Do you lock your cases when flying abroad?

[71notout]

Guys,

what do you do when flying abroad re locking your cases?

Some people still advocate locking them for safety and to ensure the zips stay together during transit, others state it's probably a bad idea due to locks being broken due to inspections by staff.

What is your take on this?

I was thinking maybe cable ties as a happy medium?

Cheers,
Steven

[Windsorphil]

I now use travel sentry locks, they have a little red mark and you can buy them at most UK and US airports - it means that US customs can open the lock without destrying them - I've had a couple that have been destroyed. I'm not sure how secure they are, but I figure it should act as a deterent for a dodgy baggage handler and they'll try the next case...

[JulianHJ]

cable ties as we normally travel to the US.

[JJCW]

Key ring loop through the zips.

Can be taken off if necessary, pretty awkward to do though, especially in a hurry

[ViperDave]

to the US we use TSA locks and cable ties to indicate if the TSA have opened them. Rest of the world we use padlocks that we have hundreds off from an old job. Only ever had a lock cut off going to the US/Canada for some reason.

[The Walrus]

Yes but they are zip cases which can easily be locked by a small padlock that is enough to put off dodgy bag handlers etc but not chunky enough that customs will have problems busting it open without killing the case.

Why are you worried anyway you carrying some yeh yoh ??

[grumbledoak]

Don't see much point, really. US Customs will destroy the lock if they want to, a dodgy baggage handler will go straight through the zip, and there is little you can do with a rucksack.

Go hand-luggage only and keep an eye on it.

[BigWithey]

Never bother with locks, anything of value/importance should always be in the carry on.

[71notout]

Nothing dodgy, I just want to ensure that my y-fronts don't end up all over the hold of an A380

Taking netbook/mp4/everything else of value in my rucksack in the cabin

[Hub]

Windsorphil said:

I now use travel sentry locks, they have a little red mark and you can buy them at most UK and US airports - it means that US customs can open the lock without destrying them - I've had a couple that have been destroyed. I'm not sure how secure they are, but I figure it should act as a deterent for a dodgy baggage handler and they'll try the next case...

Me too, though they haven't been broken yet!

[autoholic]

My bags normally get searched as they are usually full of car parts, but on the last trip I had the car parts but had also bought TSA locks. They didn't bother them and I can only assume it was the locks that put them off. I made sure I'd bought all the same key code mind you to make it easy for them.

[Colonial]

Travel Sentry for me. Just a deterent more than anything. All my expensive stuff is hand luggage so it's to stop used undies spilling more than anything

[mechsympathy]

Dover Nige said:

Anything with a zip can be opened in the blink of an eye with an everyday item.

And then reclosed by running the zip back and forward.

[havoc]

So what do you do if you're travelling to N. America but have hard-cases with combination-locks built-in, and no facility for a padlock?!?

[grumbledoak]

havoc said:

So what do you do if you're travelling to N. America but have hard-cases with combination-locks built-in, and no facility for a padlock?!?

Pray they don't 'open' them the hard way, as they will not compensate you.

[Strangely Brown]

Yes, TSA locks.

[havoc]

grumbledoak said:

havoc said:

So what do you do if you're travelling to N. America but have hard-cases with combination-locks built-in, and no facility for a padlock?!?

Pray they don't 'open' them the hard way, as they will not compensate you.

That's my point - and another reason not to travel to the US, who once again are literally a law unto themselves, internationally...

[Strangely Brown]

havoc said:

grumbledoak said:

havoc said:

So what do you do if you're travelling to N. America but have hard-cases with combination-locks built-in, and no facility for a padlock?!?

Pray they don't 'open' them the hard way, as they will not compensate you.

That's my point - and another reason not to travel to the US, who once again are literally a law unto themselves, internationally...

That's not a reason not to travel to the US at all; It is a reason to buy suitcases that can be inspected without damage, if required. Anyone who travel to the US with locked baggage should not complain if they open it the hard way. It's hardly like they don't make it clear.

[havoc]

Strangely Brown said:

It's hardly like they don't make it clear.

No. But it's not like they're doing the same as every other country either. I think the phrase that springs to mind is "what makes them so feckin' special?!?"

Put simply, if we wanted to holiday in the US we'd have to either:-
- spend <£100 on fabric bags with zips that can have these TSA locks, but which will leave the contents vulnerable to careless baggage handlers (If you've not seen what a broken bottle of duty-free can do inside a holdall, nor what a crushed bottle of sun-tan lotion, PM me...NEITHER is a pleasant thing to discover on return from holiday!); or
- spend >£100 on hard-cases with appropriate security that won't be vulnerable to careless baggage handlers.

...when we've perfectly suitable cases at home for the other 118 countries in the world!!! Do I not have a valid point???

[Strangely Brown]

havoc said:

Do I not have a valid point???

Not really.

If you want to travel to the US, and lock your baggage, and not have it damaged during inspection then knowing full well the baggage rules for travel to the US, the onus is on you to comply. It is not sufficient to say, "well my bags are OK for <insert country>". It's their country, so it's their rules. Now, you may consider that reason enough for you not to travel there but it doesn't make your blanket statement right. Maybe you were only referring to yourself? Perhaps you should have said so.

Edited by Strangely Brown on Friday 3rd July 17:36