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LEFT:
PrivaSeals make it easy to see if anyone has tampered with your zippered
luggage. |
Now that governments are
routinely opening suitcases for inspection at airports, traditional padlocks on
zippered luggage have become obsolete. And in any case, such locks have never
prevented a determined thief from getting into a suitcase--at best, they've
discouraged casual pilferage by making it obvious when a bag has been opened.
My wife and I don't even use locks on our suitcases these days. Instead, we
close most of the zippers with inexpensive four-inch
nylon cable ties, which are
available at large computer stores or electronics dealers like Radio Shack. We
leave a toenail clipper in the unsealed top outer pocket of my suitcase and use
that to clip off the nylon cable ties when we reach our destination.
If you prefer to avoid the geeky look of cable ties, or if you want something
that has more of an official look, try one of these accessories from Magellan's:
PrivaSeals (see photo) resemble small plastic padlocks and have
one-of-a-kind serial numbers that you can write down before you check your bags
with the airline or hotel porter. They're easy to use: Just snap them into place
as you would a luggage padlock; you can twist or cut them off when you're ready
to open your bag.
Luggage Seals are even easier to use, since the numbered plastic strips can
be yanked off when you're finished with them. They're similar to the strips that
TSA security inspectors use to reseal opened bags at U.S. airports. (They're
also slightly cheaper than PrivaSeals.)
Travel Sentry Keyed Padlocks,
Travel Sentry Combo Locks, and
SearchAlert Combo Locks were developed in cooperation with the U.S.
Transportation Security Administration. TSA inspectors can open the locks with a
special tool, then reseal them after inspection. (These obviously work best on
trips within the United States, where inspectors are likely to have the required
tool. Also, there have been reports of clueless TSA inspectors breaking the
locks; Magellan's offers free replacements to victims of ignorant inspectors.)
Next page:
Luggage tags
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