This anti-theft tech bag stopped a pickpocketer in real time – how it works

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I’ve traveled quite a bit over the years, and on the whole it’s been very drama-free. But I’m also aware that losing a smartphone, wallet, or passport can end a trip, or at the very least add stress and hassle on top of your plans. 

This is why I take precautions. I AirTag pretty much everything that can be tagged (using the range of AirTag  accessories from the fantastic Elevation Lab), I wear clothing that not only has a lot of pockets, but ones that are secured with zips, and I keep valuables out of sight as much as possible. This last one means I like to put things like my iPad, power banks, and charger into a bag. 

Also: I slipped this stealthy $15 tracker into my favorite jacket – now it’s an everyday essential

My choice of bag nowadays is a sling bag, and based on my recent experiences, they don’t get any better than the anti-theft bags made by Pacsafe. 

Pacsafe has a range of bags, but my bag of choice is the crossbody Vibe 325, with a 10 liter/610 cubic inch capacity, and enough room for a 13-inch laptop or tablet (my 13-inch iPad Pro with its Magic Keyboard cover fits perfectly). 

There is also a smaller Vibe 150, which is a quarter of the size of the Vibe 325 if you don’t want to carry a laptop or tablet. It has two main compartments, and inside those have smaller zipped and velcroed compartments to help organize your stuff. There’s even an RFID safe pocket for bank cards and passports. 

The sling bag has a single shoulder strap that allows the bag to be carried crossbody on the front or back, depending on your preference and situation. I find it to be super comfortable in ether orientation, but I prefer to wear it on my front when I can. This allows me to wear another backpack, interact with the contents of the bag itself, and it lets me sit down while wearing it. 

The outer fabric of the bag is highly durable and water repellent. But the reason I first became interested in Pacsafe was when I saw their marketing mentioning the cut and slash proofing. This got my attention because I’ve come across a lot of bags that claim to be cut proof, but ended up failing my own tests.

So I bought two, and I took a variety of ungentlemanly tools and implements to the second bag to test it. I found that the webbing has two steel wires running along its length, while the bag itself has a mesh of steel — called eXomesh — protecting the contents. 

This gives the bag the highest degree of cut protection I’ve come across for a travel bag. A knife will cut the fabric, but is stopped by the wire, and while I was able to cut the wire with snips, even that wasn’t easy because the fabric blocked them. 

On the subject of losing your stuff when traveling, I did some reading and found that the most common way people lose things is by leaving them behind in restaurants, airports, train stations, and cabs. This is why my bag is fitted with an AirTag in the Elevation Lab TagVault. 

The other way people lose stuff when their travel is being mugged (my advice is to hand over your stuff in this situation, as nothing is worth dying for), pickpocketing, and bags being snatched. 

Also: This portable power bank is irreplaceable for me, and it has less to do with the capacity

I’m confident in saying that no one is cutting their way into this bag, especially the furtive way that pickpockets do it with razor blades. On top of that, the crossbody design makes the bag hard to snatch off someone, especially when snugged up. 

When it comes to pickpockets, the bag has more defenses than the anti-cut mesh. The zip pulls can be clipped together, there’s a locking bar that adds a second layer of defense, and you can also lock them together using a travel padlock. Of course, none of this can’t be bypassed, but it adds hurdles in the way of a thief. 

The strap also has a buckle that allows it to be undone and attached to a heavy object such as a table or railings (don’t use something like a chair leg that can easily be lifted). The buckle is not easy to undo, will add precious seconds to any thief’s thieving, and can be locked with a small padlock. 

Again, more layers of defense that make you a poor choice of victim. Just don’t forget your bag! My top tip to prevent this is to carry a small carabiner (a proper carabiner, not those cheap ones that break apart!) on your belt look, and attach it to your bag any time you put it down. 

Also: Why a case is no longer enough for my iPhone when traveling – here’s what I use instead

So, are you wondering if it works? I was in Madrid at a train station earlier this month, and it was packed because it was a holy holiday weekend. The platforms were especially busy, and I was wearing the bag on my back because I was in a hurry. 

I felt someone press into me — a giveaway of a pickpocket as they’re trying to make it feel accidental while hiding movement from manipulating zips and latches. I felt little tugs, and I turned 180 degrees to face the person. They immediately knew the game was up and speedily weaved their way out through the crowd. 

No real drama or danger, but that bag had my passport (which also has a finder tag built into the cover), wallet, my electronics, and some of my spare cash (I had more hidden in a money belt. And yes, I still use one. It’s a custom design with some special features, but the closest commercially available one would be something like this. 

Basically, losing any of that would have been a big headache. And as it turned out, the bag had my back too, protecting me from the entire ordeal.

ZDNET’s buying advice

For $94 (the price is currently reduced from $130), the Pacsafe Vibe 325 is very well priced. The smaller Vibe 125 is $78, and Pacsafe also has for $70 (currently reduced from $100) the Metrosafe X sling bag for smaller tablets, and a hip bag for $70 (reduced from $90), all featuring the same security features such as eXomesh and lockable zipper tags.