Pacsafe :: Anti-Theft Travel Gear

Pacsafe – Anti-Theft Travel Gear

It’s a sad fact that no matter how safe you think your bag is, there’s going to be a flaw that someone is going to know how to take advantage of. Even if you try and cover all your bases, accidents still happen. Enter Pacsafe, a bag company trying to look out for the security of your belongings…

During Christmas 2008, I was travelling through Canada and lost my wallet within the first week of being away (thru no fault but my own). The next day after I calmed down from my initial freak out I saw it was a good option buying a wallet with a chain on it to make sure I didn’t have a relapse of poor decisions.

Wallets are one thing, but bags are another story. When people are looking for a new pack, they are not really looking at the security aspects of the bag, generally focusing on aesthetics instead. The general consensus is that if it on your back/side/hip, its safe. Sorry, but unfortunately it is not always the case.

Like most good lessons, I learned about these guys from my mother, who is traveling to Spain and France in the coming weeks. She was told stories by friends that have been about “gypsies” stealing your bags by cutting the straps, slashing the underside and emptying the contents. Or just straight up snatching it from your foot at a cafe. She did some research and discovered the Pacsafe site.

The catalog has a wide range of products from 140 litre adventure backpacks, duffel bags, urban backpacks, commuter shoulder bags, purses and generally travel locks and accessories.

The materials and construction used is somewhat unique in that the bags are primarily designed to be tamper proof – meaning that people trying to cut, rip, snatch and just open your bag will be having a hard time trying to explain to you what they’re doing when you turn around to see them fumbling around with your bag.

To give you an example, my mother purchased a Slingsafe 200, a small size shoulder bag that uses the main security features that you find across the range of products. The front of the main body is constructed with their patented exomesh material which is two layers of nylon with stainless steel wire mesh in between them to resist against slashing.

The strap has the same stainless steel wire running the length of the strap on both edges to protect against cutting the bag of your shoulder. Just be sure to wear it across your body and not sling it over a shoulder and let it hang, mum. The strap has a clip at one end so the bag can be secured by the strap around a chair arm or table leg while you are at a cafe. The clip is recessed into the back of the bag also to make it difficult to undo while you are on the move.

The front flap is secured by an elastic loop and hook. This sounds like a poor design point but it is placed in a way that will make it aggravating to try and get into on the sly. The zip to the first component lines up with the hook when closed, making it a task to open when the flap is closed.

The zip for the main component is located on top of the bag, slightly recessed so the zip tag is hidden when the flip is closed. Inside is nothing mind blowing to the bag world: key loop, phone holder, zipped organiser pocket and hole for a set of headphones for your mp3 player. The back also features a velcro patch closed drop pocket that the area of the back panel.

To the casual viewer there is nothing fancy or eye catching about this bag (because discreet = good when traveling).

Even with all the extra features to help you come home after a vacation without a tale of woe of losing your wallet, have you bag snatched or getting pick pocketed, common sense will always prevail. It is great that Pacsafe have this products available to help give people the peace of mind they are after when it comes travel security but remember that the product is only as secure as the person using it.

Travel safe, Travel smart.

Article by Craig Johnson