Last year coming back from Namibia, there was a kiosk offering to wrap your checked bag(s) with the heavy gage plastic wrap used to wrap cargo on shipping pallets for something like $30 US. I didn’t do it because I was bringing back my unfired ammo and figured somewhere along the way, either in J’berg or clearing US customs, I would have to open the bags. I AM NOT TALKING ABOUT GUN CASES – personal checked bags only. Can see some advantages and disadvantages with this….

Might help deter someone from pilfering/stealing stuff out of a bag – or – it might attract someone’s attention to the bag thinking there must be some good chit to steal.

Would definitely help keep rain out of your stuff if the baggage gorillas decide to leave it on the tarmac in the rain.

Will be a royal PIA if you do have to open the bag for inspection – like my first thought, it may draw inspector(s) attention.

Could help protect the bag from being scuffed/scratched etc.

A small roll or a roll near the end of its contents would be small enough/light enough to toss in the bag to re-wrap if needed or for returning

Anybody used this service or done this with their checked bags?

WOW 30 bucks It cost 3 dollars in Kenya. yeeep use it if you have anything customs wants to see they will open it. My bags have only been opened by customs here not when leaving there.I was told by customs in Kenya they where trying to stop things coming in the counrty not going out

quote:

Originally posted by ddrhook:
WOW 30 bucks It cost 3 dollars in Kenya.

Willing to bet my memory is bad and now that I think about it...it was probably N$30, about $3 US.

we all have those moments

I've not seen these kiosks but I did read a travel advisory earlier this week put out by the State Department that advised anyone traveling though RSA to do this.

When I arrived in RSA my Tsa Lock was missing from my checked bag, but nothing missing.
When I left they made the guy ahead of me go buy a lock for his checked bag. Wanted me to buy one also, but I had a extra one on my Carry on bag. That one was still on the bag when I got home. Go Figure?

I did it with my checked bag when I left Windhoek. At US customs in Atlanta when I had to take my boots out for spraying, I just slit the corner near the zipper and pulled my boots out (placed there intentionally for that reason) had them sprayed snd shoved thm back through. The plastic held up great even after that all the way to LAX.

It looks like it would be a good idea if one weren't packing any ammo in the bags, but I can't help but wonder how one deals with the wrapping when he got to customs on the other end of the flight.

In a pre-9/11 world it would be no problem -- just whip out the pocket knife and cut the wrapping off. Nowadays, I have no idea what I would do if a customs agent wants the bag opened -- which I'm sure he would if it looked like it would cause the travelor a problem.

quote:

Originally posted by OldHandgunHunter:
In a pre-9/11 world it would be no problem -- just whip out the pocket knife and cut the wrapping off. Nowadays, I have no idea what I would do if a customs agent wants the bag opened -- which I'm sure he would if it looked like it would cause the travelor a problem.

Good point....guess I would have to tell the inspector, "would love to open the plastic, but TSA laws prevent me from carrying a knife". I'm SURE that response will go over well! (LOL)

The zipper thing mentioned by Fjold won't work for me because I specifically don't use a zipperd bag, even with a TSA lock on it. All you have to do to bypass the zipper is poke/jam a pen in the zipper and slide it around - bag opens right up. The person (crook) goes through the bag and then runs the locked together zippers around the bag and it zips together again. That's what they did to me last year.

I am told it stops the zipper artists, or at leasr slows them down. A good ides if your bag is going to sit in Joberg for any amount of time.

How effective would a PacSafe cable mesh inside the duffel be in deterring theft and would it cause problems with TSA or the airlines?

PacSafe 55

Last year i had our bags wrapped. When they showed up in Michigan 5 days after i did they were still wrapped. It seemed to help with identifying them. Thought it was worth the money.

When I flew out of Zim (Harare) this June they had one of those bag wrap facilities. They charged $10 US per bag.

I did this in June when going to Namibia from Iraq for my safari. Had to pass through Joburg both ways with long stays. The cost from Windhoek was just under $4 US, 30ND, at that rate of exchange.
Did the job.

We did the same thing in May of this year departing from Windhoek onthe way back to PHL. Cost something like $50 US for 6 bags, not the Tuffpak. The bags arrived in PHL still wrapped and complete. Our ammunitin was in two of the bags. I thought the service was a good deal.

Something I am finding curious is nobody has reported seeing this service at any State-side locations…hummmm. I did call Delta and asked if they had any restrictions on this and the phone agent said they had no restrictions. Going to stop by the airport this week and talk to a TSA supervisor and see what they say.

A couple of months ago, I found an older model medium sized American Tourister hard sided suitcase with wheels and NO ZIPPERS (old style locks – no keys) at a local Good Will store that looked like it had never been used for $6. Bought one of the TSA approved lockable suitcase straps to go around it for $8 – will pass it through the handle so it can’t be slide off the bag). Can purchase a small 750 ft x 5 inch wide roll of the wrap at local office supply stores for less then $10. That should be enough to wrap a couple of bags a couple of times – will toss the roll in my carry-on pack for the return/re-wrap on the return.

Looked at the PACSAFE web site….interesting product. Looks like it is designed more for securing a back pack/duffle to a fixed location. Understand Oday 450’s idea was to use it inside a duffle instead of wrapped around the outside, but my thought is the weave of the mesh is too large and if they manage to get the bag open they could still rummage through your “stuff” and work items out through the mesh. If it was used on the outside of a pack/duffle, my concern would be the mesh would get hung/caught on a piece of the automated baggage handling equipment. I want to keep the “barstads” OUT of the bag entirely but know that in reality that is not possible; but, since criminals are essentially lazy, anything I can do to have them look for an “easier” target and pass over mine is about all you can do.

