When you're travelling, losing your luggage is high on the list of things that you want to try and avoid at all costs! A wonderful holiday can be thwarted instantly by the loss of those essential items, so Mountain Warehouse have compiled some handy tips on how to avoid this most terrible of pitfalls and ensure the safety of both you and your belongings as you traverse the globe! When you're on your way: Use a durable identification tag with a durable strap on each and every bag. The best tags have a cover hiding your name to protect your own privacy. In fact, use your business address and phone number whenever possible. Durable usually means hard plastic, leather, or even metal. Paper tags can easily be ripped off and removed. Placing your home address as well as the address of where you will be staying can be a handy deterrent for thieves and can make sure that your luggage doesn't get mixed up with anybody else's. Include your identification information inside your bag and luggage, just in case the outer tag is lost. Place a travel itinerary in an outside pocket or inside your bag on the top so airlines can easily track you down no matter where you are. Put a colourful marking on your bag to easily identify it belongs to you. You can even mark your initials in big letters so no one else will take it from the luggage carousel. Take a digital photo of the bag to show to the baggage agent should it be misplaced. Remove your old baggage tags to avoid confusion among baggage-handlers. Always try to make sure your bags are ticketed and marked correctly before you leave the luggage check-in center. It's easy to forget steps like this in the excitement of leaving the country, but they may just save you some serious issues further down the line! Be sure to complete the lost-luggage reports at the airport you arrived at. Never leave without your claim number and up to date contact information so you can check the status of your missing bags easily. Create a written list that includes every item in each bag and leave a copy at home in case you need to claim compensation. Carry all breakables and valuables in your carry-on luggage. This will mean even if your checked in luggage goes missing the journey can still continue - you may just need to buy some new clothes! Whilst you're there: Keep your luggage strapped down and secure with one of our Bungee cords, which is ingeniously designed to keep your belongings safe and secure whilst you concentrate on having fun. For keeping sleeping mats and bags strapped to rucksacks, our Arno straps will come in handy; made of strong webbing, they are ideal for campers or backpackers wanting to ensure that all their bits and pieces are kept together when their on the go. To keep zips locked together, our Brass Padlock is the ideal choice; strong, resilient and hard to crack, it will keep even the sneakiest of hands at bay. Fasten all the compartments on your rucksack or holdall; don't make it easier for thieves by leaving pockets unzipped and compartments loose. A bag like our Puma rucksack is great in that it has lots of pockets for storing all your bits and pieces, but it can be difficult to keep track of where you're storing everything; make it a general rule not to put any valuables in outside compartments, and zip your outside pockets up when you're on the go.