[spectrrr]

Best traveling rule of thumb: If your bag or your belongings are not physically in your hand, or strapped to you, YOU ARE NOT IN POSSESSION OF YOUR BELONGINGS, and may never be again.... Theft and disappearance while traveling is so commonplace these days that its basically guaranteed to happen if you are not very careful about what you pack and where.

Apply the same level of mistrust and suspicion to the TSA that you (hopefully) already do if you were flying internationally. Which basically means if it has resale value or usefulness value, CARRY IT ON THE PLANE.

I'm a photographer, so my carryon can get quite large. Laptop, cameras, lenses, chargers, accessories. PLUS at least one change of clothes. toiletries can be purchased, so they get checked. same with the rest of my clothes, since they are less likely to get stolen. Books and such also get checked. But generally if it has an electrical circuit, it gets carried on. Since high end cigars are equally a prime theft target, they get carried on.