Traveling can be really rough, especially on your baggage. Everything is tossed around on conveyor belts, into planes, off of trains and set on the ground for you to collect. You want to make sure that the luggage tag you place on your baggage stays there for the entire duration so that you can identify which bags are yours.

There are all sorts of things that people but on their luggage to try and set them apart from everyone else’s, but many are just not very effective.

Leather luggage tags are sturdy, elegant and serve their purpose. To prove our point, we have listed five different products that are available for identifying luggage and you can be the decider of which ones are the better choices for travelers.

1. Deluxe Leather Luggage Tag with Privacy Flap. This leather tag is made of genuine leather so you get the sophisticated look that matches your personality while keeping your private information private until you absolutely need to reveal who the luggage belongs to. You can choose tan or black leather so that it coordinates with your luggage. There’s a buckle on the luggage tag, so you know that it isn’t going to conveniently break or rip off no matter how rough the travel line handles your bag.
2. Colored duct tape. We’re not even sure who came up with this first, but you see it in airports and train stations around the globe. You take all sorts of colored duct tape to wrap your luggage, make shapes, lines and anything else. You can then take it another step forward and write your name in black permanent marker across the names. It is not very attractive and when you peel it off, your beautiful luggage is now covered in adhesive marks that you cannot take off.
3. Snap Luggage tags. Top grain leather tags keep all of your personal information hidden with a snap and the buckle keeps the tag affixed to your luggage until you’re ready to take it off. It takes time to take the buckle off, which means you don’t have to worry about anyone taking it off when you’re not with it and misplacing any of your belongings.
4. The Big Size Luggage Tag. These oversized luggage tags provide you with a range of colors so that you can choose the brightest color you want to help you identify which luggage is yours as it’s going around the luggage carousel. More importantly, a large lobster claw clasp holds onto the luggage so you don’t have to worry about it coming off.
5. Plastic luggage tags. These are very cheap and you may even be able to find them for free from different companies because they put their logo on one side and you can slide your personal information into the other side. These are usually affixed with a plastic rope loop and the tag itself is made of acrylic. The acrylic can crack and break if the luggage handlers aren’t gentle and the plastic loop can be broken off with a forceful yank.

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Anytime you step out of the country you call home, you are going to be carrying with you your passport and other legal documents that contain your legal identity. These are possibly the most important things you pack as you are going to need them to enter a new country and return back to your own. You would not think twice about purchasing luggage to protect your things, so why would you think twice about looking at leather passport cases to protect your identity?

This purchase is especially important for people who are planning to study abroad / internationally as the amount of paperwork they will need to carry along with their passport is immense, and even more pertinent to their success in a new land. It is very hard for a visitor to prove her identity in a country that does not house the identification records of international students. You will need your passport and documents to even begin establishing an identity and record of your residency in a new country, so you should not have to think twice before looking at leather passport cases.

Leather passport cases are a good idea because most are finished / fine leather; therefore, your passport is protected from the possible weather elements you may face and is durable to the rough handling it may experience at customs. There is a stigma that customs is a very rough obstacle to go through when entering or reentering a country, and this stigma is not over exaggerated.

Customs is a very serious matter, and if you have leather passport cases they will see that you respect the value of your documents and thus their jobs meaning you may be treated a little better. If you are not, at least you will be able to move through the area quicker and smoother because you have everything organized within your case and can find the right documents easily.

There are many leather passport cases out there, but one thing you may consider is having your initials embossed on the cover in the leather. Usually, the personalization will not cost much more than the original costs of leather passport cases, and it is an added safety and possibly the reason why you will get your documents returned if through some circumstance you lose your passport and papers. There are some decent people who will make sure that it is returned safely to you if you give them the information they will need to do so.