I am Lorraine Quisenberry. I am 63, I have been a travel agent for 26 years, and I have packed a carry-on more times than I can count. For most of that time my hotel room check was simple. Lock the deadbolt. Hook the chain. Look at the peephole. Tell myself it was fine. Then a client mentioned a hotel room where the door did not latch properly. She was not hurt. Nothing happened. But the sentence stayed with me. I bought the Addalock Original Portable Door Lock about two and a half years ago, and since I bought the Samsonite it has lived in the zip pocket inside that bag.
The Addalock is a one-piece stainless steel door latch lock for inside use. It measures 5.8 by 3.5 by 0.7 inches and weighs 4.2 ounces. It is not a replacement for the locks a hotel already has. It is one more layer I can see and feel before I turn out the light. I use it on doors that open inward into the room, which is what most hotel rooms have. If a door does not suit it, I leave it in the bag. That is the honest version. Here are ten reasons it has earned its place.
The 4.2-Ounce Door Check I Do Not Travel Without
The Addalock Original is the one-piece latch lock I keep in my carry-on. It adds a layer to an inward-opening door, and it takes up very little room in the bag.
Amazon Check Today's Price on Amazon →It gives an inward-opening door a layer I can see and feel
Most hotel doors already have a deadbolt and a chain. I use both. The Addalock is a third check, and it is the one that makes me slow down. I set it in place, close the door, and give it a gentle pull. If something is not right, I know before I unpack. That small pause is worth more to me than any gadget that promises to do everything. It does one job, and it does it in the room I am standing in.
It fits in the zip pocket I already use
My Samsonite has a small zip pocket inside the front panel. The Addalock lives there. At 5.8 by 3.5 by 0.7 inches, it does not crowd out my charger or my reading glasses. At 4.2 ounces, I stop noticing it by the second day. I like gear that has a home. When something has a home, I do not have to remember it. I just reach into the same pocket on every trip.
It turns my bedtime routine into three quiet minutes
I am not a person who enjoys lying awake listening to hotel hallway noise. My routine is simple. I lock the deadbolt. I hook the chain. I set the Addalock. I say a quiet prayer, and I get into bed. The routine does not take long. The point is not fear. The point is that I have done what I can do, and then I can stop thinking about it. That is the peace of mind I am after.
It works on the doors I actually meet
I use the Addalock on inside doors that open inward. Most hotel rooms I stay in are built that way. When I get a door that opens outward or does not fit the lock, I do not force it. I put it back in the pocket and use the hotel's locks. I would rather tell you the limit than pretend it solves every door. For the rooms that suit it, it is a steady little piece of stainless steel. For the ones that do not, it is just 4.2 ounces riding along.
It weighs less than the paperback I used to carry
I used to bring a paperback for the plane and then leave it in the seat pocket. The Addalock weighs 4.2 ounces, and it earns its keep on every hotel night. I am not going to tell you it disappears in the bag, because it does not. I can feel it when I pick up the carry-on. But I have never once wished I had left it home. That is a fair trade for me.
It gives Walt and me one shared check without a debate
Walt is 65 and retired. He is a good traveler, but he has his own way of checking a room. I have mine. The Addalock gives us a simple shared step. He watches the door. I set the lock. One of us gives the door a pull. Then we both stop. It is not a big production. It is just a small routine that keeps us from asking each other the same question twice.
It lets me advise clients without scaring them
After 26 years as a travel agent, I have learned that fear is a poor packing list. I do not tell clients that every hotel is dangerous. I tell them what I do. I lock the deadbolt. I use the chain. I carry one small door latch lock for an inward-opening door. Then I let it go. The Addalock is the one I use, so it is the one I mention. It is a practical suggestion, not a warning.
It stays with the bag, so I do not forget it
The Addalock has lived in the same zip pocket ever since I got the Samsonite. I do not unpack it when I get home. I do not move it to a drawer. It stays with the Samsonite, which means it is already packed when I start thinking about the next trip. I have enough things to remember. The lock is not one of them.
It makes a rental house or a spare room feel more like mine
The Addalock is sold for travel and home security, and I have used it in more than hotels. I have used it in a rental house. Same routine. Same small check. I like that it is one piece and that it is made of stainless steel. I am not handy. I do not want to read a manual at 10 p.m. after a long day. I want to set it and go to bed.
It is one piece, so there is nothing to assemble or lose
The Addalock is a one-piece latch lock. There are no straps, no batteries, no loose parts, and no app to open. I know that sounds plain, and plain is what I want in a hotel room. I have enough chargers and cords in my bag. I do not need another device that blinks at me. I want a simple piece of stainless steel that does its job and goes back in the pocket.
What I'd Skip
I would skip a door stop alarm for my own bag. I have never owned one, and I am judging from listings and from what clients tell me. For some travelers, an alarm is a good fit. For me, it is another battery to test and another thing to remember. I would also skip anything that needs tools or a permanent install. The Addalock is one piece of stainless steel, and that is the limit of what I want to manage at the end of a travel day. If a door opens outward, I skip the lock too. I use what fits.
Two and a half years. Every hotel night. One 4.2-ounce piece of stainless steel in the zip pocket of my carry-on.
One Small Check Before Bed, One Less Thing to Carry in Your Head
The Addalock Original is the one-piece door latch lock I use on inward-opening doors. It measures 5.8 by 3.5 by 0.7 inches and weighs 4.2 ounces. If you want a simple layer of security that stays with your bag, this is the one I would look at.
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