Any reviews on Loctote or Travelon lock bags (portable safes)

[Alex*Quake]

Hi camino friends,

I am looking for any reviews or experience with portable travel safes, particularly Loctote or Travelon. With the recent spate of thefts and the fact that we will have two teens on the trip with us I want to make sure that things like their mp3 music players and our valuables (4 x passports and 4 x credentials plus money and cards) are safe at albergues and such.

Loctotes version doubles as a day pack but I am open to just a safe sack that I can wrap around a bed post or bunk railing

If you have other brand recommendaitons, I will take those too.
Thanks in advance
Alex

 

[Rebekah Scott]

don't bring anything on the camino that you can't afford to lose.

 

[Alex*Quake]

don't bring anything on the camino that you can't afford to lose.

thanks for the comment, but that isnt really possible or realistic is it...every pilgrim has to bring a passport and money of some form and they are both things I cant afford to loose...unless you've found a way to travel without papers and money, then that would be something!

 

[Tincatinker]

@Alex*Quake the advice, always, is to always keep your valuables with you, on your person, at all times. Even on a trip to the Toilets or the Showers, even in bed at night. Putting all your valuable eggs in one basket, even if it is chained to a bunk bed simply informs a thief that HERE is something worth stealing.

 

[Deleted member 73526]

There isn't a device that you can carry which will secure your property against the tools that any thief can carry. As Tinker says, some devices may even serve as beacons to thieves. Therefore, aim for security and resilience through a combination of behaviours and precautions. For example:

Examples of behaviours that make you less vulnerable **
Identify items that would be inconvenient to lose. (Documents, electronic devices, money, cards)
Keep them with you at all times
Adopt routines that keep your rucksack in sight or touch

Precautions that make you more resilient **
Take out an insurance policy
Don't bring irreplaceable items with you
Dont carry excessive cash
Set up cloud storage (or an email account) to keep:
- Images of your documents (Passport, insurance policy, etc.)
- CC numbers (but not dates or CVV numbers)
- Phone numbers of your banks and CC issuers
- Essential prescriptions

** This is not an exhaustive list. Existing threads will give you many specific examples, suggestions, and answers to "How do I keep my documents with me when I'm showering?" etc.

On the subject of what we can "afford to lose." If your passports and money are stolen, you can recover - especially if you have taken measures to be resilient.

 

[RumAndChupacabras]

Hi @Alex*Quake!

I purchased a small 'locking' purse/pouch for my first Camino 3 years ago, from PacSafe. Since then, they offer many styles and sizes to choose from. I almost always wore mine around my waist, in front, In it, I kept my cash, cell phone, passport, credential and even a lipstick, travel eye drops and travel mascara! The ONLY time it wasn't on me was when, I showered...even then, it was in a plastic bag and with me INSIDE the stall! NEVER was I without it and yes, I slept with it on.

Perhaps this method or something like it, will work for your children, no matter which brand you may purchase. BTW, I still use that same bag 3 years later, both at home and away. It's going on another Camino with me, in August.

https://www.pacsafe.com/

 

[trecile]

Travelon has a lot of different styles of anti-theft bags. I also recommend a waist or cross body bag.

Travelon Anti-Theft Bags

Anti-theft technology makes our bags safer and easy on the move. Dedicated compartments, RFID pockets, and fixed locks keep your travel essentials safe. Travelon bags pass through stringent anti-theft tests to allow you to enjoy long travel without any stress.

www.travelonbags.com

 

[Sparrow in Texas]

Another advantage of a small purse/crossbody, over say a waist bag, is that it will be worn over your shirt but under your jacket and pack. It never has to be taken off for bathroom breaks, thus eliminating the possibility that it might accidentally be left behind as has happened occasionally.

 

[C clearly]

With the recent spate of thefts and the fact that we will have two teens on the trip with us I want to make sure that things like their mp3 music players and our valuables (4 x passports and 4 x credentials plus money and cards) are safe at albergues and such.

I don't know that the theft situation is any different now than before. But phones, mp3 players, passports, money and cards should never be left unattended in an albergue or in public. Simply find the most comfortable way to carry them close to your body, such that they are always in the same place and you can easily check that they are there.

 

[Alex*Quake]

Hello all,

Thank you for the advice and ideas for keeping my things safe. I was already aware of all of the things to look out for when travelling with money,cards and passports. I have travelled before independently and practice situational awareness everywhere I go.

I was specifically looking for recommendations on the above products as an option given we are travelling as a family with kids, which in some ways makes it easier to keep things safe, but in otherways more complex, given my teens get distracted.

As a side note, I have always found that this forum to be helpful and full of great advice, however on this ocassion, though it may not have been intentional, I felt berated when all I was looking for was advice on the equiptment.

All that being said, I am grateful that every poster on my thread took the time to provide their advice and knowledge.

Buen Camino

 

[Sparrow in Texas]

@Alex*Quake I am sorry that you would feel berated since you were given solid advice by some of the most experienced and respected members of this forum.

I have never seen travel safes mentioned on the forum. If you use the search feature you may find something. Pilgrims who carry their own packs and gear are very weight conscious and generally will not carry something when a lighter weight option is available. A travel safe would be overkill. (Note: I am referring specifically to travel safes, not the PacSafe or Travelon bags). I did look at a couple portable travel safes that were nearly 2 pounds, too heavy for most of us to consider. Besides, as was mentioned, attaching something to your bunk is an advertisement that you have something worth stealing.

