The Edit — Travel
Can You Bring a Multitool on a Plane? The TSA Rule
TSA bans a multitool with a knife blade of any length from carry-on bags. A blade-free tool can fly in the cabin, within 2 limits: scissors under 4 inches from the pivot, and tools no longer than 7 inches.
This guide is research-led: we have not handled these units ourselves. If you buy through our links we may earn a commission — it never changes a pick. How we choose
This page sets out what TSA publishes about multitools and the tools folded inside them, read off TSA’s own entries on 14 October 2026, as How we choose describes. Nothing here was flown or screened.
Gerber Shard 7-in-1 Keychain Multitool
Good fit Carry-on travellers who want drivers and a bottle opener on their keys
Not for Anyone who needs pliers or scissors
NexTool Mini Sailor Lite Keychain Multitool, Bladeless
Good fit Travellers who want pliers and scissors in the cabin
Not for Anyone who wants a tool no officer will question
Leatherman Wave Plus 18-in-1 Multi-Tool, Black
Good fit Road trips and checked-bag travel where a real knife and pliers earn their weight
Not for Carry-on-only travellers, since both knives rule it out of the cabin
Gerber Suspension NXT 15-in-1 Multitool
Good fit Buyers who want pliers, scissors and a blade without the premium price
Not for Anyone flying carry-on only
A knife blade of any length means a checked bag
TSA’s Multi-tools entry, last updated on 17 April 2018, prohibits a multitool with a knife of any length in carry-on bags and sends it to checked baggage. There is no short-blade allowance. The small blade on a keychain tool counts exactly as the main blade on a full-size one does.
The same holds for a Victorinox Swiss Army knife: TSA’s entry says no in a carry-on and yes in a checked bag. Its only exception is a plastic or round-bladed butter knife.
| Item | Carry-on | Checked |
|---|---|---|
| Multitool with a knife blade, any length | No | Yes, sheathed or wrapped |
| Swiss Army knife | No | Yes, sheathed or wrapped |
| Multitool with no blade | Yes | Yes |
| Scissors under 4 inches from the pivot | Yes | Yes |
| Screwdriver, wrench or pliers 7 inches or shorter | Yes | Yes |
| Any tool longer than 7 inches | No | Yes |
| Bottle opener | Yes | Yes |
A blade-free multitool can fly in the cabin
TSA’s separate entry for a multi-tool without blades says yes for carry-on and yes for checked. The limits then come from the tools inside it. Scissors must be less than 4 inches from the pivot point, and screwdrivers, wrenches and pliers must be 7 inches or shorter, measured end to end when assembled.
A tool with pliers, a screwdriver bit, a file and a bottle opener, and no blade, passes on all 3 counts. A tool with all of those and a 1-inch blade fails on the blade alone. The check is the whole tool, not the part you meant to use.
Two blade-free tools on Amazon fit those limits on paper. The Gerber Shard carries drivers, a pry bar and a bottle opener in 2.75 inches, and Gerber calls it airline-safe. The NexTool Mini Sailor Lite adds pliers and small scissors, which buys more use and one more thing for the officer to look at.
Gerber Shard 7-in-1 Keychain Multitool
A 2.75-inch keychain tool with drivers, a pry bar and a bottle opener, and no blade at all.
Current price shown on Amazon. We may earn a commission.
| Length | 2.75 inches, stated by Gerber |
|---|---|
| Tools | 3 drivers, pry bar, wire stripper, bottle opener |
| Blade | None |
The Shard suits a traveller who wants a screwdriver and a bottle opener on the keyring and nothing that looks like a knife on the scanner. Owners like how little it adds to a set of keys and how many small jobs it covers.
The recurring split is over its edges: some owners find them sharper than a keychain tool needs. It has no pliers and no scissors.
Buy it if
- Carry-on travellers who want drivers and a bottle opener on their keys
Don't buy it if
- Anyone who needs pliers or scissors
NexTool Mini Sailor Lite Keychain Multitool, Bladeless
A 9-in-1 bladeless keychain tool with needle-nose pliers, mini scissors and a SIM extractor.
Current price shown on Amazon. We may earn a commission.
| Tools | 9-in-1, stated on the listing |
|---|---|
| Includes | Needle-nose pliers, mini scissors, SIM extractor |
| Blade | None, stated on the listing |
The Mini Sailor Lite suits a traveller who wants pliers and scissors in the cabin. Owners rate the pliers highly and say the scissors work better than their size suggests.
