Lock ideas while traveling to hotels abroad

[biggins]

Anyone have any good ideas for keeping gear secure in a hotel when traveling to sketchy places? Obviously we can’t be with our gear 24/7 and when we leave it people will have access to th room no matter how secure we think it is...

Maybe a lock system? Maybe we could share ideas to help prevent a sad vacation.

Thanks,

D

[Wetstuff]

 ' Nothing directly to add, Biggs.  But, 'Park your car where you can see it'.  A number of years ago a local Doc with wife and a coupla kids, stopped for lunch in CR. They were full - the car was empty. (just think how fast a crew could do that...).     

Oh! ...and I just heard that your Bluetooth devices send out a 'Save Me' signal when someone walks by your car with a scanning app on their phone; they can tell what the item is and judge the worth of getting caught.

Jim

[biggins]

Wetstuff, good to know on the Bluetooth. I know wallets have the protective cover for your cards but hadn’t heard about the Bluetooth.

I’ve seen/heard of a lot of things disappearing in some pretty impressive ways. I’ll be traveling so I’d like to keep my gear as long as I can.

Anyone else come up with clever ideas of locking up gear in a hotel that maybe we could all benefit from?

Thanks,

D

[VB_Foil]

There are small retractable cable locks for snowboards (dakine makes one) that could help as a minor deterrent. You could cable all the gear together to make it hard to carry. Wire snips or heavy duty scissors  would solve that problem for the thief though.

Lower the ‘crime of opportunity’ probabilities maybe.

[surfcowboy]

I have a decent system for deterrence. You’ll never prevent it all but you can make it harder and louder and so most will just move on.

I have 1/8” plastic covered cable that I got made locally. One 3’ one 6’. I have a little luggage combo lock. Whole thing is like a pound. When at the beach and grabbing a snack or something we lock chairs and gear all together near a lifeguard or cabana guy.

Also can lock a board to a car top by using a finbox insert. (Google them)

Not gonna stop a real attempt but definitely makes the next pile look easier.

Just added a small lockbox with cable to hold a phone and small bills while surfing. If I’m at a resort I lock it to the board racks near the rental stand or something like that. No one seems to mind.

Not keeping my passport there but it is good enough for replaceable items like some cash and a cc.

[biggins]

A few ideas after talking to some buddies...

https://bigwinds.com/products/wind-paddle-sup-lock#true

A SUP lock that goes in the carry handle AND a cable lock that goes through the leash attachment. Lock the board under and to the bed then put garbage around it to cover it.

For the foil and wings...hang them BETWEEN the shower curtains so they aren’t visible. Pretty clever as no one looks between shower curtains normally.

Any other ideas welcome.

Losing stuff to thieves in remote areas sucks!

D

[surfcowboy]

What do you mean between shower curtains?

Interesting. The under the bed is a solid idea for sure.

[biggins]

So most showers hav an inner and outer curtain. Use string to hang things between the two curtains and it’s very hidden. You can even leave the curtains slightly open. Apparently thieves are unlikely to look in between shower curtains...makes sense I guess.

[surfcowboy]

Got it. Actually a good idea.