Soft sided luggage is my choice for carry on travel. The lack of hardware means that it is by far the lightest luggage available. The softness of the bag makes it flexible and easy to stuff into a smaller space. Unfortunately, soft sides also create a security vulnerability. A thief can manipulate the soft sides and the zippers to gain access to the bag’s contents. Fortunately, an inexpensive and easy fix is available to prevent this from happening. It takes about 15 minutes of your time to add a locking security ring to your bag.
This soft sided travel pack has locking zippers. It looks secure against theft.
A thief accesses the bag by moving the zippers to the outside corner of the bag. This gives plenty of room for the zippers to slide. The thief pulls the corners apart and unzips part of the bag. The thief now has free access to the contents. The thief can do this even when the bag has specialized locking zippers.
A thief moves the zippers to an outside corner and pulls up the corners apart. The contents of the luggage are exposed even through the zippers remain locked.
The solution to this problem is actually rather easy. Locking the zipper slides to an anchor at one end of the zipper track prevents the zippers from moving. The sides can’t be pulled apart if the zippers can’t move away from the anchor. The anchor is usually a small ring near the end of the zipper track. Some bags (eBags) come with a security ring. Don’t worry if your bag doesn’t have a ring. It only takes a few minutes and a minimal amount of materials to install one yourself.
Project Time: 15 minutesMaterials List:
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Step 1
The first step is selecting an appropriately sized security ring. The ring needs to be large enough to anchor the zippers, but small enough so that the zippers can’t move once they are locked to the ring. A ring that is 1 to 1-1/2 inches (2.5 – 3 cm) in diameter works on my bag. Use a solid ring (not split) so a thief can’t work the ring open. I found my ring at a craft store. It was one half of a necklace toggle clasp.
The toggle rings from this necklace kit make great security anchors.
The ring is solid so a thief can’t work it open.
Step 2
Find a place to install the security ring near the base of the zipper. I decided that the rain flap is a good attachment point for my ring. The material is soft and I can easily sew a ring on to it.
The rain flap for the zipper provides a perfect place to anchor the security ring.
Step 3
Using an overhand stitch, attach the ring to the rain flap.
A simple overhand stitch is used to attach the ring to the rain flap.
The ring fully attached to the rain flap.
The stitching for the security ring is barely visible on the outside of the zipper rain flap.
Step 3
Lock the zippers to the security ring.
The zippers are locked to the security ring. They aren’t going to move.
That’s it! An investment of just a few dollars and a few minutes ensures that your luggage is safer.
Lady Light Travel 
Great idea! I also travel with a soft bag, and will be doing the same. Thanks for sharing!
they can still take a ball point pen to the zipper on the bag and open it a total voer the page mesh lock for travelers and hikers is best or a pellican travel solid case with comercial grade locks on it.
I’ve already replied to similar comments in this discussion. The point is not to make the bag theft-proof, but to discourage petty theft by increasing the chance of getting caught. The thief can’t heal the zipper if one end is anchored. That increases the chance of getting caught.
There are multiple requirements for a carry on bag. It must be light weight and packable in addition to discouraging theft. At 12 pounds (5.4 kg) empty the Pelican bag is ridiculously heavy and cumbersome, which violates the requirements. A mesh net is slightly lighter but still overkill.
You are focusing on one requirement while ignoring all others.
Thank you for this posting — another wonderful idea from your arsenal of travel tips. I’ve used your ideas for securing the zips on my shoulder bag and feel much more secure when out and about at home or abroad. Now, I’ll be using this one for my hand carry bag as well.
I’m glad that these posts are helping. There’s almost always a light weight solution to the security problem.
The thief can still use a pen to separate the zippers if I’m not mistaken.
Absolutely true. But the zippers are locked to the anchors. This means that the thief can’t “heal” the breach by sliding the zippers back and forth over the pulled apart zipper. It then is obvious that your bag has become a target – just as obvious as if the thief had taken a knife to it.
There’s no way to stop a determined thief. But the anchor makes it harder to breach as the thief needs a tool to pierce the zipper. In addition, it’s impossible to cover the theft up.
The important thing is to make your bag harder to get into than the one sitting next to it. Thieves look for the easy (quick) option. Doing this makes it a bit harder to crack and the thief is more likely to move on.
I love this idea but the weak point is the thread that the ring is secured onto the bag with. If you simply slice the stitches the additional security aspect disappears. Maybe consider sewing the ring on with thin metal wire.
That’s only partly true. If you look at the pictures you’ll see that the attachment point is buried deep on the inside of the zipper rain flap. When the locks are attached they block access to the security ring attachment point.
Of course you could cut through it all, but a determined thief will just slash through the bag anyway.
The goal is not to make things bomb-proof. To do that would make the bag so heavy that it is useless for light travel. The goal is to make things inconvenient enough that the thief will feel that they may get caught (thereby leaving the bag alone).
It is a deterrent, not a prevention.
If the thief had a knife or scissors to cut the threads, he could also cut the bag itself and all bets are off. It’s after all, a soft bag.
That’s true, and I believe I already admitted that in previous comments. The lock is a deterrent, not a prevention. With the right tools anyone can get into any suitcase. But it would be very noticeable if someone strong armed their way into a bag. As stated previously, the goal is to prevent casual (opportunistic) theft, not aggressive theft. Casual theft is **much** more prevalent.
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Don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying your advise sucks. I was just replying to the person above who said a thief could cut the stitches with a knife. If the thief had a knife, no amount of locking or sewing will protect a soft bag.
Your advice to make your bag slightly harder to get into is sound. Thieves go for the easiest and fastest target. Every second’s delay is an extra second they could get caught. Even slowing them down by a few seconds might be enough to deter them.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying your advise sucks. I was just replying to the person above who said a thief could cut the stitches with a knife. If the thief had a knife, no amount of locking or sewing will protect a soft bag, so it’s not really a valid concern.
Your advice to make your bag slightly harder to get into is sound. Thieves go for the easiest and fastest target. Every second’s delay is an extra second they could get caught. Even slowing them down by a few seconds might be enough to deter them.
Even easier: just run the shackle of the lock through a hole pierced through the rain flap near the end.
If you really want to be fancy, you might even be able to put a grommet in the hole…
Is there any way to use a safety pin to secure the lock?
Safety pins can be opened. That’s not very secure. A zip tie might be a better choice.
How would you use a zip tie?
You would have to thread it through the zipper locks and then the security ring. You have to cut the zip ties off after every use to gain access to the contents. That’s why I prefer a combination luggage lock. Far more secure, and no key to lose.
A thief can hack open the zippers simple by puncturing it with a pen or pencil
Yes, and it will immediately be noticed as stated in previous comments in this thread. They can also cut into the bag with a knife or scissors.
The goal is deterrence, not full out prevention. Prevention would required a heavy hard sided case anchored to the furniture. That’s not light travel. Deterrence is focused on making something more difficult and therefore not worth the effort.
It’s all about risk analysis. The goal is not to eliminate the probability but significantly reduce it with simple and cost effective methods.
This is a great idea!!! Thank you!