Your Suitcase On Vacation

[MA-Caver]

This video didn't surprise me at all and I believe there are ways around it... watch first and think about it...before you get on a bus or a plane or anywhere else your suitcase goes out of your sight while on vacation or on a business trip or whatever...

Off the top of my head one of the ways to probably prevent the "cover up" of any theft of the contents of your zippered bag is to take a small cable tie and align the zipper pulls with the handle of the suitcase so that they can't move very far or at all, thus being unable to close the zipper again as shown. They may still get in but you'll know about it immediately when you get your bag back at baggage claim and can scream bloody murder at the airport or bus terminal. Of course doing THAT might get the NSA on your butt and you're in for a long haul at the airport.
Either that or find a friend who works for a bank and try getting your hands on one of those paint grenades they got and watch the fun... lol...
But seriously ... if you know how long you're going to be then trying to pack it all in a carry on would probably be your best bet ... OR don't pack nothing valuable in the suitcase to begin with and all the valuables in the carry on... provided it doesn't cause a problem with the screening.

 

[MJS]

This video didn't surprise me at all and I believe there are ways around it... watch first and think about it...before you get on a bus or a plane or anywhere else your suitcase goes out of your sight while on vacation or on a business trip or whatever...

Off the top of my head one of the ways to probably prevent the "cover up" of any theft of the contents of your zippered bag is to take a small cable tie and align the zipper pulls with the handle of the suitcase so that they can't move very far or at all, thus being unable to close the zipper again as shown. They may still get in but you'll know about it immediately when you get your bag back at baggage claim and can scream bloody murder at the airport or bus terminal. Of course doing THAT might get the NSA on your butt and you're in for a long haul at the airport.
Either that or find a friend who works for a bank and try getting your hands on one of those paint grenades they got and watch the fun... lol...
But seriously ... if you know how long you're going to be then trying to pack it all in a carry on would probably be your best bet ... OR don't pack nothing valuable in the suitcase to begin with and all the valuables in the carry on... provided it doesn't cause a problem with the screening.

I dont trust those TSA jokers any further than I can throw them. That being said, I've used the ties that you mentioned on past trips, and I'll use them again. Never had any issues, and they were still attached when I got my bags.

If all of the bags are checked, like they're supposed to be, then IMO, theres no reason why they can't always be secured, even with a lock. Unless there's some reason that a red flag is raised, those clowns need to keep their noses out of my stuff.

 

[Dirty Dog]

Actually, there is a very easy, simple and sure fire way to protect your luggage from the baggage gorrillas, at least on domestic flights. Travel with a gun.

That sounds crazy, I know. But you are allowed to travel with a gun in your checked luggage. When you approach the checkin counter and declare your firearm, you will be routed to a TSA official, and your luggage is only handled by the TSA, not the monkeys, from that point.

You need one gun per bag, so one thing to keep in mind is that cheap starter pistols count as guns.

Obviously you cannot use this method on international flights. I do not know if a knife will get the same handling. But, since Sue and I are leaving next week for a couple weeks of diving in Cancun, Playa del Carmen and Cozumel, I'll find out. I'll declare our dive knives at the checkin and see what happens.

 

[5rings]

Actually, there is a very easy, simple and sure fire way to protect your luggage from the baggage gorrillas, at least on domestic flights. Travel with a gun.

That sounds crazy, I know. But you are allowed to travel with a gun in your checked luggage. When you approach the checkin counter and declare your firearm, you will be routed to a TSA official, and your luggage is only handled by the TSA, not the monkeys, from that point.

You need one gun per bag, so one thing to keep in mind is that cheap starter pistols count as guns.

Obviously you cannot use this method on international flights. I do not know if a knife will get the same handling. But, since Sue and I are leaving next week for a couple weeks of diving in Cancun, Playa del Carmen and Cozumel, I'll find out. I'll declare our dive knives at the checkin and see what happens.

Good info keep us posted on declaring the knives at check in.

 

[MA-Caver]

Actually, there is a very easy, simple and sure fire way to protect your luggage from the baggage gorrillas, at least on domestic flights. Travel with a gun.

That sounds crazy, I know. But you are allowed to travel with a gun in your checked luggage. When you approach the checkin counter and declare your firearm, you will be routed to a TSA official, and your luggage is only handled by the TSA, not the monkeys, from that point.

You need one gun per bag, so one thing to keep in mind is that cheap starter pistols count as guns.

Obviously you cannot use this method on international flights. I do not know if a knife will get the same handling. But, since Sue and I are leaving next week for a couple weeks of diving in Cancun, Playa del Carmen and Cozumel, I'll find out. I'll declare our dive knives at the checkin and see what happens.

Well my post initially was aimed at potential THIEVES who'd break into a bag and swipe some nice PDA's or Cameras or whatever that is of value at a local pawn shop. Marking all your valuables does help stop it at the pawn shop door but not on the black market... but preventing TSA from rooting around helps as well... saying you got a knife or even a gun... which should be in a case with NO AMMO (that can be purchased at the end destination no?) then they'll handle it after x-raying it and all that bla bla bla... and it'll be where you can't get to it until the end of the flight and undoubtedly they'll escort you til you're away from the terminal or something like that.

It gives me ideas but I do plan on heading out West again soon and I'd want to go camping. I've a long knife that I've used and trusted for years on my camping forays... I'd love to bring it along, ergo the possibility is there. ... ahhhh prolly better if I just DRIVE... see more of this country before it gets too screwed up.

 

[Dirty Dog]

Well my post initially was aimed at potential THIEVES who'd break into a bag and swipe some nice PDA's or Cameras or whatever that is of value at a local pawn shop. Marking all your valuables does help stop it at the pawn shop door but not on the black market... but preventing TSA from rooting around helps as well... saying you got a knife or even a gun... which should be in a case with NO AMMO (that can be purchased at the end destination no?) then they'll handle it after x-raying it and all that bla bla bla... and it'll be where you can't get to it until the end of the flight and undoubtedly they'll escort you til you're away from the terminal or something like that.

It gives me ideas but I do plan on heading out West again soon and I'd want to go camping. I've a long knife that I've used and trusted for years on my camping forays... I'd love to bring it along, ergo the possibility is there. ... ahhhh prolly better if I just DRIVE... see more of this country before it gets too screwed up.

Ammo may be carried too. The gun just cannot be loaded. Once you declare your weapon, the TSA rep is the only one to handle the bag (or bags...) that contain a weapon. It's loaded and unloaded by the TSA. The monkeys never touch it. And while that is not a guaranteed method of preventing theft it certainly is a huge reduction of your risks.
The zip tie method, for example, won't make any difference since the TSA has the right to cut off any locks and open your luggage, so if your zip tie is gone, you will have no way of proving it was not opened by the TSA.

Personally, my own rule is that I don't put valuable or fragile items in my checked luggage. Things like cameras, my SCUBA regulators (I am NOT going to drown because some monkey damaged my regs..), dive computer, camera, bubble and such all go in my carryon. I know divers who have figured out ways to carry on their entire kit. Some go so far as to wear their BCD, others just find creative ways to pack.