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A guide to security belts
and pouches
You might end up carrying a
lot of important documents, as well as money.
This list gives some hints on how to carry them.
Remember to carry these things in two or more
locations. Unless everything gets stolen, this
way you'll have some extra money and papers that
will make it easier to replace what was stolen,
not to mention that some extra money can make it
possible for you to continue your travels while
waiting for new travelers cheques or documents.
When making purchases, be modest. Don't flash
large amounts of cash. The wallet of a westerner
can tempt people in poor countries to commit
murder! Please remember this!
What are the various
types of devices used by travelers to secure
their property?
There are several types of these devices and
each one has pros and cons. Remember the main
reason for these products is to keep your
property from falling victim to the best
pickpockets and sneak thieves. The devices are
designed to keep your money hidden, and in some
cases to help you keep you money if you fall
victim to a street robbery.
Travelers who purchase
these products fall into one of several
categories.
The
casual international traveler
This is the person who is
traveling for the one to two week trip. They
usually travel to major metropolitan
international city or a well know tourist
location. These travelers tend to stay in hotels
and take tours. The majority of the time they
are only concerned about security their property
from pickpockets that they might come in contact
with while shopping or walking down the street.
These travelers usually are not out late at
night and tend not to go to locations that might
be visited by questionable characters.
High
school or college student
This is the person who is
backpacking his or her way across a country,
countries or continent. They tend to be younger,
stay out late at night seeing the local
nightlife, visiting clubs and bars, and
sometimes gets lost thereby ending up walking
down the wrong street at night, and possibly
coming in contact with questionable charters.
Most of the time a backpackers trip will be
without incident, but staying in hostels,
sleeping while on the road, in train stations
and on trains can be risky business. I cannot
tell you the amount of students and regular
travelers who have gone “in country” who
have shared with met their repeated tails of
victimolgy of having their money stolen while on
the road.
Adventurous
type
This is the person who
travels to the far corners of the world seeking
the true experience of foreign travel. They
travel the road less traveled and really get to
see what a country is really like. The majority
of the time this does not pose a problem.
Unfortunately, these travelers end up in third
world countries where they watch they are
wearing on their wrist could be the equivalent
of a local residents yearly earnings. This
traveler has a higher chance of coming in
contact with bandits or desperate and hungry
locals who might take the chance to physically
rob (force or fear) you of your property. Here
are the majority of devices used by travelers
Neck
/ Shoulder Security Pouch
 These
come in two styles, shoulder and neck
styles. Neck pouches seem to get many
complaints, but then again I have heard from
many travelers who swear by them. This device
hangs under your clothes from around your neck
or shoulder. It may take a while to whip out
when needed, depending on dress. One common
thread is that it seems that travelers seem to
purchase these items more than others.
Depending on what you are
wearing , the strap that goes around your neck
can be seen being worn by some travelers. One of
the main complaint I have heard on these pouches
is that they are great for men. They are
designed to be worn flat against your chest. If
you are a large chested woman, this pouch might
stand out a little more making it obvious that
you are wearing a money pouch around your neck.
One of the common solutions to this problem is
to wear the pouch around your neck but hung down
on your side
Here are some items to
consider with a neck/shoulder security
pouch:
- It can become pretty
uncomfortable to wear when it's hot, and
many times it can be obvious you are wearing
one depending on the type and color of
blouse or shirt you are wearing, again
making it very obvious you are a tourist.
With women the problem is that these pouches
are designed to hang on a flat chest. You
can, however, wear them horizontally below
your chest area and above your waist. Some
travelers have found out that the ink used
on airline ticket smears greatly after a
couple of months in the pouch. Putting them
in a small plastic bag inside the pouch
keeps out the moisture.
- When considering the
purchase of a neck pouch, think about one in
a tan or beige color. A black one can
sometimes be easily seen if you are wearing
light colored clothing. Some travelers
wear these items on their side, like a
holster, slung around one shoulder. This way
it's more discrete, no matter how large your
chest is if you are a woman.
- One major problem is when
you go to retrieve an item from the
pouch. If you are wearing it when you
go to dinner at a nice restaurant, you will
have to excuse yourself to the restroom in
order to unbutton your shirt to retrieve
your money or credit cards. This may
not be a problem if you are a student and
back packing your way across Europe.
- If a thief recognizes the
pouch or can see the strap around your neck
( they are not that hard to recognize) the
strap can be easily cut from behind by a
skilled pickpocket. A way to help
avoid this would be to sew a piece of piano
wire into the strap make it more durable in
case it was cut from a snatch and run
thief. It might be painful but in
general the thief should take off running if
he or she did not get it the first
time.
- The best type of neck pouch to wear is one that has a wire woven in the rear strap. That way your property can be better protected from snatch and run thieves. To obtain more informaton on this type of security pouch, click here.
Waist
Type
 This
is one of the most popular. Typically about ten
inches long and four inches wide with a strap
which goes around your waist. It has a zipper
with one or two compartments, weighs about two
ounces (57 grams), and costs anywhere form $5 to
$20.00. It can be worn either tightly
against the stomach with your shirt or blouse
covering it, or dropped loosely into the pants.
This is ok, but it is recommended to wear it
with your shirt or blouse tucked in.
Items to consider:
- The belt can cause
discomfort during a long hot trip.
Generally the complaints I have heard
revolved around the belt rubbing / friction
against the travelers skin. generally
travelers will adapt to the belt over time,
just make sure it is not crammed full of
items and can be easily noticed by a thief.
