Which Luggage Locks?

I use plain old nylon wire ties, the kind where one end slips through the other and cinches up, even on my checked bags. They have to be cut off at your destination (I keep a small pair of nail scissors in an outer pocket of my bag for that purpose). If the bags are inspected, they replace the wire tie, but I keep a supply in the same outer pocket, too. My scissors have made four trips over and back in the same pocket and have never been disturbed. The green locks are just a fancier and more costly version of my wire ties. For a bag in the overhead bin, I wouldn't bother locking it unless you don't need anything out of it during the flight. The whole point of locking/securing is just to make it more difficult for someone to take something. It never makes it impossible (see the video on YouTube of using a pen to open and rezip a locked bag if you want proof).

You read the description, right? Anybody can open them.

Thieves can open anything.

No locks is all we've ever used, but my wife has a couple of bothersome zippers that she hooks together with a pipe cleaner or bread twist sometimes.

Hi,

We use the exact same method Nancy does. We use tie wraps and carry small nail clipper type scissors and a small supply of tie wraps in an outer pocket. Again, as per Nancy, we've used this method on our last 5 trips. That's for our checked bags. In the overhead bin on the plane, we don't bother with the tie wraps for all our trips so far, which is 8 trips since 2001.

Paul

Nothing will stop a dedicated thief, but locks can slow them down. Locks also help basically-honest people to stay honest. I have one lock, the TSA-approved type, and use it regardless of whether I'm in the USA or not, to lock my bag while it's checked on a flight, while it's sitting unattended in a hotel room, and in transit on trains, boats, and buses. So far, so good.

When I took the RS convertible carry on (back pack), I used split key rings to hook 2 or more zippers together. It is a royal pain to get them off, but a good deterrent to potential thieves behind you as you wear the thing. My husband used zip ties on his.

With the spinner I have now, there is only one place where the zippers come together and I use a TSA lock on it. My husband still takes the same back pack with zip ties.

In either case, we don't bother with hooking the zippers together until AFTER we clear security. We always carry our bags on and check nothing unless we fly within Europe and have to check them.

Any of these options are good to make thieves look for lower hanging fruit rather than to try to get stuff out of the pockets on your luggage. The bold ones, I guess would try to take the whole bag if you are not wearing it. My deterrent for that with my spinner is to use a dog's slip lead attached to the bag's handle and me. Goofy, I know, but it keeps me from spacing out and walking off without the bag, which is more likely than someone trying to take it away from me.

@ blueokoboji

welcome.

i havent locked any luggage, period. I only do the carry on but i have had to check in my luggage on the small puddle jumpers and also didnt lock my luggage. anything of value is on me or my carryon.

If i want into you stuff, no lock isnt going to stop me. If youre locking your backpack, chances are its made of material. A knife will make short work of that lock.

If using a lock of any type makes you feel safer, go for it.

happy trails.

Have never locked anything. On the zippers for my checked bag, I put a twist tie from a bread wrapper, just to make sure it stays closed, but that is it.

I never lock anything either, even on the rare occasion when I check a bag. I put nothing of value in my suitcase, only clothes and toiletries, so I don't worry about thieves. Anyone is welcome to go through it and help themselves to my underwear and socks. :)