtheW0rld]

While you'd like to think that the USA rules the world, I'm afraid that you are 100% wrong here. The TSA is following a global standard set by another country, and the rest of the world uses the metric syste. It's merely an approximation for the USA audience. They did not set the standard. Quoting the TSA's website

...3-1-1 for carry-ons

= 3.4 ounce (100ml) bottle or less (by volume)...

http://www.tsa.gov/311/index.shtm

OMG, an American organization using the metric system.

 

being from the tiny and unimportant BC, you must have a huge inferiority complex. i never said anything about the US ruling the world. LOL. the discussion was about TSA rules, which they indeed did set the standards.

[scottbee]

being from the tiny and unimportant BC, you must have a huge inferiority complex. i never said anything about the US ruling the world. LOL. the discussion was about TSA rules, which they indeed did set the standards.

 

You just don't get it, do you. The TSA didn't set the rules, the adopted someone else's.

[Globaliser]

To be fair, IIRC I think that the TSA rule was originally "3 fl oz" = 88.7 ml.

 

But when the rest of the world adopted similar restrictions on liquids, the TSA had to abandon the US measurement and adapt by adopting the "100 ml" rule used by the rest of the world. The TSA translates that to 3.4 fl oz, which is indeed an approximation as scottbee correctly points out.

[yogi2929]

Liquid medications do not have to be in your quart bag but do have to be declared.

[CtheW0rld]

You just don't get it, do you. The TSA didn't set the rules, the adopted someone else's.

 

have a molson (canada's only contribution to civilzation) and calm down. :p