brookwood

The last few times I have travelled to Europe, my checked luggage was opened and searched. I could easily tell it was more than a cursory inspection because everything was rearranged and well rumpled.

I would like some clue as to what there is in my luggage that runs up the red flag.
I usually have my hiking boots, hiking poles, water bottles (collapsed), socks, shirts, trousers, and maps in my checked luggage.

I do not think my finger nail clippers would prompt a dismantling.

If the luggage had been inspected once, I would attribute it to chance. Two inspections, I would say was a coincidence. After three inspections in the last 3 trips, I have decided that it is neither of the first two.

Do the hiking poles show up as suspicious?
My boots with metal shanks?

Any ideas on this? What item is causing the problem?

Tiff

<Do the hiking poles show up as suspicious?
My boots with metal shanks?>

My guess would be yes.

Regards, T.

FainaAgain

Are you a boy or a girl? If a boy, definitely your socks.

P_M

I have a ZZ Top keychain that I have learned to take out of my purse when flying. That would always get me searched.

jules4je7

Everytime I fly domestically, my bag gets the extra treatment/search when I take my ultrasonic toothbrush. At least I know now, so I'll leave it at home when I fly to London & Paris this fall.

God Bless the TSA.

Julie

brookwood

Not my socks. Not my toothbrush.
My electric razor is in my carryon.
My pocked knife is in the checked luggage,obviously.

I don't get the open luggage inspection when I go to Canada, but the hiking poles and boots are in there.

That started me thinking. What is it I am taking to Europe that I don't take to Canada. I can only think of one thing:
As a present for meeting us at the train station, I take our friend a couple of cans of honey roasted peanuts. (She likes them and cannot get them where she lives.)

Could the peanuts in a can cause a blip on the x-ray machine?

Underhill

I suspect it's the can, not the peanuts.

brookwood

The can idea is good. My wife's luggage has yet to be inspected that we know of. No tags, no rumpling of the contents.

The main differences are the hiking poles and the peanuts.

I have flown to Canada several times with the poles in my luggage and there was no inspection. That shifts the finger of suspicion to the cans of peanuts. It could be the cans.
or possibly the contents.

FainaAgain

I put a can if cashews in my luggage. When I get home the first thing will be to pull it out. I will take the nuts in a plastic bag (just need some munchies). Thank you for the warning, guys! You all are so great!

bob_brown

I think I will put the cans of honey roasted nuts in my carry on and see what happens in a couple of weeks.

nytraveler

Well - metal is the thing that shows up most obviously. So - I would assume its the poles - and perhaps the boots too - how do they know it's not some sort of disassembled rifle or other weapon.

I'm happy to know they;re looking at this all the time - I was assuming they were so incompetent they were missing everything.

Betsy

Chocolate is dense and for some reason insures that my bag will be opened every time; I've learned to carry it in my tote. Ditto for books. I usually take at least three paperbacks when I go to Europe, and have learned to spread those out in the checked luggage. The checked bag used to be opened every time, but since I started the strategies above, it hasn't been opened once.

Gavin

I doubt they would care about metal in checked bags. I often travel with a tripod in the checked bag and I have never seen any evidence that it has attracted any attention. Explosives are what they are looking for. I read somewhere that books and some foods have similar x-ray densities to explosives.