Locks on Luggage

bonnielu · ‎03-11-2010

I got some really good answers on travel to Hawaii..... luggage suggestions.

Someone mentioned having TSA approved locks. All my suitcases do but I have a basic question. I never lock my suitcases, even the ones I check. I have a fear that THEY will open them for a purpose to check them out and then foul up the lock so I cannot get in. I know it sounds crazy but if I have a code will they disrupt my code by using their way in? I guess I don't understand the process.

I really don't pack anything of value. I carry what is important with me on the plane.

godi · ‎03-09-2010

We use TSA certified locks. We got them at Target. TSA supposedly have a key that can open them. We never travel with our luggage unlocked after all my underwear disappeared. 🤣

World Traveler · ‎02-02-2015

Use TSA approved locks. Those locks have the TSA emblem on them.

TSA has gotten in my luggage, leaving a note that they opened it for inspection, and it was locked back up......without doing anything to damage me opening it up at a later time using my code.

They have a key that allows them to open it without affecting your code. Just be sure it has the TSA emblem on any lock you use. Much safer than leaving your luggage unlocked. Your suitcase could pop open without a lock with all the rough and tumble action it gets from those guys throwing luggage around....on the conveyor belt, up into the plane, etc.

Even if you don't have anything of value, if your luggage came open because you didn't lock it, and everything fell out, you would have to replace it at the start of your vacation. Not a way I would want to start my holiday!

haddon9 · ‎03-09-2010

@World Traveler wrote:
Use TSA approved locks. Those locks have the TSA emblem on them.

TSA has gotten in my luggage, leaving a note that they opened it for inspection, and it was locked back up......without doing anything to damage me opening it up at a later time using my code.

They have a key that allows them to open it without affecting your code. Just be sure it has the TSA emblem on any lock you use. Much safer than leaving your luggage unlocked. Your suitcase could pop open without a lock with all the rough and tumble action it gets from those guys throwing luggage around....on the conveyor belt, up into the plane, etc.

Even if you don't have anything of value, if your luggage came open because you didn't lock it, and everything fell out, you would have to replace it at the start of your vacation. Not a way I would want to start my holiday!

My suitcase has a zipper that goes all the way around so it wouldn't tend to "pop open".

World Traveler · ‎02-02-2015

@haddon9 Zippers have been known to pop open if the stitching is not good or perhaps the luggage is overstuffed.

Sounds like you have already decided that you are not going to use a lock, and that is your choice. I personally would not want to make it easy for someone other than a TSA agent to get into my luggage, whether to take anything out or to put something nefarious inside.

Also, I always lock my luggage while it sits in my hotel room when I am out and about. I don't care to have the staff or anyone else rummaging thru my stuff.

Good luck!

Edited to add: I equate it to closing the door at home or on your car and not locking it. Why make it easy for someone to get in? A lock serves as a deterrent.

Also, after traveling to over 60 countries, I have seen many suitcases come down conveyor belts with the insides sprawled out for all to see. Not a pretty sight!

haddon9 · ‎03-09-2010

@World Traveler wrote:
@haddon9 Zippers have been known to pop open if the stitching is not good or perhaps the luggage is overstuffed.

Sounds like you have already decided that you are not going to use a lock, and that is your choice. I personally would not want to make it easy for someone other than a TSA agent to get into my luggage, whether to take anything out or to put something nefarious inside.

Also, I always lock my luggage while it sits in my hotel room when I am out and about. I don't care to have the staff or anyone else rummaging thru my stuff.

Good luck!

@World Traveler . Yes you are correct about a zipper breaking! That almost happened to us many years ago. We were packing up the car at 4 am to go to the airport and placed a large bag in the back of the car when suddenly the zipper split! It was an old bag that my parents had lent us. I was flabbergasted and all I could think of was thank goodness it happened then not at the airport!!! At the time we scrambled to move things around and we made it work. We also found another smaller bag to help out.

As for the bag that I'm currently using it's a quality bag but I have wondered about getting a lock or not. I have heard pros & cons regarding it.

However I almost had that bag walk away when I returned to Philly airport a couple of years ago. I was waiting at the very crowded carousel for my bag to show. A young woman across from me picked up my bag and just started to walk away with it! My bag is a medium gray but I had put both a bright red & bright royal blue luggage tag along with a ribbon on the top handle....I went running after her weaving through people. When I caught up with her I said, "I think that's my bag!". I reached for one of the tags and sure enough it had my name on it! She just said "oh" and walked away!

Unbelievable! I thought about it later and couldn't help wondering if she was intentionally taking a bag that wasn't hers....warning for others to be diligent at the luggage carousel.

Now as for a TSA lock, I'm still thinking about it. We leave in a few weeks for a family trip to Ireland.

ETA: Maybe TSA approved luggage straps with built in locks....this will keep the bag locked and if the zipper should fail keep the bag together...something to think about today!

Still Raining · ‎03-30-2014

I have always understood that the TSA approved locks have a key they can use. However the bad news is that they are out there and anyone can now open your case. So basically it no longer makes sense to lock.

i have never had a zipper break or come undone.

bonnielu · ‎03-11-2010

Never even thought about locking it because of fear the lock would be LOCK WOULD BE CORRUPTED BY TSA. Now that I have read this I think I will lock them.

I have a name tag that I have never used that tracks the luggage. Got it at EbAGs I think. Not sure how it works.

World Traveler · ‎02-02-2015

@haddon9 You say: "Maybe TSA approved luggage straps with built-in locks...this will keep the bag locked and if the zipper should fail, keep the bag together."

So, what is the difference between getting a lock on your luggage and getting a strap that has a built-in lock that goes around the luggage?

There must be another reason why you don't want a lock on the luggage itself.

haddon9 · ‎03-09-2010

@World Traveler wrote:
@haddon9 You say: "Maybe TSA approved luggage straps with built-in locks...this will keep the bag locked and if the zipper should fail, keep the bag together."

So, what is the difference between getting a lock on your luggage and getting a strap that has a built-in lock that goes around the luggage?

There must be another reason why you don't want a lock on the luggage itself.

@World Traveler I never said that I didn't want a lock...maybe you're thinking of someone else? I was just going back & forth on it. Perhaps I should get one. I think a strap would keep a suitcase from opening if for some reason TSA didn't lock it up again...I don't know since I've never used one or how they work exactly. I'm just reviewing options.