TSA combination locks
Do you use these, and if so, where did you get yours?
I know this is a mainly "carry-on" crowd, but we will check a couple bags, and I would rather have locks on them. Plus when we travel by trains I want to keep my bags locked.
Eli
Tornado Alley 4/26/08
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I've always bought mine at Target. They have both the key styles and the combo styles. You might look both in the luggage department and the hardware department, as sometimes the prices are better in hardware for essentially the same lock.
Eli-
I also bought mine from Target. I think they were on sale at the time, about $3.00? I think they are $5.99 regularly.
Thanks. I was checking online at Ebags and other luggage sites. Had no idea they were available at places like Target. We usually get regular locks with keys but those are such a nuisance to keep track of.
I got mine at Wal-Mart in hardware; however, they also have some in the luggage department. Mine are small Brinks locks, the combination type, and it features a green indicator light which turns red when your bag has been opened by TSA, or someone else for that matter. Of course, you can reset it to green. I had one opened last flight.
Just bought two this morning at WallMart for 5.97 each. They are combination lock style, but TSA can open them.
Found them in the luggage aisle.
Let me offer the contrary opinion. I think TSA are worthless and not worth the price. European security doesn't have the keys so they will be cut off on an European airline if they want in. These has been past reports of the TSA locks being cut off in the US. Our solution is to the plastic wire bundle ties. Just as good and about a penny each. While we may be carryon out bound we check most of our luggage on the return leg.
Where do you get the plastic wine bottle ties? What do they look like?
I bought TSA strap/locks for my hard-sided luggage (16 years old) that I am phasing out. They were actually Samsonite brand, and I paid $13 each at a department store. They actually come loose during every flight (still locked but the straps are slack). I'm not impressed!
A good thief or even a mediocre one can open a zipper bag without touching the lock, take out what they want, and close it without you knowing until you open the bag.
Always take valuables on the plane with you. Never check anything that has value or that a thief could easily resell.
(I won't tell how its done although one TV news organization aired a video demonstration of it saying this is how you get into your bag if you lose your key. Really dumb thing to do.)
Frank makes an excellent point. Don't put anything of real value in your check baggage. Doesn't matter what kind of lock you have - TSA, zip-ties, etc etc. If someone wants in they'll get in. If they can't break the lock they'll slice open the bag with a knife.
Anything you need in an emergency or is hard to replace must be carried with you. Medications, passport, money, credit cards, I.D., etc. I also carry things I consider "second tier" - camera, MP3 player, sunglasses, and so forth. The rest is just "stuff" that can be replaced.
I never use a lock on my checked bags, though to be honest I usually avoid checking bags. The one time I had bag problems would not have been helped by a lock. In my first trip to Europe 30 years ago the waist band on my custom made backpack arrived in London shredded and the internal frame was smashed in. I travelled 7 months with it in that condition.
Don't overstress the lock. Just be smart in what you check.
Have a great trip!
They aren't wine bottle ties, they are wire ties -- one-time-use plastic locking straps usually used to bundle wires together neatly. You can buy various sizes/thicknesses at any hardware or home improvement store. Keep in mind that you'll need a way to cut them open once you have reached your destination, though.
Good point Nancy,
When I use them (which isn't often anymore as I carry-on), I'll throw an old pair of fingernail clippers in the small pocket of my checked baggage that isn't zip-tied closed. Then I'll chew away at it with that when I arrive.
Here's a youtube on how you can get into your locked bag, should you happen to lose the key and need access... http://youtube.com/watch?v=6wCwmYQRTrg
When I do check luggage, I don't even bother locking my bag with anything. Thieves won't bother with the zipper handles themselves, even with unlocked bags. They'll simply use a knife or screwdriver, or similar tool, insert it into the teeth of the zipper, and in one quick motion, will have the bag open. Locks or ties aren't a deterrent.
As for TSA locks, we have not used them. We do lock our bags when on trains as a deterrent. My husband brings his bicycle lock and we lock the bags together to make it impossible to do a grab and run. Never never never leave your bags unattended if you share a couchette. Do not trust your couchette mates no matter how nice. I speak from the experience of having luggage stolen.
I come back to the point that I make over and over. Petty theft whether pickpockets or luggage handles is a crime of opportunity. And they want to be undetected as long as possible. Will a light weight lock on soft sided bag prevent a determined theft ?? -- of course not. !!! But it does encourage him to consider an unlocked bag as his first target. If you bag is cut open or the zipper pop at the airport he knows where you are going to start looking. He rather have you discover the theft in your hotel so that you are less included to do something. Locking luggage is a common sense deterrent. To me that is the big advantage of using a long plastic wire ties which can loop together all the zipper pulls. You cannot prevent the popping of the zipper but you cannot put it back together if the zipper heads don't move. That would kill the YourTube demo. If my tie is cut off, I know to check the contents of my bag at the airport.
We may check our luggage on the way back home. I won't have anything terribly valuable in my bags, but I have been used to locking them.
Maybe we will get a few locks for when we are moving around using public transport.
Frank, I had no idea that European security wouldn't have the same keys. Thanks for that bit.
We will be using the store luggage option at St. Pancras. I prefer having my bags locked there as well.
The only reason I asked about TSA locks is because it seems to be the "buzz word" in travel. We used locks with keys when we flew to Cancun last year. No problems.
Frank...locks do nothing to scare away thieves. They will consider the nicest looking cases there are, whether it has locks or not. They'll set them aside, with one of their number going through them (a simple gash in the zipper isn't going to be that noticable) while the rest continue their work. They like to work on baggage heading onto an airplane, since there's then no way to prove exactly where it occurred. And they likely have the goods off the airport site before your plane takes off. Use locks if you want, but don't be lulled into a false sense of security.
I just returned from Italy, and was told by several Alitalia agents that the TSA-approved locks ARE perfectly acceptable for checked baggage. I was permitted to check my bag on all Alitalia flights with the lock, no problem whatsoever. You do need to check with each individual overseas airline; however, do not necessarily believe that, "European airlines do not accept bags with the TSA-approved locks," as some posters are suggesting.
I had the lock on my checked bag that got delayed on my way to Italy, and I was glad I did. The bag went through several more "hands" than normal (including, among others, the delivery company, hotel personnel, etc.). There was a notice on my bag that it had been x-rayed for security purposes, but that was it.
If the appearance of a lock deters even one potential thief, or makes a potential thief look at your unlocked bag as easier prey, then I am all for the idea!
Nancy...yes, TSA locks are approved for use in Italy....why would they not be? The question isn't whether the locks are approved or not, it's whether the security staff at European airports have keys to open them, or whether they'll simply cut them off if they need to get into your bag. Since European security staff don't have the keys to get in (with the exception of the UK, and possibly CDG at Paris), they'll bring out the lock cutters. See http://tinyurl.com/4ds6xl for travellers' comments on how the TSA locks are abused....and that's mainly in the U-S! Once again, thieves don't waste time unzipping unlocked bags....it takes too long. A simple swipe with a knife or screwdriver through the zipper, and they're in....lock or no.