Best Ways to Protect Your Property While Traveling

School’s out for the Summer! Now that the summer holidays have begun, I expect a lot of you will be traveling within Canada or abroad in the coming couple of months. Wherever you go, there is always the risk of being targeted by thieves who would like to rob you of your belongings. Doesn’t matter if it’s Developed Countries in Europe or somewhere off the beaten path, property crimes perpetrated by groups of organized criminals exist everywhere. So here are a few best ways to protect your travel luggage and personal belongings while out on the road.

For this article, we will be limiting our recommendations to those from a security and locksmithing perspective.

As always, for locks, padlocks, and other security items, you can drop by our Downtown Vancouver Key Store located at 555 West Hastings St near Gastown. We are generally open Monday to Friday 10am to 5pm. We are now also open by appointment on Saturdays.

You can also connect with me via email at alex@locksmithvancouver.com or call/text me at 604-363-2760. I look forward to meeting you!

Tip #1: Never trust anyone but yourself

A lot of us Canadians have faith and trust in large organizations and institutions. Especially, if they are public and tied to public services. It’s probably because we live in a fairly safe and democratic society. 

For example, we trust the staff at airports, hotels, and other travel related industries to be upright law abiding citizens. While most people are decent, it only takes one malicious actor to ruin a perfectly fine vacation.

So never trust anyone but yourself when you are traveling. Most public places have disclaimers on large signs that release them from any responsibility to you or your property. So be safe, and take proactive steps to protect your belongings because you only have yourself to blame if something happens that could have been preventable.

Tip #2: Rent a hatchback or SUV not a Sedan

It might seem counterintuitive from a security perspective to recommend renting a hatchback or a SUV vs a sedan, but we have reasons for doing so. Plus, this ties in with our tips on choosing the right travel luggage.

One of the most frequent calls I get during the summer from visitors to Vancouver is from people who have locked their keys in the trunk of their rental sedan. During the months of July and August, we probably get at least one call a day if not two.

It’s hard to blame them because:

1. It’s a rental car so they may not be used to the vehicle.
2. Renting a small sedan is cheaper than renting a hatchback or SUV.
3. Locking your personal belongings in the trunk is usually a safe choice.

Back in the old days, I used to unlock the car’s doors using a long reach tool (discussed in one of my earlier articles), and pop the trunk open with the manual release tab by the driver’s seat. However, over the past 10 years, cars and trucks now have trended towards more plastic and softer auto body materials and electronic trunk releases.

This means two things:

1. Wedging the door open to use a long reach tool has a much higher chance of damaging the door and frame.
2. With an electronic trunk release, opening the car door without the key will engage the immobilizer and the trunk will not open anyway.

As a result, you will need to call an Automotive Vancouver Locksmith with the correct tool to pick your trunk lock cylinder open. This is why I recommend tourists rent hatchbacks and SUVs. If you happen to lock the keys inside the vehicle, you can still retrieve them by calling a tow truck driver or a locksmith to unlock one of the doors.

In cities like San Francisco and Oakland, there are rampant thefts from vehicles regardless of the vehicle type. Even if you have a sedan, thieves will break the window and attempt to pull down the back seats to access the trunk. 

I know many of you have only driven SUV’s and crossovers due to their overwhelming popularity in the North American market. So here’s a tip when renting a sedan: With most sedans, you can lock the back seats with your car key. Even if you have an electronic Start button, your manual backup key should lock the back seats in place. When you pick up your rental, check to see if the back seats are locked. If you don’t, you may be in for a rude surprise during your vacation as many visitors to SF and Oakland have experienced.

Tip #3: Choosing the right luggage

There are so many types of travel luggage in the market today. There are even motorized luggage bags that will follow you or that you can ride like a small scooter. However, I generally find these gimmicky and way too expensive for the average North American traveler. 

Like most Canadians, I buy my luggage bags from Costco. They usually have a 3 bag deal with a reputable brand like Samsonite that has a large, medium, and small carry-on that fit together like Russian matryoshka dolls when not in use. Depending on the season, they usually have the soft shell always in stock and sometimes a hard shell version as well. 

One thing I’ve always not liked about these bags and 99% of all the other bags commonly sold in Canada is that they use zippers. Zippers are like open doors inviting anyone with a ballpoint pen to open your bags and loot your personal items.

Several years ago, there was an expose on the news where baggage handlers at a large American airport were caught opening zippers with ball point pens and robbing travelers blind. Once they are done, the zipper can be closed up with no evidence of foul play.

It does not matter if you have a soft shell or a hard shell, if your bag uses a zipper then you are vulnerable.

Seasoned travelers and military personnel in-transit  protect their belongings from theft and damage with Pelican cases. I personally use a large Pelican Air with extending handle and rolling wheels to protect my items. These cases provide protection against most environmental factors and can be locked with commercial grade padlocks. Pelican Air is about 40% lighter than their traditional line, but it still meets IP67 and MIL SPEC standards.

Photographers have been using Pelican cases or a similar brand for years to protect their sensitive and fragile camera gear when traveling. Military personnel use Pelican cases as “Gucci” upgrades to the standard military issued barrack boxes after a few years of service. 

