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

I believe luggage locks are "worth it" for a couple of reasons......

• they discourage opportunistic theft by baggage handlers or whomever (it does happen). This is an older report but it's likely it's still occurring to some degree - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8rrKOI2I1P4 .
• I've often used backpacks and on one of my trips, the pack arrived with the zipper about half open. Fortunately I didn't lose anything. The locks at least keep the zippers closed.

I use mostly TSA-compliant locks on checked luggage and regular small padlocks on my carry on bag. Cable ties will work as long as you ensure some way to cut them off, keeping mind that cutting implements usually have to be carried in checked luggage.

We use them. The other week my husbands bag did not arrive for 5 days. We finally found it via the AirTag and it was sitting inside the airport (tiny one) not in a secure area. We like to think the lock would at least deter an opportunistic person from rummaging through the bag.

I only use zip ties/zapstraps.
Black ones that snug down tight.
Cheap and in all sizes and colours are found at the dollar stores.
If checking a bag, a tiny pair of scissors in the smallest unlocked outer compartment.
Or, every hotel has a pair of scissors you can borrow to get the ties off.
If an actual padlock is broken or cut off, are you carrying some spares to replace it?

There's a built-in TSA approved lock on the suitcase I check. When I travel I have my carry on, and I also start a trip with an empty 22 x 14 x 9 inches hard-shell that I check. It gets filled with the knickknack & souvenirs I pick up along the way. Nothing really valuable and I am kind of indifferent to the locks, but I use them because they are there.

Last I shopped for a hard-shell it sure seemed that everything came with locks built-in.

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'm one of these people who travels with expensive sporting equipment (e.g. my bicycle costs as much as a decent used car, my skis aren't cheap) and the one time I used TSA locks they were broken by the agents. And I've seen multiple times when agents in the EU don't have the keys handy so they'll break the locks to look inside.

And it's not like I can take the bike or skis as carry-ons, and shipping them ahead of time seldom works with my schedule (I use both kinds of equipment for both personal and professional reasons). And no, renting is not generally an option for me for multiple reasons.

I have insurance policies on my sporting equipment that will cover losses in transit - that's enough for me.

But like I said earlier: if it buys you peace-of-mind (and holidays should be relaxing and as anxiety-free as possible), go for it.

I used to use one to keep the zippers closed. It was the kind with a key, not a combination lock. So then you have that little key to keep up with.

Now I just use a small carabiner. Keeps the zippers closed and since mine has the screw closure, it would slow down someone wanting to slip in my bag. I use them on my tote bag and purse too.

.... I've seen multiple times when agents in the EU don't have the keys handy so they'll break the locks to look inside ....... TSA and TSA locks are a US agency. Why would European inspectors have the TSA keys? Of course not, they are going to break the locks. My bike is in a hard case with a built in combination lock. I lock it just to prevent accidental opening. However, I have tape a note above the lock that says the code is 010 and lock is preset to 000. On nearly every trip the case is opened but the lock has never been damaged.

TSA and TSA locks are a US agency. Why would European inspectors have the TSA keys? Of course not, they are going to break the locks.

European airport authorities and many other foreign countries accept the TSA locks and have master keys. Whether or not they use the keys is a different matter, as it is here:

https://www.travelsentry.org/tsa-lock/what-countries-accept-tsa-locks/

I have never had a TSA approved lock broken on any stowed bags.

My bike is in a hard case with a built in combination lock.

My bike travels in a soft case (Pika Packworks EEP) sans lock. I get the "love letters" from the TSA most times (a few major airports now have scanners that can take my bag w/o opening it), no worries.

Every small part is in a heavy-duty clear Ziploc bag, with inventory marked on the bag. Haven't lost anything yet.

The bike also has an AirTag installed on it - easy to track.

Having had my underwear - and only my underwear - stolen out of my luggage, I always have a TSA lock on a zipper. Combo lock only, I don’t want to worry about keeping track of a tiny key. I try to travel with only a backpack now but still have several locking s-biners that I use basically as zipper pulls & only lock when I feel the need. Click here for s-biners