My Favorite Luggage Locks

This might be the most boring post you will ever read on this here blog. It depends on your point of view. If you, like me, lose luggage locks like you lose money on the lottery (!!!), go out and buy yourself a half-dozen of these suckers. I love them. Mainly because of the little cord they use, as opposed to the solid metal shackle that you find on most luggage locks. The cord has a bit more give to it, a bit more flexibility. Much easier to maneuver. The only problem, of course, is that the cable can probably be cut through fairly easily, but the same can be said for most metal shackles and nothing is really going to deter a real thief now, right?. These are also cheap enough (around $7 USD) that I don’t mind buying them in bulk in case the U.S. TSA does cut them off or I leave them in a hotel somewhere. Look for the Master Lock Cable Lock online.

If you are super paranoid about your luggage (like, um, me), I would also recommend my Uncle George’s trick. Plastic zip ties. Wait until you are at the airport and about to check your luggage in for your flight. Quickly insert zip ties into luggage zippers, over/under/between luggage lock. Zip ties will require scissors to cut through, and while obviously not impossible to cut, thieves might hone in on easier targets. The problem with using zip ties is that you yourself will need a scissor to open them, and you can’t carry scissors on aircraft in the U.S. and U.K. so you have to hope you can easily find a pair of scissors when you get to where you are going. This is also why I recommend waiting to put the zip ties on until you get to the airport; one of the most annoying things in the world is to put the zip ties on and then realize you’ve forgotten something in your luggage and have to cut them open again.  I find zip ties helpful for my return flights because I know I will have scissors once I get home.

OK, there you go. My useless travel tips for the day. Get back to what you were doing now.