I've always travelled with hard sided gun cases (Americase) but have decided to purchase a Tuffpak for an upcoming trip to Zambia.

My question is, is the version with the internal lock the best way to go, or the version that accepts a padlock the better choice?

Been using one with the internal lock for 20 years without any issues whatsoever. It cannot be cut off and meets TSA requirements. I travel annually with it.

I use the Tuff Pack with the internal lock as well. Never have had a problem anywhere.

I have two Tuffpaks. A tall one for traveling with rifles and a short one for traveling with shotguns in a takedown case. In returning from my last trip to Africa due to the United agent in Houston not knowing her job I ended up (against my wishes) surrendering my key to a TSA agent accompanied by a United supervisor. When I got home I discovered that someone in Houston had obviously forced the lock breaking enough of the internal pins that I had to take it to a locksmith to get it opened. United eventually reimbursed me for a new lock and their labor but what a PIA it was. I don't ever intend to let anyone but me open and lock my Tuffpak again if at all possible.

Boy we get ripped off here in Australia. I just checked the prices of a Tuffpak and in Aust they are over double the price

What LionHunter said, only for the last 16 years. I have travelled to Alaska, Mexico and Africa with the TuffPak and the TuffSak, and I wouldn't go back to travelling with another different hard side gun case, even though I have enough of the other brands to open a gun case store.

quote:

Originally posted by DLS:
I've always travelled with hard sided gun cases (Americase) but have decided to purchase a Tuffpak for an upcoming trip to Zambia.

My question is, is the version with the internal lock the best way to go, or the version that accepts a padlock the better choice?

A couple months ago, this was my exact situation. We had always used hard sided gun cases, and we were preparing for a hunt in Zambia. I bought a padlock version of the tuffpak. My son and I took two gun cases, the padlock tuffpak and a pelican case. We thought the tuffpak worked very well. In fact I plan to buy another tuffpak for my son.

I didn't like the internal lock, or its keys. In the past, I had a similar lock strip out.

I have both locks. Internal and the one that accepts a pad lock. I only use the padlock one with the thought, if it's broken and needs to be removed, I can cut it off and just replace the padlock without screwing up the case. I've always feared that some jerk at the airport will jam up the lock on purpose. I'd hate to get to Africa and not be able to lock it back up. I usually travel with an extra padlock of some type.

Thanks, everyone. I appreciate the feedback.