Without a zipper to exploit or keys to your commercial or high security padlocks, your luggage will be safe until it’s back in your hands. If you are considering upgrading to a Pelican, here are a few things to note:

• They have multiple lines of products. For air travel, I recommend Pelican Air. Not as robust as the original product line, but lighter and meets air travel size requirements.
• They come in multiple colors but are limited to solid and utilitarian shades.
• They are rather expensive and are frequently copied. If you are buying on Amazon, make sure to buy from the Pelican store.
• If you use a Pelican, people may assume you are a photographer for National Geographic, a serving or a former member of the Military, or a globe trotting Indiana Jones type of adventurer.

Finally, if you are going to get serious about security and get a Pelican, make sure to use good quality padlocks on every available eyelet. Most luggage sized Pelican cases have two spots for padlocks, so use two padlocks. No point reducing your security protection by half by using only one padlock for the convenience.

Also, avoid the cheap TSA indicator padlocks. If the TSA wants to open your case, they will just cut off the padlocks. Just carry two extra in case they do.

Finally, the last reason I prefer a robust hard case like the Pelican is that they are not easy to pull through the window of your vehicle. Referring to Tip #2, even if someone breaks your vehicle window, the large inflexible Pelican will not be easy or will be impossible to steal out of your car. Thieves are looking for items and bags that are easy to steal and fence. They will usually not want to spend the time breaking into a locked Pelican even if they somehow get it out of your vehicle. More likely, they will just move onto an easier target just a few meters down the road.

Tip #4: Carry a traveling lock

One of the most frequently overlooked points of vulnerability when traveling is hotel and hostel doors. These doors are often master keyed so that they can be opened from the outside even if you lock the doors to sleep.

While this tip may pertain to female travelers more than males, it’s generally a good idea to carry a traveling lock with you. I recommend two types of locks while on the the road and abroad:

1. A retractable cable lock like the one used to secure snowboards and skis.
2. A strap lock to disengage the deadbolt from the inside.

If you have ever gone snowboarding or skiing, you have probably seen the first type of lock. It’s simply a ratcheting cable lock using a 3 or 4 wheel number combination. You can usually buy them off Amazon for $10 to $20. If you have the budget, I recommend the 4 wheel version over the 3 as it makes it 10x harder to guess the correct combination. 

These cable locks have pretty thin cables but they can be extended or retracted to accommodate a small locker to secure your bags to an immovable object like a lamp post. Their low cost and flexibility is a reason why you should carry one while traveling. So make sure to have one or two with you.

The second type of lock is generally sold under the brand Super Grip Lock. It’s a very portable and easy way to secure a deadbolt from the inside. It works on most residential and hotel doors. The couple that made the original Super Grip Lock was thought to have gone out of business for a while but it’s now available for sale on Amazon for less than $40. I highly recommend anyone traveling to get one while they’re still for sale. It will work on most North American doors and some European doors depending on the setup.

How about if you are staying in a dorm style situation or a Airbnb and don’t have a deadbolt? Then I would recommend something like a Kee Blok from Major Manufacturing. These devices block off the outside keyhole so that no one with a key can enter your room while you are inside.

These are generally commercial devices used by landlords to lock out non-paying tenants so they can be a bit pricey but your peace of mind at night is priceless. For knobs, you will need the A100 version and the A200 version will fit most levers. When using Kee Blocks, make sure not to lock yourself out completely by having your keys with you at all times.

Tip #5: General Electronic and CyberSecurity Protection

This section is more for general good housekeeping tips on Electronic and CyberSecurity Protection when traveling. Most of us know these already, but just in case:

• Use a VPN service when accessing public internet network
• Disable 2 Factor Authentication if you don’t have access to your cell phone while abroad or you won’t be able to perform any Online Banking
• If traveling outside North America, make sure your ATM pin number is 4 digits and not 6.
• Randomly check credit card terminals for illegal skimmers.
• Use Apple Tags or at least turn on Find My on your Apple devices
• Pay for a cell phone roaming package if needed to prevent massive bills
• Don’t ask strangers to take photos of you and the family. Use a selfie stick like the rest of us weirdos.

Conclusion

There are several ways we can protect ourselves while traveling. Hopefully, this article illuminated a few things you have not thought of before. One final non-security related recommendation is to buy travel insurance. It doesn’t cost all that much, but it can be a lifesaver if everything goes wrong. You might already have travel insurance through your credit card company if you bought your airfare with said credit card.

If you are going on a road trip, I still recommend spending a little on travel or health insurance through a reputable broker or bank. It’s all fun and games until someone gets hurt or robbed.

If you have any questions or comments, please call or text me at 604-363-2760 or email me at alex@locksmithvancouver.com. Or you can just drop by our Downtown Vancouver Key Store located at 555 West Hastings St. We are located on the bottom of the SFU/Harbour Centre next to the BC Liquor Store. The Vancouver Key Store is open Monday to Friday 10am to 5pm and by appointment on Saturdays.