 

[twh]

I and many others have had great success with pacsafe products. It adds a few pounds of physical weight but releases a 100lbs of mental weight if your situation requires carrying more valuables than you want to. This will only stop a casual opportunistic thief of which there are few on the Camino.

see post #13 – products are from company called Pacsafe, search videos on youtube with product name to see demonstrations on how they work.

https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/threads/security-of-backpack-contents-overnight.60769/#post-718128

see post #37 – written before I left on Camino…I did take the 15L safe & will take it again on my next camino this fall. It adds a little physical weight but releases a 100lbs of mental weight....for me...YMMV.

https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/threads/how-did-do-you-carry-your-ipad-tablet-valuables.55107/#post-617577

 

[Sho]

I use a lot of Pacsafe products. I've read negative reviews of Travelon (specific to the straps on bags coming unsewn). I will use my Pacsafe waist bag for the Camino, and normally only take it off to sleep (when it goes in my sleep sack with me) and the shower (when it will be with me in a dry bag).

 

[trecile]

I've read negative reviews of Travelon (specific to the straps on bags coming unsewn)

I have several Travelon crossbody purses, one of which has seen me through two Caminos, and have never had any problem with the straps.

 

[Sho]

Good to know!

I do use a Pacsafe "safe" on some trips, but it's heavier than I want for the Camino.

 

[Alex*Quake]

@Alex*Quake I am sorry that you would feel berated since you were given solid advice by some of the most experienced and respected members of this forum.

I have never seen travel safes mentioned on the forum. If you use the search feature you may find something. Pilgrims who carry their own packs and gear are very weight conscious and generally will not carry something when a lighter weight option is available. A travel safe would be overkill. (Note: I am referring specifically to travel safes, not the PacSafe or Travelon bags). I did look at a couple portable travel safes that were nearly 2 pounds, too heavy for most of us to consider. Besides, as was mentioned, attaching something to your bunk is an advertisement that you have something worth stealing.

Thank you for the apology, and agree it was solid advice, but pointing out it was from experienced and respected individuals should not preclude them from considering how one might feel at being told "...dont bring anything you cant afford to loose." this was not only unhelpful, it did not answer my specific post about travel safe reviews.

I agree, packing lite is paramount so I will investigate a combination of some if the advice you provided and available light weight safekeeping products that might suit my needs.

cheers
Alex

 

[Deleted member 73526]

Nobody here berated you .... until now
[wink icon to indicate that my criticism is made with fraternal affection]

I see three complaints from you about the responses here - and the first one comes across as somewhat snarky, instead of trying to explain better what you want. You might get a better outcome from the discussion if you clarified your situation and directed people gently in the direction that meets your expectations Instead of being petulant.

FWIW, "Bring nothing that you can't afford to lose" is very valuable advice. I wish I'd taken it on board when I was a teenager on a youth hosteling trip with a gold chain and Novena medallion from a mother that I'd never met. It was stolen. I had nothing else of hers. The insurance payout didn't come close to consoling me.

 

[peregrina2000]

Hi, Alex,
I think you may have misinterpreted some of the comments here, which may in part be because many of us have never heard of Pacsafe, Loctote or Travelon. I have walked 20 caminos and have never had anything stolen, but have always done what Rebekah and Tinca recommend — I carry valuables in a small pouch and take that with me everywhere I go.

It sounds like you want to bring along valuable things that won’t fit in a small pouch. That’s the point at which the advice about not bringing along anything that you can’t afford to lose kicks in. For many of us, one of the most wonderfully freeing aspects of the camino is that you realize how so many of our posessions are really a burden. Being worried enough about losing things to have to figure out ways to lock them up sounds like a bothersome distraction from what I so enjoy about the camino.

I know that most forum members try to limit their responses to answering the questions asked, but it is inevitable that our opinions will creep in, as they have here. But I don’t see anything in the thread that is disrespectful or insulting and think you have gotten the advice you sought as well as some that you didn’t. Buen camino, Laurie

 

[Felice]

Hi Alex, not sure if you're still around or not....

A couple of thoughts on keeping stuff safe, or rather, mp3 players safe at night. You do realise that albergue dorms are pretty noisy places to sleep, don't you? I find that I have no trouble going to sleep at night - a glass of wine with the meal, then ram the ear plugs well in and put the eye shades on, and I am oblivious to all the goings on for the next few hours. But come the morning, (well, predawn) at 4.30 or so, when the plastic bag rustlers get going, people are moving around and talking in stage whispers, well, my earplugs have fallen out sufficiently that I am disturbed and cannot get back to sleep. Last time I walked, I found that listening to something on my phone, one earplug rammed back in and the noise cancelling earbud in the upper ear, I soon went back to sleep for another hour or so. What I'm trying to say is, it might not be a good idea to prevent your kids from having their mp3 players overnight. They might be just what is needed to enable them to get back to sleep again when they are disturbed.

Also, you say that your teenage kids get distracted. The camino teaches us many lessons, so maybe it will teach your kids not to get distracted and to look after their possessions better. Tell them that they are walking through rural Spain, and the possibility of replacing anything lost would have to wait several days for a bigger city. That will give them an incentive to take care. Over night, get them to put the device under their pillow. It should be safe enough.

Incidentally, are you talking about fancy mp3 players or a shiny cool phone or something much older and less expensive? There's so much expensive tech on show on the camino that no one would bother to pinch something old fashioned and not ultra new.

One last point. In the UK, it is illegal for young people under 18 to share a dorm with adults over 18. I know it's not the same in Spain, and I'm sure there has been a thread about this on here sometime back, but I seem to recall that some albergues do not accept under 18s. It's their right to choose, so when you call up to reserve (as I imagine you will as you need 4 beds) make sure you mention the fact. Your kids might not look like kids, but their passport, which you are always asked for when booking in, will tell otherwise.