Locking luggage

[mrs.dr.ron]

Just as shrink wrapped suitcase take you a while to get into at destination so it does a potential thief in the airline storage area. It is a good deterrent in a country, such as South Africa, which is said to have high pilfering rates and is by no means uncommon. In any case, all the hotels I have stayed at have been geared up to expect it and have it off the bag as a routine.

We did this also in Africa - flying in to several countries, it was not a problem having shrink wrap around your bags, at the hotel it was cut off quickly on arrival. I certainly would be doing this again if flying around Africa again. It is a common practice there !

 

[JohnK]

Rationale is that thieves or pilferers will always take the easy stuff.

Same theory. I prefer to keep my luggage locked at all times it is not in my sight especially in a hotel room. I do not trust housekeeping. Wife leaves toothbrushes/toothpaste in the bathroom but mine is locked in luggage. And only sweaty/smelly clothes are left out to dry otherwise all clothes remain in luggage.

 

[tgh]

Is it just me that visualises John down at the front desk berating the check in staff and demanding the manager because one of those criminal housekeepers has filched his toothpaste…...

 

[mrs.dr.ron]

We had my cholesterol medication taken out of a bag in a hotel in Calgary Canada !! I could not buy it over the counter at a chemist, had to go to a local doctor to write me a script, back to the chemist, $ 200 later ......... So I make Ron lock our medications in the bag now every day before we leave the hotel !!!

 

[tgh]

It would indeed be irritating to lose medication, but I have never had anything touched (that I am aware of).
I seldom even bother to lock my macbook pro , or my camera , or any of the other electronic junk we cart around ...in the safe.
Maybe I am riding for a fall…..

 

[mrs.dr.ron]

I used to be like that ........ and it annoys Ron no end making him lock stuff up ..... but all I have to say is CALGARY

 

[JohnK]

Is it just me that visualises John down at the front desk berating the check in staff and demanding the manager because one of those criminal housekeepers has filched his toothpaste…...

Our bags have been tampered with many times. Luckily nothing important missing.

And it's not stealing the toothpaste but the things they can put in the toothpaste. I've heard enough stories of people drugged and losing their valuables.

 

[exceladdict]

And it's not stealing the toothpaste but the things they can put in the toothpaste. I've heard enough stories of people drugged and losing their valuables.

As you say, in this post-corby world I'm more worried about things going into an unlocked bag than items coming out. Insurance covers if the whole bag is lost, individual items in a bag will rarely hit the cost of insurance excess for me.

 

[JohnM]

I never lock or zip-tie. But I also never put anything of value in my checked bag - only clothing and toiletries.

 

[sydunipete]

We use suitcases that have TSA locks built in to the body of the case and the zip tags lock in to them and we add luggage straps in case the zip fails. No problems at all until our recent trip back from the US. At checkin we were told to remove the luggage straps (we were flying LH) and at our destination the bags had been opened and TSA left a love letter. What they didn't do was refasten the zip tags to the lock. Nothing was missing. (We bought some kitchen knives in the US which I presume triggered the search.)

 

[ozjuice]

i always use TSA locks and straps. Never known my bags to be opened in 30 years of travel. I generally go Samsonite hard cases but my recent SQ flight i have found my case is cracked.

 

[pblackm]

I have used TSA locks and had them cut off. Mongrels. Then the last time that I bothered, I had a TSA lock through the interlocking zipper loops on a Samsonite bag, and the coughs cut the loops off the zips (they could have just cut the TSA Lock as before)! It cost me a new set of zips,, so now I don't bother to lock it.

 

[HeavyElectricity]

I've become a lot more unfussed about locks since I saw a video showing how easy it was to open and re-zip a locked bag with a pen - it's strange how much more relaxed about my baggage I became when I realised it's out of my control (all my bags have zips):

Similar video to this (start from ~30 seconds):

I've shrink-wrapped a bag twice - once with a long domestic-international connection through Johannesburg (as it was highly recommended to me that I do it), and once on a return journey when the zip broke on the outbound leg (because - at the time I was still using locks - the lock became stuck in a 'roller' style conveyor at Bali airport).

 

[lydea]

Not a fan of zip ties, such a pain to have to ask reception for scissor to break them off. As cant carry sharps in hand luggage you have to wait til you get to hotel or home to access anything in your checked bags.

Same with plastic wrapping a bag, incredible pain to get into your own bag once at destination - plus cant carry a travel pack if the harness in under meters of glad wrap.

My bag has one of those ducky little external zipped pockets (as if you'd put your sunnies in it!), in which I have a freezer bag containing spare ties for the return trip and a small box-cutter - such a thin 'package' it's not visible. The box-cutter goes into the aircrafthold inside the bag, but is there, ready to cut the ties. No more traipse down to reception to borrow scissors.

 

[RAM]

For the post about how could it be opened despite it having a non-TSA lock - google opening a zipped suitcase - it is not a happy tale - locked zips do not stop anyone who means business

___________________________________________________​

There's one in every crowd (or blog) - the exception that proves the rules.

For TSA padlocks, TSA locking & combination locking luggage straps, and getting searched - I may be the one this time.

