The Best Luggage Straps
Two published figures decide a strap: whether it has a lock you want, and whether its circumference fits your case. The second one catches people buying for a large suitcase.
We have not tested this gear. Every figure here is compiled from published manufacturer specifications and published airline policies, and the arithmetic is public so you can check it. This page contains affiliate links — see the affiliate disclosure.
The Travelon Luggage Strap, at a published $11.00, fitting a 39–73 in circumference. A strap does two real jobs — it holds a case shut if a zipper or latch fails, and it makes a black suitcase findable on the belt. It is not security: the locking Samsonite strap uses a Travel Sentry lock, which screeners open by design.
Travelon’s published figures read 11 September 2026; Samsonite’s page redirected, so its figures are its published product information as surfaced. Circumference arithmetic is ours. We have not tested these straps.
| # | Product | Published weight | Fits | Score | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Travelon Luggage StrapOverstuffed checked bags and identical black suitcases | 0.26 lb | Not published | 0.0 | Check price on Amazon#ad How we earn |
| 2 | Samsonite 3-Dial Travel Sentry Combination Luggage StrapA strap that screeners can open without cutting | 0.1 lb | Not published | 0.0 | Check price on Amazon#ad How we earn |
| 3 | Master Lock 4688D TSA-Accepted Combination Luggage LockZipper pulls on a soft case, where a rigid shackle will not reach | Not published | Not published | 0.0 | Check price on Amazon#ad How we earn |
No live price is currently verified, so every button here reads Check price on Amazon rather than a number we cannot stand behind. See how we handle prices.
The two jobs a strap does
- A failsafe for the closure. A zipper that splits on an overpacked case, or a latch that pops, empties a bag across a baggage hall. A strap around the middle holds it together long enough to reach you.
- Identification. Most checked suitcases are black and many are the same model. A distinctive strap is the fastest way to spot yours and the simplest way to stop someone else taking it by mistake.
What a strap does not do is keep anyone out. A strap can be cut in a second, and a locking strap uses the same openable-by-design lock as any TSA-accepted padlock. Why TSA locks are openable on purpose.
The two straps, as published
| Travelon Luggage Strap | Samsonite 3-Dial Travel Sentry Strap | |
|---|---|---|
| Published price | $11.00 | $20.00 |
| Published length / fit | 39–73 in circumference | Up to 72 in |
| Published width | 2.5 in | Not published |
| Published weight | 0.26 lb | 0.1 lb |
| Lock | None published | 3-dial Travel Sentry combination |
| Material | Polyester and plastic | Polypropylene with an ABS buckle |
One oddity worth noting: the locking Samsonite publishes 0.1 lb and the plain Travelon 0.26 lb. We report the numbers as published; the difference is well under a quarter of a pound either way.
It only goes around a large case the short way
Here is the arithmetic nobody does before buying. A strap’s published length is a circumference, and the circumference of a suitcase depends on which way round you go.
| Case (published size) | Around the long way | Around the short way | Fits a 73 in strap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carry-on, 22 × 14 × 9 in | 62 in | 46 in | Either way |
| American Tourister Moonlight 28, 30 × 19.5 × 12.5 in | 85 in | 64 in | Short way only |
| Samsonite Winfield 3 DLX 28, 30.5 × 20.5 × 13.25 in | 87.5 in | 67.5 in | Short way only |
So on a large checked case, a strap of this length goes around the middle — the short way — and cannot go around the long way. That is still the right place for a failsafe, because it crosses the zipper track on both sides. It is worth knowing if you had planned to strap a case end to end. Large hard cases.
The lock question
If you want a lock on a checked bag, a lock on the zipper pulls does that job at least as well as a strap, and a zipper lock is what screeners expect to open. The Master Lock 4688D is recognized as a TSA-accepted lock in a published 29 countries. Its con: Master Lock publishes no price or warranty term on the page compiled.
Combine the two if you like — a plain strap for identification and failsafe, a zipper lock for the deterrent. That covers everything a locking strap does for less money. Protecting a checked bag.
The picks
- Travelon Luggage Strap — the pick. $11.00, a published 39–73 in fit, 2.5 in wide. Its con: no lock, no warranty term, and on a large case it only fits the short way.
- Samsonite 3-Dial Travel Sentry Strap — if you want the lock built in. 0.1 lb and up to 72 in published. Its con: $20, and its lock is openable by design.
- Master Lock 4688D — the lock, without the strap. Its con: no published price or warranty term.
Every pick, with the working
Each entry below shows the published inputs, the four axis scores they produce, and what you give up. The order is the computed order, not a commercial one.
1 · Overstuffed checked bags and identical black suitcases
Travelon Luggage Strap
$11 for a strap that holds a failing zipper shut and makes the bag findable on a belt - the two jobs a strap actually does, and a lock is not one of them.
