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Vent: My $15 hostel locker in Prague broke with my passport inside last Tuesday.
I had to get the night manager to find a crowbar, which took 45 minutes and almost made me miss my 6 AM bus to Vienna, so what's your go-to move for securing stuff when cheap gear fails?
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sandraf982mo ago
That zip tie trick from max_torres44 sounds clever, but honestly, how often does a locker fully break? I've stayed in dozens of hostels and the worst I've seen is a wobbly door. I just put my passport in a zipped pocket inside my day bag and keep that with me, even in the shower. It feels like overkill to carry hardware for a problem that's pretty rare.
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kim.jake25d ago
Did you have a backup bag or backpack you could stash stuff in temporarily? I had a similar thing happen in Bangkok where the hostel locker jammed with my phone charger and some cash inside. After that, I started keeping my passport and one credit card in a thin zippered pouch tucked inside my pillowcase when I sleep. For the day, I stuff the pouch in my underwear waistband under my shirt. It's not comfortable but it beats losing your documents. Also, I always take a photo of my passport and hostel receipt on my phone just in case. The zip tie trick sounds good but you need to make sure you have a tool to cut it off when you need to leave in a hurry.
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max_torres442mo ago
Always pack a few heavy-duty zip ties in your bag (the big ones mechanics use). You can thread one through the locker's latch as a backup lock, or even use it to jury-rig a broken hinge shut. It's saved me a couple times when a locker looked sketchy.
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