The saddest part of all this is that we the paying passengers are mandated to turn or personnel possessions over to the airlines who in-turn take no responsibility for what happens to our stuff while they have it. They have been able to establish deniability of responsibility by establishing sub contractors as baggage handlers or if transferring between carries they point their fingers at each other with the knowledge that us sheeple will end up dropping it and if they do happen to pay out it is for a few cents on the dollar.

I don't know why all airlines and airports don't make the plastic wrap mandatory upon check-in and after a cursory inspection. I would certainly pay extra for it as it would keep the theives at bay. I have PacSafe products including the mesh cable cover, along with the PacSafe backpack, and many of their other products. I had not thought about the idea of placing the mesh inside, instead of on the outside. That might be a good idea, as long as the TSA can see everything if they open it and visually inspect the inside of your checked bag. Zipped bags are too easy to open and steal from. I had that happen to me last year in Vic Falls,(to my carry-ons) when they placed them under the plane at the very last minute and theives popped open the locked zippers within a few secords and stole my cameras before take-off. I didn't find out about the theft until I arrived in Joburg and picked up our carry-ons. That's when I started searching for more security and found the PacSafe website and their products.

The gate agent at Dar, "Ricardo" had informed me that I would be allowed only 1 carry on instead of two as I had flown coach. Typical hustle and I wasn't in the mood. I told him that I would not pay the $200.00 he wanted to charge me as I was with the Jehovah-Mormon delegation and the Tanz govt. allowed me in on a spirit filled visa. My guide and all in attendance looked at me like I was a crazy white man. I asked this dope Ricardo if he knew Jesus and if he spoke in tongues and wanted the holy ghost. He inexplicably seemed in a hurry to get away from me. I find it best to make people feel uncomfortable when they try to stick it up my ass. What better way than to talk about Jesus. He told me it would be ok to wrap the two together and ship them as one. $20.00 to wrap, $10.00 to the customs guy that didn't look at my rifles and $50 to Ricardo to so my bags would arrive ok. They did and were still wrapped in Detroit. Ricardo's face...Priceless. Hallelujah!


Dutch

Rained out at the range yesterday – so went to the airport (Tampa FL) to talk directly to Delta and the TSA guys about wrapping checked bags.

Delta – agents had no problem with it and would accept wrapped checked bags with no problem. Even wondered why more US terminal didn’t offer it. Did state that the wrapping would be cut off and not replaced if something was identified by the electronic scanner and the bag had to be opened. This is for regular checked bags NOT containing ammo and turned in through TSA.

TSA Agents – Asked them if they had any issues with a wrapped checked bag that contained ammunition. They said no problem – the only issue would be if there was something in the bag that the x-ray scanner couldn’t identify and they had to open the bag to physically inspect the item(s) in question. I could re-wrap the bag in front of them and they would take it. Also asked TSA about locks on the ammo box, checked bag and gun case.

All Checked bags – TSA lock
Ammo box inside checked bag – TSA lock
Gun Case – non-TSA lock. Also said that once TSA accepts the gun case there should be no other reason for anyone to inspect the case until it is picked up at your destination in order to clear foreign customs. They did confirm it would be a good idea to include an extra set of locks with a note inside the case for them to use IF it had to be opened for some reason - especially if changing airlines at foreign airports.

TSA guys also said that once the gun case and checked bag with ammo goes through the scanner, they would wrap both with a strip of TSA inspected logo tape to confirm it was TSA cleared - but you had to specifically request it.

All in all the Delta reps and TSA reps were very friendly and this was info obtain at Tampa on this specific day with this specific group of individuals…..your (and my) mileage may vary (when actually checking in).

That's very good to know. Thanks for providing the info to us!

M3 - Thanks for all this info and good work on your part. I will take these same questions to the TSA and United airlines in Albuquerque next week and see if they talk the same talk? It will be great to have some insight as what to expect upon arrival for check in on Aug. 28. I know problems come up but I really hate having to deal with them at the check in line right before flight time. Great report.

Larry Sellers
SCI Life Member

quote:

Originally posted by m3taco:
Rained out at the range yesterday – so went to the airport (Tampa FL) to talk directly to Delta and the TSA guys about wrapping checked bags.

Delta – agents had no problem with it and would accept wrapped checked bags with no problem. Even wondered why more US terminal didn’t offer it. Did state that the wrapping would be cut off and not replaced if something was identified by the electronic scanner and the bag had to be opened. This is for regular checked bags NOT containing ammo and turned in through TSA.

TSA Agents – Asked them if they had any issues with a wrapped checked bag that contained ammunition. They said no problem – the only issue would be if there was something in the bag that the x-ray scanner couldn’t identify and they had to open the bag to physically inspect the item(s) in question. I could re-wrap the bag in front of them and they would take it. Also asked TSA about locks on the ammo box, checked bag and gun case.

All Checked bags – TSA lock
Ammo box inside checked bag – TSA lock
Gun Case – non-TSA lock. Also said that once TSA accepts the gun case there should be no other reason for anyone to inspect the case until it is picked up at your destination in order to clear foreign customs. They did confirm it would be a good idea to include an extra set of locks with a note inside the case for them to use IF it had to be opened for some reason - especially if changing airlines at foreign airports.

TSA guys also said that once the gun case and checked bag with ammo goes through the scanner, they would wrap both with a strip of TSA inspected logo tape to confirm it was TSA cleared - but you had to specifically request it.

All in all the Delta reps and TSA reps were very friendly and this was info obtain at Tampa on this specific day with this specific group of individuals…..your (and my) mileage may vary (when actually checking in).