Travel Safely with Anti-Theft Gear

Safety is undoubtedly a paramount concern among tourists of all classes. After all, being in a place so different and so far away from home, does raise some insecurity among most travelers, especially the less experienced ones.

The thing about tourists is that, no matter where they’re from or where they’re going to, there’s always a chance that they become easy targets for exploiters in the locality who will often assume that they are rich. The logic is: if you can afford to travel to another country, you must be loaded. While this is obviously not always the case (since many average travelers do work hard for their vacation money), this kind of thinking nonetheless puts so many at risk.

And the truth is, nothing ruins a good vacation’s vibe more than finding out that your wallet, digital camera, or some other valuable is gone. This kind of frustration results to hours of retracing steps only to come to a realization that whatever’s been lost or stolen is lost forever. Things can even get more complicated when the stuff you lose are important documents like your passport. This is where anti-theft gear comes in. For those who just don’t’ like the idea of being paranoid and hanging an entire bundle of slings around your neck and fanny packs around your waist that make you look ridiculous, making sure that the typical gear you bring with you have anti-theft features is an easier, less stressful alternative to being at peace while sight-seeing.

Pickpockets will obviously be your basic and most common enemy, so you’ll want to go for gear that have slash-proof material and have secure locks. This means you should stay away from Velcro straps and snap metal buttons – these are easy to pull up without your notice. The idea is to make it harder for thieves to open your bags without alerting you or discouraging them outright. There are also travel bags that have secret compartments that allow you to store your more valuable stuff in places where thieves won’t think to look. This will at least insure that things you cannot afford to lose will never be at risk of being stolen.

It’s also important to use travel gear that have TSA approved locks in them, as they not only ensure that your bags are returned to you when misplaced at the airport, but they are returned to you without being damaged by security searches of any kind (sometimes airports will suspect unattended baggage as security threats and will resort to ripping the bag open, but with TSA locks, they have special keys to open them).

Of course, the most important thing you should always equip yourself with is your own common sense. Don’t be stingy with your own security: invest in anti-theft equipment and make the most of security services wherever you are (i.e. hotel deposit boxes, secure baggage counters, etc.). This is all part of preparing yourself to be a smart luxury traveler, wherever you plan to go.