- If you wear your shirt
un-tucked, it can be very easily for a
professional pickpocket to bump into you on
a train platform raise your shirt, cut the
rear strap and flee with the belt in a
matter of seconds. Make this device hard to
get to. (see security fanny pack below).
- Be careful of skilled
pickpockets / snatch and run thieves, who
have identified your belt, distract you with
other accomplices and cut the strap from the
rear.
Hidden
Pocket Wallet
 About
half the size of the waist type. It hangs inside
your pants from your belt or belt loop. It is
made out of nylon, cotton or leather, has one or
two zippered compartments. It is very easy to
whip out when needed and does not draw a lot of
attention if you have to get to it to pay for a
meal. Most of these times are small, just large
enough to hold your passport, money, and a very
small pack of airline tickets. I would recommend
you purchase one of these devices that match the
general color of the belt you will be wearing
most of the time. If you are wearing white
shorts and a white belt, the black belt loop of
the money wallet would stand out like a sore
thumb. Usually the wallet is available in black
or tan.
Leg
Type
 This
device straps around your calf, just above the
ankle. These are used by some travelers in
bandit areas (this doesn't apply to 99.99% of
us) since it remains hidden if a bandit forces
you to drop your pants to display your waist
money belt. I have also heard a few stories of
travelers who have lost their leg wallet when
they were running through the airport to catch a
plane. The pouch straps came undone, slipped off
the travelers leg and was not discovered until
he was on the plane. I have seen three designs
of leg pouches. The one I don't like the most is
one that is held in place by two Velcro straps.
Depending on the manufacture and the quality of
the Velcro material, this can easily become
loose if you have to run to a train or bus.
Another type is one that is a solid piece of
elastic material that slips around your foot and
is held in place like a sock. I happen to like
this one better that the other. Again I have
seen several styles out there some just have
slits in the sock sleeve where you stuff your
money and passport and is held in place by
pressure and the tightness of the slits. I would
not purchase this type. The one that I recommend
in the leg types have actual zippers to secure
your possessions. If cost is a factor, you could
make your own leg pouch by placing valuables
inside an Ace bandage wrapped around your leg.
Item to consider:
I met a traveler a few
months ago that told me he had one of these and
he was running through the airport to
catch a flight when it came of. He
did not notice it until he was on his flight and
it was never seen again. The type he had
was the one with the Velcro
straps.
Belt
Type
 A
real hold-up-your-pants belt with a zippered
compartment on the inside. It has about
twenty-four inches (60 centimeters) of zippered
area, about one inch (2.54 centimeters) wide. It
comfortably stores a dozen currency notes. This
can be used to provide extra insurance. I have
seen three types of material that these belts
are made of, cloth fabric, army web type
material, and leather. Many of these are made to
a universal length and is cut to fit each
traveler. Less practical for women. The kind you
wear under your clothes is inaccessible if
you're wearing a dress.
Security Fanny-Packs
 Many
travelers use fanny packs, or sometimes called
waist packs but unfortunately criminals know
that waist packs are “where the money is”
and they are not as nearly secure as a money
belt. These packs have become very popular over
the last few years but the criminals have found
them very prosperous too. The packs are great
from the travelers point of view. They hold a
nice camera, wallet, passport, room key
everything in one place. The professional thief
like it that way. I have heard many stories of
travelers who had these packs while standing on
train/subway platforms. The thief has a friend
standing on each side of you to block the view
of others standing around. You have no idea
these people are crooks. They look just like
others waiting for the train. the main crook is
standing behind you with a small pair of
scissors concealed in his hand. When the train
arrives and the doors open, everyone is pushing
to get inside when the crook behind you cuts the
strap of your fanny pak from behind. You are
being pushed inside by the other two crooks and
never feel it drop into the crooks hands.
Thanks to an ingenious inventor, a pak was made
to avoid this type of fate. The fanny pak has a
steel  braided
cable sewn into the back strap so it cant be
cut.
The front pouch of the pack can't be easily
opened either because it has a special clip
that takes two hand to open. I used this
pak in Spain where my wife and I were chosen by
three gypsy women who attempted to get their
hands in my fanny pack but were not
successful. Imagine me, Mr. Travel Safety,
getting targeted by a pickpocket. This just goes
to show you it can happen to anyone. For more inforation about security waist packs go to:https://www.corporatetravelsafety.com/Security%20Waist%20Packs.htm
Waterproof
Fanny Packs
When we go to the beach in a
foreign country (or even locally here in the
states) have you ever felt uneasy with where to
put your wallet, car keys, passport. You
would be amazed with the amount of theft that
occur to travelers at beaches and even hotel
pools. Several devices have been made to
allow you tow swim with your valuables with
waterproof packs. They cost between
from $10 to $30 dollars.
Inside
Sewn Security Pocket
For a few dollars, tailors
in any part of the world will sew a small
compartment inside your clothing.
Generally the idea is good but if you were to
look at the size of the documents you would be
carrying, the pouch would have to be awfully
large. In reality, the pouch is great for
stashing your money. Just make sure the
compartment is sewn in a location that cannot be
easily accessed by a good pickpocket. To
insure this, I recommend that the compartment at
least be zippered or
buttoned Some travelers
to exotic locations that have had a problems
with bandits wear cotton underwear in which they
have made makeshift pockets sewn on the outside
to store emergency cash. but then again if
you are going to a place like that, I wish you
good luck.
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