Are Luggage Locks Worth It?

I think the main value of them is keeping your bag from accidentally opening. It's really not hard to get into someone's luggage if you are determined to do so, with a lock or without. You can buy the TSA-approved lock keys on Amazon, so anyone can have them.

I use twist ties, safety pins, zip ties, carabiners, or even paper clips.

If it's just for peace of mind, sure.

That said: I've never used them with any of my luggage.

I used to use them, but then didn't use them for awhile . . . Until returning from one trip and claiming my bag (I had hiking poles inside so had to check it), I found the zippers slightly apart, enough to lose a hair brush but nothing more significant. So yes, I use small TSA-approved locks.

I'm in the "twist-tie" camp.

The last time I used a lock it was a Lewis Clark double cable lock so the lock stays locked to the handle of your suitcase. I bought 3, one each for myself, brother and SIL. My SIL's failed in the airport in Seattle on the way out when she tried to get something out of her bag and the lock wouldn't open. We had to find scissors in the airport to cut the lock off. My brother's failed when we got to the hotel in Dublin and he borrowed pliers from the maintenance crew to snip his off. I got mine open and immediately threw it away.

https://tinyurl.com/mpj2s2wy

Since then I've just used a sturdy twist tie to keep the zipper tabs from coming apart.

I did not use them for a long time, but on recent trips, I have used TSA approved locks on my luggage. And when I leave my bags in my hotel room, or put them in the baggage storage at the end of a train car, I "lock" my bags with them, as just one additional layer of deterrent should a hotel staffer or some train creep wants to snoop around and rifle my bag. Of course a determined thief will not be deterred by these locks, and I know that, but it could thwart a petty thief/snooper...

Small zip-ties spring to mind. About as effective and much cheaper.

I always use zip ties. Cheap, easy, available, in many colors. Not so much to scare thieves, but to inconvenience them, and to notify me if TSA has been rooting around, which they do, a lot. Very good for use when you leave your luggage unattended in a hotel or rail station checked luggage room.

I used them to lock the zippers together on my backpack in Paris. It keeps sneaky fingers from opening them in crowded areas and when I am unaware.

I use these cable key holders to hold the zipper tabs together. Different sizes for different bags and can color coordinate. Sorry for the long link:
https://www.amazon.com/Keychains-Stainless-Connecter-Keyrings-Utensils-7/dp/B0CWYCKH85/ref=mp_s_a_1_9?crid=1UWUMYFNKCHX3&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.epNOpJkTCdhdrDOrvjUl25LpgSlAWdsOwzWtPIZwosRNOKA3UEUwpn0rOqhAHVDQ7uh4o88jg1x5lYF8Hdkj7fhGRNcwCuJSdqqXFpZV5nyZuSrPAIJrfvcrasrIvwncRR9BqTynkAetUYFVXDw98YYkAvw0XdAgbD7iwq2zdAxAeqrkFr4AbKG-xi_EchWEydYcyt3e7EHOieAiPOkQbvWaLqkabmUS3HU4u43QrNAkpdCo8iIDC4zhGFwBFU1v39TIFi3JQAUYqGfrzBwAgsAw_e2F66Bfophnk0Y_fL4.Hu9OoYEYMECG2-icEYdNQzhptuCsCAveoDS0ps-XR50&dib_tag=se&keywords=cable+wire+key+chains&qid=1756222478&sprefix=cable+key+chains%2Caps%2C172&sr=8-9

Never used them, and I can't imagine either of our soft-side, zip-closure Travelpro's popping open (but never say never, eh?) Nope, we've never put anything of real value in them or felt like we needed to lock them in hotel rooms.

Side note: the couple of times TSA rooted through my checked bag they left a note stating that they'd done so. I'm fine with that but sure wish they wouldn't mess up my tidy packing job!

I have a friend who travels with some expensive sporting equipment. He routinely uses the TSA locks. TSA routinely breaks them. I guess they can't be troubled to use their keys when they need to inspect.

I use a ty-wrap for flights, where I usually check one bag. Then I might use a luggage lock for a land-based train trip, or if I have nice purchases or something other than a passport (which is in the safe, while I carry a photocopy) for which I want to keep "honest people out of my suitcase." BTW, I have a nail clipper in the outside pocket of the luggage, for snipping the ty-wrap when I get to the hotel.

I use the nylon cable or wire ties -- about 8" - just to secure all of the zippers. I keep a pair of toe nail clippers in an unsecured pocket to cut the cables in the hotel. Cheap and easy solution.

I think you answered your own question. I carried luggage locks around with me for 7 months and could never be bothered to use them. They are for peace of mind only, IMO. And I get my peace of mind from knowing that the world is not full of thieves.

We use both TSA-luggage locks and zip-ties, sometimes both at the same time. Depends on the circumstances.

A little padlock like the TSA ones are not going to stop a thief, nor are zip-ties. Either one (or both together) will just slow them down and maybe annoy them, and hopefully just make my bag a little more trouble to open than a hundred others nearby.

I have very low expectations for their effectiveness, and try not to ever have expensive/irreplaceable items left in unattended bags, but do find they provide a little extra peace of mind and the hope that my minor measures will cause potential troubles to end up somewhere else. They may not help much, but they probably do no harm.

The short answer: if nothing is of value in your luggage, then don't lock it.. To secure my nylon bag, zip ties in unusual colors have worked well. A small nail clipper is retained on person when i need to open the bag. Will it stop thieves? Nope, but it will alert me that my bag has been opened. Using a TSA approved lock...one may not know for sure your bag has been opened by authorized or unauthorized persons.

And I get my peace of mind from knowing that the world is not full of thieves.

Knowing? I think you meant fantasizing...

I've never really used the locks.. Reading these comments, I'm considering ordering zip ties, because then I know if anyone has tampered with the suitcase whether the TSA, in my hotel or on a train