- Published size
- Not published
- Weight
- 0.26 lb
- Capacity
- Not published
- Weight per liter
- Not published
- Cost per covered year
- Not published
- Published list price
- $11
Warranty No warranty term published on the product page
Fits No published dimensions to check.
What it does well
- $11.00 published, the cheapest security product on this site
- Published fit for a 39-73 in circumference
- Holds a case shut if a zipper or latch fails
What you give up
- No lock published, so it deters nothing
- 0.26 lb published, more than the locking Samsonite strap
- No warranty term published
The arithmetic behind the score
- Value not scored — No published warranty term or capacity to divide the price by.
- Airline-fit breadth not scored — No published dimensions to check against carrier limits.
- Carry efficiency not scored — No published capacity, so weight per liter cannot be computed.
- Warranty & support 0.0/10 — no published term (0 of 6); no published repair route (+0); airline damage not covered (+0)
Weights and breakpoints are published on how we rank. Where an input is not published, that axis is dropped and the remaining weights are re-normalized.
Specs: Travelon published specifications and price, compiled 3 September 2026.
2 · A strap that screeners can open without cutting
Samsonite 3-Dial Travel Sentry Combination Luggage Strap
Skip this one. Skip it if what you want is identification and a failsafe for a tired zipper. At a published $20 it costs nearly twice the plain strap, and what the extra buys is a Travel Sentry lock - which screeners open by design, so it deters casual opening and secures nothing. The $11 strap does the two jobs a strap is actually good at.
A Travel Sentry lock on a strap - openable by screeners by design, so it is a deterrent and an identifier, not security.
- Published size
- Not published
- Weight
- 0.1 lb
- Capacity
- Not published
- Weight per liter
- Not published
- Cost per covered year
- Not published
- Published list price
- $20
Warranty No warranty term read from a manufacturer page
Fits No published dimensions to check.
What it does well
- Travel Sentry 3-dial combination lock, so screeners open it rather than cut it
- Up to 72 in, published
- 0.1 lb published
What you give up
- $20 published, nearly twice the plain Travelon
- A Travel Sentry lock is openable by design - it deters, it does not secure
- No warranty term read from a manufacturer page
The arithmetic behind the score
- Value not scored — No published warranty term or capacity to divide the price by.
- Airline-fit breadth not scored — No published dimensions to check against carrier limits.
- Carry efficiency not scored — No published capacity, so weight per liter cannot be computed.
- Warranty & support 0.0/10 — no published term (0 of 6); no published repair route (+0); airline damage not covered (+0)
Weights and breakpoints are published on how we rank. Where an input is not published, that axis is dropped and the remaining weights are re-normalized.
Specs: Samsonite published product information, compiled 3 September 2026.
3 · Zipper pulls on a soft case, where a rigid shackle will not reach
Master Lock 4688D TSA-Accepted Combination Luggage Lock
A set-your-own three-digit combination and a braided cable shackle, recognized as a TSA-accepted lock in a published 29 countries — which is the only specification that decides whether a screener cuts it off.
- Published size
- Not published
- Weight
- Not published
- Capacity
- Not published
- Weight per liter
- Not published
- Cost per covered year
- Not published
- Published list price
- Not published
Warranty No warranty term published on the product page
Fits No published dimensions to check.
What it does well
- TSA-accepted in a published 29 countries, so a screener opens and relocks rather than cutting
- Flexible braided steel shackle reaches zipper pulls a rigid shackle cannot
- Set-your-own combination means nothing to lose in a hotel room
What you give up
- No warranty term published on the product page
- No published price, so cost per covered year cannot be computed
- A TSA lock is by design openable with a master key — it deters, it does not secure
The arithmetic behind the score
- Value not scored — No manufacturer-published price, so this axis is not scored.
- Airline-fit breadth not scored — No published dimensions to check against carrier limits.
- Carry efficiency not scored — No published capacity, so weight per liter cannot be computed.
- Warranty & support 0.0/10 — no published term (0 of 6); no published repair route (+0); airline damage not covered (+0)
Weights and breakpoints are published on how we rank. Where an input is not published, that axis is dropped and the remaining weights are re-normalized.
Specs: Master Lock published specifications, compiled 3 September 2026. Master Lock publishes component dimensions rather than a bounding box: a 1 3/16 in (30 mm) wide body with a 1/8 in (3 mm) diameter, 1-1/2 in (38 mm) long flexible braided steel shackle. Master Lock publishes no list price for the 4688D on its own product page. The Value axis is not scored for this lock.
No live price is currently verified, so every button here reads Check price on Amazon rather than a number we cannot stand behind. See how we handle prices.