The eGeeTouch Smart TSA Luggage Lock might not be something you’d think you’d find all that useful at first but the more you know about it, the more it makes sense.
Imagine this: You’ve been planning your big holiday for the last 6 months and now it’s just two days until you get on the plane to that lovely beach. You take the suitcases out and pack everything carefully. Clothes, check. Book to read, check. Tickets, check. Passports, check. Everything is shipshape and ready to go! Now it’s the day of the journey and you are in the office, whiling away your time while trying to look like you’re working. Five o’clock approaches, you pack up and set off for home for some last minute packing. Then it’s time to lock the suitcase and leave for the airport. You look for the lock. Ah, there it is, just where you placed it last year, in the corner closet. But wait, where’s the key? You look desperately in every corner as the clock ticks but you can’t find it. “Forget it”, you say, “I’ll buy one in the airport!” You rush out to the airport, buy a set of three TSA certified locks (why do they always come in 3s?) from the uppity airport shop. They’re guaranteed for 15 years and cost $24.99. You promise yourself you will keep these ones carefully for the next 15 years, knowing full well that this is the one and only trip the lock is going to take.
The eGeeTouch luggage lock will solve the problem of the mysterious missing keys! First and foremost, it is a secure and functional smart luggage lock, perhaps a little larger than the minuscule lock it replaces, but perfectly functional. The clever part is that it does not have a key in the normal sense of the word. Instead, it pairs with your smartphone (either Apple or Android) and can be unlocked with a simple tap on your phone or even your smartwatch! It does come with an electronic fob, rather like the ones that come with the push-to-start-button cars, but much smaller. It is called the eGeeTouch NFC tag, is there just in case you don’t want to use the smartphone app, and can also be unlocked with a tap of this fob.
Features of the eGeeTouch Smart TSA Luggage Lock
The eGeeTouch is a “TSA approved” format lock, which means it has a special keyhole and can be opened by the TSA in case they need to inspect your luggage in the course of their routine inspections, without having to break open the lock. It is far more secure than the the 3-digit spin wheel locks (which have a grand total of 999 different combinations), with hundreds of millions of combinations for the user-defineable IDs that unlock the lock. The IDs can be a mixture of numbers and letters, and you don’t have to remember them; the eGeeTouch app will store them in the cloud and remember them for you. In the unfortunate event that you lose your smartphone or fob, you can change the ID and set the eGeeTouch to deny access to old IDs so that the lock can no longer be opened with the lost fob or smartphone.
The eGeeTouch is powered by a pair of LR44 button cells or a single CR2032 cell (depending on the model of the lock) – these cells are easily available off the internet or in your local store. However they do not need to be changed often – one set of batteries will last for 2 years or more even if you lock and unlock it three times a day! When the battery goes low, a warning is generated by the smartphone app. In the event you are unable to change the batteries before they drain, the eGeeTouch remains locked. However you can power up the eGeeTouch using a power bank and a USB cable and then unlock it using the normal procedure – either with the paired smartphone or with the fob. The locked or unlocked status is indicated by an LED that glows red or green.
One of the best features of the eGeeTouch is that it includes a proximity sensor function. This means that when turned on, you have the option to receive an alert whenever the lock (and the luggage it locks) has gone more than a configurable distance away from you. So you can rest easy when you park your luggage in the luggage rack on the train, or near the door of the restroom in the airport – knowing that your phone will alert you if the luggage starts to move away from you! Note that when the proximity feature is turned on, it reduces the battery life. In addition, both the eGeeTouch and the fob are water resistant, with an IP-43 resistance rating, to keep them safe from random splashes of water.
The eGeeTouch travel lock is available as a single in a few different colors, or in a pack of two.
Pros
Travellers are thrilled with the ease with which the eGeeTouch lock integrates into their digital lives. The proximity feature has been praised by many buyers, as it brings “intelligent” features to their luggage without their having to splurge on a top end “smart” suitcase. The access history feature, which allows them to list the history of when the lock was locked or unlocked, provides an “audit trail” which is useful for security conscious folk. Several buyers even use the eGeeTouch on their locker at the gym instead of a travel lock and praise the fact that it can be unlocked with a tap on their smartwatch without having to fish out their phones (which is probably in the locker anyway).
Cons
A few buyers have experienced difficulty in pairing their phones with the lock, and some buyers have also complained that they are unable to get the sequence of unlocking right. A few buyers have also complained that the batteries drain too quickly and do not last the 2 years that is advertised by eGeeTouch. However, all in all, the eGeeTouch is a great buy and is the leader in the smart luggage lock marketplace. The only competition appears to be from the Dog and Bone smart travel lock.