TikTok is known for promoting and popularizing a bunch of crazy trends and hacks. Whether it is people documenting their fathers in the airport as part of the Airport Dad trend or following a particular dress code and looking fashionable to get a free upgrade on flights, TikTok always comes with something interesting to entertain us. Lately, there has been a rise in a peculiar fashion trend at the airport that involves fishing vests.

People are opting to wear fishing vests and choosing convenience over style to skip the extra baggage fees. To those who are wondering how this surprising new hack works, people are actually making good use of the numerous pockets on the vests which can be filled to the brim with small stuff that can increase the weight of carry-on bags. A viral video posted on the platform by @cheapholidayexpert in January 2023 showed the creator fitting in a portable speaker, deodorant, pack of cards, bikini and a gym kit in the smaller pockets and then proceeding to stuff a laptop in the larger pocket at the back of the vest.

"This is the best travel hack I have ever found," another creator @witch.crafty said in a video from April 2023 where she filmed a video of herself packing extra clothes and socks for her trip after buying a fishing vest with five pockets. @natashahuntstanley was yet another TikTok user who tried out this hack and it apparently helped her avoid paying for checked bags on budget airlines and to save money while traveling via flights.

Though some people who followed this trend expressed their concerns about the airport staff reacting negatively to their vests and stopping them from boarding the flight but in the end, they did not face any major trouble. Airfare and extra baggage fees are spiking rapidly and the TikToks sharing money-saving trips on travel are gaining a lot of popularity as well. Previously, people on TikTok followed other popular travel hacks such as layering additional clothes to reduce the luggage weight and stuffing extra clothes into neck pillows as well.

Another ingenious trick was attempted by @nolimitua who posted a video of it on September 18, 2021. The video shows a woman taking an empty full-sized pillowcase and filling it with clothes to sneak onto the plane. But there are times when these clever hacks just might fail and you can end up getting humiliated at the airport. According to Insider, some of these popular hacks might not work because passengers rely on the discretion of the gate agents, who may be carrying out checks on how passengers have packed their items. "Most airlines will allow you to bring a travel pillow as part of your attire but each airline will determine if you can board carrying a standard-sized bed pillow, depending on their luggage regulations," said Naveen Dittakavi, the founder and CEO of Next Vacay, a travel service for cheap flights. Experts suggest using vacuum-sealed bags or organizing items in packing cubes to help maximize space in carry-on luggage so that additional costs for extra weight can be avoided.