Charging cables (ie - phones, camera battery, DS, etc) -- safe in checked bag?

[mom2mikel]

We have many charger/cords that we will be bringing for our cell phones, portable DVD players, camera battery charger and Nintendo DS. Do I need to keep these in my carry luggage or would they be safe in my checked bags? In the past, I think I've left them in my checked bags, but now I'm wondering if that isn't the smartest thing to do..

Any input?

Thanks!!

 

[Brian Noble]

The charging cables are pretty low-value targets. I usually pack all my accessories in carry-on, but this is probably an acceptable risk.

 

[ironz]

I travel a lot and sometimes put my charging cables in checked suitcase, but usually do not. The one that will ALWAYS go in my carryon with me is the phone charger.

And...this is not just in case of theft...it is also a precaution against a lost or (more likely) delayed bag.

 

[maxiesmom]

I travel a lot and sometimes put my charging cables in checked suitcase, but usually do not. The one that will ALWAYS go in my carryon with me is the phone charger.

And...this is not just in case of theft...it is also a precaution against a lost or (more likely) delayed bag.[/QUOTE

Me too. My chargers go into the checked bag, except for my phone charger. I learned that lesson flying home from Orlando, when my flight was delayed 6 hours, and my phone died.

 

[goofy4tink]

My chargers stay with me...I would be lost if they went missing in a lost bag. Better I lose my clothes than my chargers!!

 

[MouseyMin]

I agree with what the above posters have said. However, another reason I do not put the power cords and chargers in my checked luggage is that I don't want to tempt a thief. If he/she sees a charger, he/she may be more inclined to rifle through my checked bags looking for the phone, camera, laptop, etc.

 

[safetymom]

I always take my cords and chargers in my carry on. I have had a bag check quite a few times because they weren't sure what was in the bag. I was in Chicago once when a very bad storm passed over the airport, tornado's in the area. I could have been very rich if I had wanted to sell my charger or power cords. Many folks had packed theirs in their luggage and batteries were dying all around me.

 

[WillCAD]

I actually go the other way; I pack the cell charger, extension cord, and power strip in my checked bag. My camera chargers and laptop cables go in my carryon along with the camera gear and laptop.

I figure that I can make a single cell battery last about 7-8 days if I turn it off at night and don't talk much, but I need the chargers for my camera every day, and the cord for my laptop every night to download my pics.

Absolute worst-case scenario - if my cell charger gets lost and the battery dies, I can still call whomever I need on the phone in my room or a public phone.

 

[Brian Noble]

...or ask your concierge to track one down for you. I don't know if Disney concierges do this, but a "real" hotel will no problem.

 

[Maddle]

Whatever you do with the rest of your cables and chargers - pack your cell phone charger in the carry-on. The one time you really need to make a phone call will be the one time your phone mysteriously runs out of juice, and your checked bags are not with you - either the bags are misrouted or you are delayed in a connecting airport, or some other travel horror story.

I don't think chargers are a high risk for theft.
Maddle

 

[bumbershoot]

Absolute worst-case scenario - if my cell charger gets lost and the battery dies, I can still call whomever I need on the phone in my room or a public phone.

Oh gosh, I'd be able to call my husband and that's IT! As soon as I became a full user of a cellphone, I dumped all phone numbers from my brain. I should make an effort, I know I should, but the only number I know is hubby's, and he'd likely be with me, so that wouldn't accomplish much!


I pack all chargers in carry-on. The smaller ones go into ziplocks then into a zippered mesh bag, so if the xray people want to go looking for it, it's all together and they can just pick it up and take it out of the bag.

Only time my luggage has been confusing, though, since '01, was based on my strangely shaped Rio MP3 player...things are all ipod shaped now, and the Rio is not, and they had to search through my purse 3 times before they would finally pay attention to my pointing (not touching) finger and pull it out of the pocket it was in.

 

[safetymom]

I carried all my cables in carryon because I needed them for work. No excuses to say they were lost in my luggage.

 

[Tara]

I always pack chargers in my carryon. However, I keep chargers for both my husband's phone and my iPhone in our Owner's Locker, along with a charger for my camera battery (which is a tiny brick that plugs right into the outlet, no cord). That said, here's what I do for us. I make sure DH's phone is fully charged. It doesn't get used much at all since it's a very, very basic phone (he isn't allowed to have a smart phone or even one with a camera due to security where he works). I pack my laptop, my laptop charger and a tiny, retractable USB-to-iPhone cable. (Yes, under $3.50 each! Don't let the price fool you - these are awesome.) I also pack my Brookstone iPhone backup battery after it's fully charged, too. That way anything can run off my laptop at the airport or hotel and if I need charge for my iPhone on the plane, I can use the laptop or the battery extender. And the battery extender comes with a small power cable that plugs into the wall or into the laptop via USB, so I can charge directly from the wall if I need to.

Finally, the other item I almost always travel with is this Belkin 3 outlet, 2 USB Travel Surge Protector. If you are in the airport and it's crowded or flights are delayed, this can come in handy on the hunt for a free outlet, and gives you a little bargaining power if you find no outlets free, too.

(Sorry, I know this wasn't a thread about travel electronics, but when I got started, I couldn't help myself! )

I don't really worry about cables in my luggage - I don't pack anything of real value in there, so if someone saw cables and got interested, they'd be disappointed to find just a mixture of 3 people's clothes and some sunscreen!