My Travel Bag - Travelon Anti-Theft Travel Bag

Once we decided on Europe for our honeymoon I started shopping, shopping, and more shopping for various clothes and items that we needed to get ready for our two week adventure. I needed clothes anyway (someone has been enjoying too many sweets these days!) so this was a good excuse opportunity for a mini shopping spree! One of the more difficult things to purchase though was a purse to use while traveling. After reading online how prevalent theft is throughout Paris (and any city really) I wanted to protect my stuff as much as possible while we do our touristy stuff.

Let me say, there were SO many options online. So picking a bag would be easy, right? Wrong! I had a hard time finding actual reviews and photographs of the bags to see what they were really like for use. Plus, they were hard to find in stores! I finally settled on the THE Travelon Anti-Theft Bag from Amazon.

It has really good anti-theft features yet it was still fashionable enough that I felt like it doesn't scream "I'm a Tourist!" It can be worn as a shoulder bag or a crossbody and it's big enough to hold the essentials that I'm planning to bring with us. Because we're traveling I obviously won't bring ALL of my stuff. I'm thinking just my cards, passport, phone, umbrella, map, water bottle, and camera.

Speaking of water bottles, it has a nifty zipper pocket on the side that can stow water bottles up to 1 liter. They might be a bit too large but if you really wanted to you could definitely do it. And if you don't need to pack a water bottle you could use this pocket for an umbrella.

There are four main security features in this bag. First, the strap has a wire sewn into it that makes the strap slash-resistant. People can't cut through your strap and take your bag. Second, the whole body of the bag has a metal mesh under the fabric. This means that even if someone were to cut your bag, all of your stuff would stay inside. Third, each zipper pull clasps to the bag. This makes it more noticeable if someone were to attempt to get in your bag without you noticing.

There are three compartments in the bag. Two regular compartments and one compartment for your to store your wallet type items. The first pocket is perfect for a map, umbrella, sunglasses, or maybe even a small tablet (super small).

The middle compartment is for your cards, cash, and passport. I will use it to replace a wallet. Added bonus though -- the card slots are RFID protected.  There is also a pen holder, zippered pocket, and two other pockets for cash.

The last pocket is the largest and I'm happy to say this will definitely be large enough to fit my camera. Possibly even a second lense, too! We'll see.

 And the final seurity feature that I really like? The strap that you can lengthen to wear as a shoulder strap or crossbody bag has a locking clasp. Why is this secure? Because rather than throw your back on the chair next to you so someone can stroll by, grab it, and run away, you can wrap the bag around an immobile object (chair, armrest, table leg, etc).

Overall, I think this will be a great addition to my purse collection and will very well while we're traveling. I know that buying a secure bag might be a bit "overkill" but I like having the piece of mind that I have secured my belongings as well as I could. I'll let you know how it works out after our honeymoon!