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★★★★★ The Knog Scout Travel can track your luggage and help prevent it from getting stolen.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

The Knog Scout Travel is a tracker tag that stands out with an 85 decimal motion-sensitive alarm. Put it on your suitcase, and if someone moves it, the tag will let everyone nearby know it.

And it supports Apple’s Find My network, so the tag (and your luggage) can be tracked down almost anywhere if they go missing.

I put this travel accessory to the test. Here’s how it stood up.

Knog Scout Travel review

A luggage tag with a built-in motion-sensitive alarm adds a layer of active security that ordinary trackers simply cannot provide. While standard Bluetooth trackers can help you locate a missing bag after it disappears, an 85 dB alarm immediately draws attention the moment someone picks up or moves your luggage without permission.

You shouldn’t leave your suitcase unattended, but if you do, the Knog Scout Travel will protect it.

And if it goes missing — probably because your airline misplaced it — you can track it with the Find My app on your iPhone.

And if all that weren’t enough, the tracker tag works as a digital luggage tag. Anyone who finds the device can scan a QR code to get the contact information you choose to share, or even send you an email.

Table of contents: Knog Scout Travel review

• Right size and shape for a luggage tracker tag
• Track your luggage with Apple’s Find My
• 85dB motion-sensitive alarm: So loud
• Digital luggage tag, too
• Power and charging
• Knog Scout Travel review: Final thoughts
• Pricing

Right size and shape for a luggage tracker tag Knog included a cable in Scout Travel so you can securely attach it.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

The Knog Scout Travel does much more than Apple’s own AirTag tracker, so it’s no surprise that it’s larger. Still, at 3.4 inches by 1.3 inches by 0.4 inches (at its thickest point), it’s certainly not bulky. That’s the right size to hang on a suitcase and have it not be overlooked.

And the tracker tag is designed for just that: it comes with a sturdy loop so you can attach it to your luggage. Knog even includes two length options for the braided stainless-steel cable. And the cable is attached with a tamper-resistant clamp.

You can choose from a range of colors for the Knog Scout Travel, depending on whether you want the tag to match your bag or stand out so you can identify your black suitcase from all the nearly identical ones on the luggage carousel. My test unit is orange, but there’s also black, green, blue and yellow.

The unit earned an IP65 rating so it can easily survive getting rained on. That means it’s ready to wear on your backpack during a hiking trip.

Track your luggage with Apple’s Find My With the iPhone Find My app, you can see the Knog Scout Travel on a map.
Screenshot: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

Every traveler’s nightmare is the airline losing your luggage. With the Knog Scout Travel, you can quickly locate your suitcase with the Apple Find My app.

Apple’s Find My network is a crowdsourced location system that helps users track lost devices and accessories using hundreds of millions of Apple products around the world. Like an AirTag, Knog’s tracker tag securely broadcasts a Bluetooth signal that is anonymously detected by nearby iPhones and other Apple devices. They then relay the item’s approximate location back to the owner through the Find My app, all while using end-to-end encryption designed to protect everyone’s privacy.

So if you’re in Concourse A but your bag is in Saskatchewan, you can see that in the Find My app on your iPhone.

In my real-world testing of the Knog Scout Travel, I could get a connection to it from well over 100 feet away — so far I could barely hear its built-in chime.

I think every traveler ought to have a Find My-enabled tracker tag on their luggage, especially now that you can easily share the location of your lost tag with your airline.

85dB motion-sensitive alarm: So loud The Scout Travel boasts a speaker able to play an alarm at an ear-piercing 85db.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

If what you want is a luggage tracker, you could simply get an AirTag. But Apple’s tracker can’t do what the Knog Scout Travel can: let out a blaring alarm if someone moves your bag.

You can adjust the motion sensitivity, but I put it at the highest setting. That means if I jostle my bag, the alarm goes off. At low sensitivity, I have to move the suitcase for the alarm to activate.

And It. Is. Loud: 85 decibels. That’s about the same volume as a smoke detector. If someone messes with your luggage, people around will notice. Especially you.

I can activate/deactivate the alarm from within the Knog application. Or by pressing a button on the tracker. This second option only works if my iPhone is within a foot or so of the tag, though.

A motion-sensitive alarm does not mean you should go buy snacks and leave your suitcase behind. Still, it’s a nice extra layer of protection.

A digital luggage tag, too

The Knog Scout Travel has a QR code printed on it. When you set up the device, you enter some contact information, and that info will be shown to anyone who scans that QR code with their phone.

You can also give that person the option to anonymously email you.

This ID is a handy feature, as it makes the accessory act as a digital luggage tag, not just a tracker.

Power and charging The Scout Travel’s USB-C port is covered by a protective flap.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

According to Knog, the Scout Travel lasts a couple of months on a single charge.

It gets juiced up via a USB-C port on one edge. I like that I don’t have to swap out a battery.

Knog Scout Travel review: Final thoughts

This travel accessory combines Apple Find My tracking, an 85dB motion alarm and digital luggage tag. It both helps you locate your suitcase and prevent it from going missing in the first place.

★★★★★

Pricing

The Knog Scout Travel costs $65.99.

Knog provided Cult of Mac with a review unit for this article. See our reviews policy, and check out more in-depth reviews of Apple-related items.