Keeping Your Camera And Valuables Safe While Traveling: Pacsafe Travelsafe
Imagine this: You’re traveling and want to go to the beach. You’ve never been there before so you don’t know if it will be crowded or if you will be able to leave your phone, money and other valuables safely on the beach when you go for a swim. Even if you’re not alone, it would be nice to not always have to leave someone behind to watch over everybody’s belongings, right?
And what about staying in hotel rooms without a safe, taking night trains or buses when backpacking around the world, staying in dorm rooms...?
A travel safe, really?
Wouldn’t it be great to have some piece of travel gear to solve that problem? And the thing is, it’s not just about keeping your valuables and money safe, it’s about peace of mind and enjoying that swim without looking over your shoulder all the time. Priceless in my opinion. Solution? The Pacsafe Travelsafe 12L locked to a bench, (sun) bed, pipe or even a tree!
Jump to: Sizes and models
Keeping your valuables and camera safe while traveling
Ok, I was sceptic at first too when I read about the Pacsafe Travelsafe. I was looking for something to keep my camera and valuables safe in different situations and the internet gave me... the portable Pacsafe travel safe.
The Pacsafe travel safe is a metal mesh lined bag with a cable lock. It comes in different sizes and it's durable and waterproof yet soft on the inside. The idea is to put your valuables in there and lock it to a large or immovable object to keep opportunistic thieves from grabbing your stuff.
Here's our Travelsafe 12L locked to a metal bed frame.
Of course, it won’t stop the professionals with the bolt cutters but that’s not why you should have this. It's to avoid people who see a quick score from stealing your stuff. Those opportunistic thieves that quickly grab anything they can. Won't happen with this portable safe!
Avoid your belongings from getting stolen
Why not put your stuff in a backpack and lock it? Sure, that might be a good solution but a backpack can be easily stolen too. The metal mesh also prevents the travelsafe from being cut open. A good option, though, to protect a big backpack might be a Pacsafe mesh backpack and bag protector.
Here’s a few other situations where we've used the Travelsafe 12L to keep my camera, our phones, laptop, money, iPad and passports safe:
Our Pacsafe locked to the bars of a window hidden behind the curtain.
Shady hotels, hostels or guesthouses
We've always managed to avoid spending the night in a shady place but it has happened that we ended up in a place where we didn't feel like leaving my camera laying around in the room when, for example, going out to eat. Now, no thief ever broke into our room but we felt much more relaxed when going out knowing that my camera, our extra money and our passports where safely locked in the Pacsafe travel safe.
The Pacsafe travel safe on night trains
I probably don't need to explain this. When taking crowded (night) trains it's just common sense to lock your valuables. Especially if you want to get some sleep!
Day trips with an opportunity for a swim
Who wants to look over their shoulder all the time in a place like this?
We put the Travelsafe inside a regular backpack and if we want to go for a swim we chain it to a bench, tree or other object. We used it when we went to Kuang Si Waterfalls in Luang Prabang. No more looking over our shoulders!
Keeping your belongings safe at the beach
Most beaches have some trees or sun beds available. These are perfect to lock the Pacsafe Travelsafe to and enjoy a day at the beach. Usually we throw a towel or T-shirt over it and we go swimming without even have to think about our stuff being safe when we're swimming.
The Pacsafe Travelsafe 12L and backpacking
Ok, the Travelsafe 12L is not tiny. It’s about the size of a daypack but when flattened out it easily fits in our backpack and almost doesn’t take any space. We travel carry-on only!
The Pacsafe travel safe fits flat in our backpack and almost doesn't take any space...
I think this portable safe is perfect for backpackers. Because sometimes we end up in accommodations where it doesn't feel completely safe and especially when you're a solo backpacker there's no one to look after your stuff when you want to take a swim!
What do you think? Is this something you would consider using?
What fits in the Pacsafe Travelsafe? - Sizes and models.
Pacsafe Travelsafe 5L
Will fit a small laptop, some flat items and a small point and shoot camera.
Pacsafe Travelsafe 12L
This is the one we have. It fits a laptop, DSLR camera and various other items like an external HD, passports, extra lenses. It even fits my big and bulky Pentax 645z!
Pacsafe Travelsafe X25
The largest version comes with backpack straps and will fit even more.
Pacsafe C25 stealth
A special model that fits around a small camera bag.
Pacsafe Backpack Protector
A metal mesh to protect a backpack or (camera) bag. Different sizes.
Transparency! Woot, woot! We didn't get paid by Pacsafe for this article; we just love our safe. There are affiliate links in this article, though. This means that if you buy anything, we’ll earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Your support is highly appreciated and keeps the site going!