I haven't wasted my money on locks since 9/11.

I use colored ties.  The same color on each bag, with a cheap pair of
wire cutters in an outside pocket.  I have a second set of ties, in a
different color, for the return trip.  Somebody would have to have the
foresight to stop off at Home Depot and spend $5.

I used to be that TSA would put their own tie on the bag, now all they
do is put a piece of paper inside that says "we rifled through your
underwear".  When I flew to Sydney last year, they lost a sandal.  And
told me tough because I didn't report it missing until I returned to
Austin, should have done it as soon as it was discovered missing. What
a waste of oxygen.

Yeah, I've *never* travelled by air with dive gear. That's why I told the OP
to get advice elsewhere. I do use zipties on bags now just so it's not so
easy for someone *other* than the people who are supposed to be opening my
bag, to open it. I don't care if they do, and I don't have a lock to replace
*when* they do.

LD.

I just declare a gun in the bag, that way, I *have* to lock the bag...

Since anything you might take with you to remove the zip tie is in the bag,
it can also make it hell to get the bag open.

Lee

I got a few nice straps to go around my Samsonite gear bags.  The bags are
tough plastic clamshells, but their latches suck as they often get knocked
open during the trip and I was afraid I'd end up in baggage claim someday
watching all my gear tumble down the conveyor belt.  The straps prevent that
from happening, plus they have an integrated luggage tag sewn on, and I've
taken somewhere around 10 trips with them without a hitch (except that
they're pretty scuffed and dirty by now).

If I had a job like that, I'd probably kick the sh.t out of bags too.  Heck,
sometimes when Janna over packs and I end up straining something lifting it
into my truck, I'll kick the sh.t out of the bag myself.  Of course TSA gets
blamed if anything breaks.

In their defense, it's not always the baggage handlers' fault.  At our local
airport, we used to have to stand around waiting for our bags to get
x-rayed.  Once, a perfectly normal Travelpro-like bag got stuck and they had
to reverse the machine to get it out.  Sure enough, the bastard ate one of
the handles.

Two more days until we head to LAX to brave the new anti-liquid laws.  I'm
leery about checking in my toiletries, but Janna does it all the time and
usually doesn't have anything broken.  She's always had to check hers in
since there's no way they'd fit in a carry-on, but my meager bag always fit
nicely scrunched in with the regs so I never had to fear getting stranded in
some uncivilized hellhole like Belize where I couldn't find contact lens
solution in any of the three stores on Ambergris Caye.  Now I have to check
it all in and can't even bring bottles of water on the plane to rehydrate
after all the alcohol consumed at the airport and midflight, so I'll end up
emerging from the plane into the hot Caribbean sun blinking my dehydrated
eyes and severely hungover.