

Brilliant hack: Secure your checked bags by declaring a weapon - Alex3917
http://www.boingboing.net/2006/09/24/secure-your-checked-.html

======
brk
This has been known forever to people who frequently travel with high-value
gear (photographers, videographers, etc.)

It _is_ a good hack, but it also prevents you from easily doing kiosk bag
check-and-drop stuff, so there is a lot of waiting in line. And I wouldn't
recommend it for international travel.

I haven't kept good track, but I'm sure I've flown over 200,000 miles in the
last decade, with all sorts of miscellaneous high-value gear. The only
domestic baggage incident I've had was a Canon EOS5D and 28-300mm L lens go
missing on a flight from SFO->BOS. Granted that was an ~$5,000 loss, I
probably should have kept the gear in carry-on. I don't think I would have
wanted to deal with the process of declaring a weapon in my bags on every
flight where I had something work stealing just to prevent the 1 incident out
of 1,000 where there was actual threat, that's why I have insurance.

~~~
hga
It's also a good way to get arrested at a Chicago or NYC/NJ airport if you're
forced to be reunited with your checked bags (say your flight gets diverted).

~~~
brk
Why, are starter pistols illegal there? Are there no provisions for people
carrying weapons through those cities?

Even in the case of checked luggage with a firearm, it is usually required
(and a good idea in any case) that the weapon be unloaded and disabled (gun
lock, etc.). My personal opinion is that the airline is not going to call the
local authorities and tell them they just turned over a bag with a weapon to
you. So, as long as you don't call attention to yourself, the likelihood of
getting arrested is too small to worry about.

~~~
hga
Not sure, but to my knowledge they arrest first and would check on those sorts
of details later.

And yes, there is a "provision" for carrying a weapon through those cities,
the Firearms Owners Protection Act (FOPA) of 1986, but it only provides a
defense once you've been charged. You would spend weeks or months with your
life in turmoil, perhaps locked up (you're obviously a flight risk, no ties to
the community) and spending significant money for competent counsel to get the
charges eventually dismissed.

And this does frequently happen (arrests at O'Hare, La Guardia (sp?), JFK and
I think Newark), enough so that I don't see the ruse as being worth the risk.

------
jhgfgbhn
You don't even need the gun - you just need the case. We carry long lenses and
tripods in a Pelicase - the only one that fits is the gun case design.

If you buy the camoflage pattern one it is generally treated as a gun by the
airport - even if you don't declare it.

It means a trip to the luggage office at the destination to recover it from
the locked secure baggage area but thats a small price to pay for a free armed
guard.

~~~
stse
You need to declare it to be able to have your case locked.

~~~
jhgfgbhn
We just secure them with security cable ties. Any baggage handler wanting to
steal from a case is going to have a knife or a pair of cutters anyway, all a
lock does is stop a casual pickpocket.

The main problem in the US is that baggage claim is on the street side of the
airport and security is limited to a mall cop who might check your ticket tags
if he can be bothered. A nice shiny camera case going around the conveyor 10ft
from the open door is the main risk.

~~~
AngryParsley
I don't think you understand. When checking a firearm, the case must be
locked. The TSA can't open it. If they see something suspicious on the x-ray,
they call you and ask you to open it. To steal anything inside your luggage,
the thief must either break the lock or take the entire case. They'll also
have to deal with lots of officials trying to track down a stolen firearm.

------
araneae
My hack is that I don't check baggage.

For my personal item, I use a backpack. I have a nice, big L.L. Bean backpack
that fits a ton of stuff in it.

For my carry-on, I use a soft bag of the appropriate size. You might be able
to compress more stuff into the hard case rollaways, but the nice thing about
the soft bag is that it always makes it into the overhead compartment (unlike
many of the hard case suitcases I've seen.)

But I guess if you're traveling with a _lot_ of camera equipment you wouldn't
have that option.

~~~
goatforce5
You're not allowed carry-on on US domestic or flights to the US now.

~~~
tsuraan
Is that the directive in response to the guy that started his blanket on fire?
I'm pretty sure that expired December 30, 2009. Or has there been a different
change to TSA policies?

~~~
araneae
I think he's probably referring to changes on the carry-on luggage policy in
response to the Christmas bomber. I don't know why they bothered, the bomb was
in his underwear anyway.

------
YuriNiyazov
Does this qualify? - [http://www.amazon.com/G2-Full-Metal-Airsoft-
Pistol/dp/B0026E...](http://www.amazon.com/G2-Full-Metal-Airsoft-
Pistol/dp/B0026E2UW4)

~~~
leelin
How about Power Ranger Nunchucks?

[http://www.amazon.com/Power-Ranger-Nunchucks-Jungle-
Fury/dp/...](http://www.amazon.com/Power-Ranger-Nunchucks-Jungle-
Fury/dp/B001ASHY5K)

~~~
michaelneale
I boarded a plane in china once and they explicitly asked me if I had
nunchucks. They do the spiel on sharp/flammable items, but nunchucks don't fit
in an obvious category like that, so they spell it out (makes sense, but was
hilarious at the time).

------
tfh
Could you do that if you look a middle eastern?

~~~
hga
Yes.

------
something_else
[2006]