The listing calls it TSA-compliant, and owners do not all agree: some report it cleared screening, others that it did not. Its scissors make it a judgement call at the belt in a way the Shard is not. Durability reports are mixed.
Buy it if
- Travellers who want pliers and scissors in the cabin
Don't buy it if
- Anyone who wants a tool no officer will question
Leatherman’s carry-on model was retired in 2023
Leatherman’s travel guidance still names the Style PS as the model that meets every TSA requirement for a carry-on multitool. Leatherman’s own retired-products page lists the Style PS as retired in 2023. It was 2.9 inches closed, weighed 1.6 oz, and carried pliers, scissors, wire cutters, a file, tweezers and a screwdriver, with no blade.
The same guidance lists 13 other Leatherman products it says comply, including the Tread, the Brewzer and the Piranha 2. Leatherman suggests opening every tool on a compliant model at the checkpoint, so the scanner image shows plainly that nothing is a blade. It also warns that an airline or gate agent may apply stricter rules and ask you to gate-check the bag.
Caught at the checkpoint, you have 3 choices
Leatherman’s guidance sets out 3 options for a bladed tool found in a carry-on. Take it back to the car, or hand it to whoever dropped you off. Return to the check-in desk and check the bag. Or give it up at the checkpoint. Leatherman does not cover a lost, stolen or confiscated tool under warranty.
In a checked bag, sheathe it and pack it deep
TSA’s Multi-tools and Scissors entries, updated in 2018 and 2017, ask that any sharp object in a checked bag be sheathed or securely wrapped, to protect the baggage handlers and inspectors who may open it. A tool’s own sheath does the job, and Leatherman suggests a cloth, a T-shirt or a small pouch where there is none. Pack it in a shoe or a side pocket so it does not ride loose against the zip.
For the hold, a full-size tool with a real blade is the point of checking it. The Leatherman Wave Plus carries 18 tools, including scissors and 2 knives, and the Gerber Suspension NXT carries 15 with a 2.25-inch blade.
Leatherman Wave Plus 18-in-1 Multi-Tool, Black
An 18-tool full-size multitool with a plain and a serrated knife, so it travels in the hold.
Current price shown on Amazon. We may earn a commission.
| Tools | 18, stated by Leatherman |
|---|---|
| Weight | 8.5 oz, stated by Leatherman |
| Blades | 420HC plain and serrated knives |
The Wave Plus suits a traveller heading somewhere a knife, pliers and scissors will all get used: a cabin, a campsite, a family visit with a list of small repairs. Owners rate its quality and how much it handles.
The recurring complaint is the price, which some owners call steep for what they use. At 8.5 oz it is a tool for the checked bag, not the pocket.
Buy it if
- Road trips and checked-bag travel where a real knife and pliers earn their weight
Don't buy it if
- Carry-on-only travellers, since both knives rule it out of the cabin
Gerber Suspension NXT 15-in-1 Multitool
A 15-tool multitool with a 2.25-inch partly serrated blade, at a lower price tier than the Wave Plus.
Current price shown on Amazon. We may earn a commission.
| Tools | 15, stated by Gerber |
|---|---|
| Blade | 2.25-inch, partly serrated |
| Scissors | Yes |
The Suspension NXT suits a buyer who wants the same kind of checked-bag tool for less. Owners praise the build and blades that hold their edge.
The pocket clip is the common complaint, with some owners calling it flimsy. Reports on the locking and the size are mixed.
Buy it if
- Buyers who want pliers, scissors and a blade without the premium price
Don't buy it if
- Anyone flying carry-on only
Power banks are the opposite case. What you can take through security explains why a spare lithium battery must stay in the cabin while the multitool goes below.
TSA nearly let small knives back in 2013
TSA announced a softer knife rule in March 2013 and dropped it 3 months later, and the reason explains why the rule is so strict now.
Check the item on TSA’s site before you pack
Every TSA entry read for this page ends on the same line: the final decision rests with the officer at the checkpoint. The item search on tsa.gov answers item by item, and it is the page to check if a tool has something unusual folded into it.
For the rest of the bag, carry-on size rules sets out what airlines measure. And if the multitool is the present rather than the luggage, gifts for dad is sorted by what he does on a Saturday.
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