As my el-cheapo HP laptop (US November 2017 crazy internet sales day) is longer and wider than the zip for my carry on bag - I decided to repack it in the box it came in and pack it in one of my checked in bags.

Due to a number of subsequent trips back and forth to the US (including said laptop) - the checked-in bag containing it has been opened every time in HNL by Homeland Security.

On the 2nd trip post purchase I realised it must be the laptop as it had been taken out of its box and repacked the wrong way (so did not fit into polystyrene baffles correctly).

So this time I waited after taking the bags from the carousel in HNL and putting them with HS at counter zero. After nearly 30 minutes my two bags finally got put through the one scanning machine AND...

The LT bag got pulled aside for a look.

Glad I'd waited as the HS man picked up a large pair of scissors and went to cut the strap off. So I called out to him loudly; "It has a TSA lock on the strap".

He looked up to see who was interupting him and then turned his back, so I added; "And the padlock on the zips is also TSA#7."

Just for good measure.

Sure enough out came the laptop box, packed so it only has a towel over it when the bag gets opened in half. Also out came about another 10 or 12 items that did not need to be touched (and were not looked at in the slightest). The box was opened, laptop tipped out relatively carefully, baffles pulled off, laptop opened, closed, opened, closed, turned over and over a few times and then repacked (correctly).

The other items pulled out (basicly padding around the 4 sides of the box) were rammed on only on 3 of the 4 sides but no damage resulted.

Strap put back on but not through the handle bay as before & locked as was the padlock through the 2 zips.

So, I thought my lost 35 minutes was relatively well spent. Then instead of placing the bag back on the adjacent rollers - he threw it. No damage was done but that was the only bag thrown while I had been waiting and for the next ten or so minutes I lingered watching.

The subsequent 4 trips have seen it opened both directions once more but the strap has not been cut. I do wait at HNL every time now and have had to call out 2 of the 4 times. The guys in Kona are far more personable/nice and has only been opened once although I wait for the 30-45 seconds it takes them to scan it.

 

[MR61]

I like the hard-sided, clam shell closing luggage with combination and TSA-approved latch locks, as with Rimowa aluminum luggage, plus I use a TSA-approved combination strap. I have also used the cable ties. I've never used (yet) the shrink-wrapping method - though this thread has made me aware that I more than likely will when we travel to South Africa.

 

[petermcg]

We have TSA compliant locks on our suitcases. We have never used them on any travel and have never locked our bags. This includes a load of trips to the US. We've had the odd security note when they have been inspected. The most we have done is use shrink wrapping on African trips. We’ve never had a problem and I have never worried about it thinking that there was not much worth stealing.

However, it is now exercising my mind because we are soon to ship several suitcases to the US to meet up with a cruise ship we’ll be joining in San Francisco. The luggage will be out of our control for around three weeks after it is picked up by Fedex In Melbourne and hopefully delivered to our cabin as we board. Up until now it as only been out of our control for 24 or so hours.

I’m wondering what other do . Do you lock your suitcases, use the TSA locks, or some other form of securing such as ties? If we use ties and the cases are opened in Australia for inspection before they leave any precautions we have taken will have limited effect as the cases still sit in a warehouse in the US before they are delivered.

Whilst it would be inconvenient to lose a proportion of our luggage it would not be the end of the world as nothing in the bags will be remotely irreplaceable. Should I just not worry?

TSA locks are sadly worthless. In the last twenty years, I have transited the USA at least eight times a year. Yes, I always use TSA locks, but TSA inadvertently published photos of the master keys to the Internet some years ago. My checked bag usually contains technical clothing and gear that averages at $5000 in value on any trip and I have not found a bag security solution in all the years that TSA has operated. However, my concern has always been unwanted inclusions, not theft. I would also observe that TSA is lazy and often cuts off locks that they have the keys for. I buy four packs off Ebay and usually travel with two spares. Summary, I use them as a deterrent to lazy thieves as there is no feasible solution to bag security.

 

[CMak]

All the zip ties I have used are able to be ripped open by hand - I am a reasonably small person and I can manage them - I have never had to go and get scissors

 

[PeeBee]

I always use the TSA locks - mainly as a deterrent
The strap is an excellent idea - just been too lazy to use it
South Africa does apparently have high pilfering rates. I had the misfortune to leave my laptop at the security check on a rushed flight through JNB. Realistically pessimIstic, though it gone forever. Imagine my surprise when a call to lost property at JNB found the laptop. Happily restored to owner on next pass through JNB. I am very grateful to an "honest" system. Surprises and good stories do happen

 

[Tassey69]

As I have a long trip the the US again next year and it's possible the AUD may drop further, what are people doing to lock in today's exchange rate? Just getting cash? A travel card - if there is a 'good one?
Any other ideas? (I know this is not financial advice).

Spent many years travelling to USA and had no problems, including bags in transet for 5-6 hrs, with the Zippers I used a TAS lock then cable tied the lock and zipper to handle. If the cable tie was cut off it gave some prewarning that the bag may have been tampered with either by TSA or others. Also used a bright orange luggage strap with combination lock around the case again with a TSA access which also gave visability of luggage carosel.