November 16th, 2006 by Pia Taylor
We’ve given quite a few away as travel quiz prizes, but this month for the very first time we had the chance to try out the Pacsafe Stashsafe for ourselves.
The Stashsafe is the secure hip pack for travellers, produced by travel security fundis, Pacsafe.
Like all Pacsafe products, the Stashsafe is fitted with plenty of anti-theft goodies to make sure people with long fingers don’t try to snatch your precious belongings right off your body.
At first glance the Stashsafe looks similar to most hip packs, and serves pretty much the same function (to stash the goodies you want close to hand when travelling), but hidden in the strap that secures the bag to your body are two stainless steel cords that make all the difference in the world.
These cords are what will keep people with sharp knives and bad intentions from expertly brushing past and separating you and your bag (never mind all the cash and travel documents you’re likely to keep in it) in the blink of an eye.
They also mean you can, if need be, safely attach the pack to any secure fixture if, say, you’re seized by the sudden urge to take a quick dip, or are staying in a nudist camp in Croatia (and would like to fit in), or any other perfectly good reasons you might have for wanting to take your kit off.
The Stashsafe has two main zippered compartments, each with well-proportioned pockets for everything you might need to stash there: passport, credit cards, cash, coins, love letters, the phone number from that backpacker you met in… you get the picture.
The layout of the inner pockets is well designed, so that there are enough to keep the things in them well organised, but not too many (this is a pet peeve of mine, so bear with me) as to become confusing and chaotic.
Plus, several of them are mesh pockets, so that you can see what’s in there – once again, minimizing confusion.
As you can see here, the zippers of the two main compartments can be locked securely to a steel ring, along with the steel cords, alongside the concealed belt buckle (a padlock comes with the pack).
Brilliant, I thought, but what happens if you’re on a train, or boarding a plane, and you want to get at your tickets, or passports without having to haul out a key and go through the unlocking procedure?
Well, they’ve thought of that too. Right at the back of the Stashsafe (ie the bit that’s directly in contact with your body) is a pocket that’s not connected to the whole locking system.
So, you put what you know you’ll need in there (it’s large enough to accommodate a passport plus tickets and some cash), and lock up the rest. Simple!
You can also, of course, choose to keep one or both of the main compartments unlocked, and just lock the pack itself to your body. It’s up to you.
So, all in all, I think the Pacsafe Stashsafe is a fantastic product for all travellers, and especially backpackers. Why? Because it’s safe, it’s compact, and it fits snugly to the body.
And because it’s durable: it’s made of quality, slashproof material (breathable at the back, where it touches the body) that is likely to go the distance.
The one downside? If you lose the key whilst you’re attached to the thing, you’re going to find out (the hard way) just how secure this pack really is. So, separate your keys (they give you three), in case any of them gets lost.
The Stashsafe sells for US$34.99 (recommended price) and is available from a number of online retailers.
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