Anti-theft bags

What anti-theft bags are

They look like ordinary bags. Reader’s Digest notes that the safety features are built in and hard to spot from the outside.

• Cut-resistant body: Mesh or slash-resistant panels under the fabric stop a blade from opening the side or bottom of the bag.
• Cable in the strap: Steel cable or Dyneema fiber runs through the strap, so it cannot be cut in one stroke and pulled away.
• Locking zippers: Zipper pulls clip or lock together, so a hand in a crowd cannot slide them open.
• RFID-blocking pockets: Lined pockets keep contactless cards and chipped passports from being read while inside.
• Lockdown strap: A hook or anchor strap wraps around a chair leg or post, so the bag cannot be lifted off a table.
• Who makes them: Pacsafe, Travelon, Baggallini and Arden Cove are the names the 2025–2026 tests keep returning to.

How they work

Each feature slows one kind of theft. Travelon groups five of them into what it calls a 5-point anti-theft system: slash-resistant body, locking compartments, RFID blocking, lockdown straps and slash-resistant straps.

• Mesh under the shell: Pacsafe’s eXomesh is a stainless-steel wire mesh built into the body fabric and strap.
• Fiber in the strap: Pacsafe’s GO strap uses Dyneema, an ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene fiber also used in cut-resistant gloves.
• Clips and docks: On the GO, a dock lock holds the zipper pulls; squeezing its sides releases them.
• Hooks that lock: Pacsafe’s TurnNLock hook closes the strap around a fixed object; Travelon uses a lockdown strap.
• Shielded pockets: Contactless cards and passports use 13.56 MHz chips, which a metal-lined pocket shields easily.
• Card range: Travelon says a card or passport must be within touching distance of a reader to be read.

Types

• Classic crossbody: A flat, upright bag worn shoulder to hip, like Travelon’s Classic Crossbody.
• Messenger: A wider crossbody with outside pockets; the shape comes from couriers’ bags.
• Compact crossbody: About 2.5 liters for phone, wallet and passport, like the Pacsafe GO.
• Convertible: Expands, or switches between crossbody, shoulder bag and waist pack, like Pacsafe’s CX.
• Sling: Worn across the back or chest; Reader’s Digest found its Pacsafe sling easiest to open from one side.
• Anti-theft purse: A dressier bag with locking clasps and a metal-hooked strap, like Arden Cove’s Crissy.

What to look for

• Wire in the strap: The Points Guy advises a strap with wire threaded through it and a steel mesh liner in the body.
• Mesh all around: Reader’s Digest dropped a crossbody whose cut-proof mesh was not sewn all the way around the bottom.
• Locks that hold: The Points Guy found Pacsafe’s locking zippers harder to unfasten than Travelon’s clip-style pulls.
• RFID where it counts: Check for RFID slots for cards and a pocket that fits your passport.
• Weight first: Reader’s Digest puts weight first in its buying advice; a tester felt a 5.5-pound load dig in at the neck.
• Water resistance: Pacsafe rates the GO’s shell at 1,000 mm water resistance; most others say water-repellent.
• Hardware: Metal hooks with a screw lock keep a detachable strap from being unclipped.

On the plane and on the trip

• Security screening: TSA asks you to take electronics larger than a phone out of carry-on bags; the bag goes through the X-ray.
• RFID wallets at TSA: Travelon says an RFID-blocking wallet left in your pocket will set off the screening; put it through the X-ray.
• A personal item: American Airlines lets a purse or small bag fly as a personal item if it fits under the seat, up to 18 × 14 × 8 inches.
• Wear it in front: Pickpockets use crowds squeezing through doorways, as at train doors; swing the bag to your chest before boarding.
• Lock it at the table: At a café, run the anchor strap around a chair leg instead of hanging the bag on the seat back.
• Passport chips: U.S. passports have carried an RFID chip since 2006; a thin metal mesh in the cover shields it when closed.
• Split your money: Travel Fashion Girl advises never carrying all your cash and cards while sightseeing.

Limits and care

• Not theft-proof: Reader’s Digest’s box cutter got through the lining and first layers of some bags it otherwise rated well.
• Use the locks: Pack Hacker found the Pacsafe GO secure only when its locking features are used correctly.
• Strap comfort: Testers found some cable straps narrow or scratchy; one twisted on its swivel hook.
• Not waterproof: Water beaded off Travelon’s messenger in testing, but its zippers let water in from the top.
• RFID in context: Wikipedia notes conflicting views on how well thin shielding works; results depend on the chip’s frequency.
• Warranty: Pacsafe gives a limited 5-year warranty on its bags.

A short history

In the 17th century pickpockets were called cutpurses. Purses then hung outside clothing, and a thief could cut them free.

• 1998: Two Australians set up Pacsafe in Hong Kong after seeing bags wrapped in chicken wire in South America; the first product is the eXomesh 85L cage.
• 1999: The Pacsafe 85L wins Backpacker magazine’s Editor’s Choice award.
• 2005: Pacsafe locks become compatible with the Travel Sentry standard used by airport security.
• 2006: Pacsafe adds the Citysafe line of women’s bags; new U.S. passports start carrying RFID chips.
• 2010: Pacsafe’s RFIDsafe 50 is honored at the Outdoor Industry Award.
• June 2026: Reader’s Digest takes a box cutter to 15 anti-theft bags; 11 make its list.