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Pacsafe
Backpacker
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Price:
£38.00
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Weight: 567 grammes (including wallet
thing and padlock)
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Features:
Non-corrosive stainless steel wire, stainless steel joining
clips, hardened shackle padlock and three keys, variable
tension adjustment on locking, facility to lock pack to
solid objects,
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Super chicken wire security solution
Do you really need this?
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On the face of it, the Pacsafe seems like a great idea. It's a tough
stainless steel net that you can tension over your pack then fasten
to stop slasher street robberies, alternatively you can tether your
protected pack to something handy and solid. The detailing is good,
you can adjusted the tension of the net and leave the harness free
for use and it comes complete with a padlock and three
keys.
Sounds logical on the face of it, but we have reservations. We
took the Pacsafe to Peru, arguably the capital of petty robbery and
bag theft, for a proper test. The first problem with the Pacsafe is
that it's kind of embarassing. It might be our soft, liberal
tendencies, but arriving in a strange country with a huge wire net
over your rucksac is a bit like carrying a sign saying: 'You are all
thieves! I do no trust you at all!'
Even worse, thieves might interpret it as a sign that your pack is
full of expensive gringo goodies, well worth the effort of stealing.
That's a judgement and conscience call of course, but we've always
found that the poorer and scruffier your stuff, the less desirable it
seems.
It's easy enough to use, though of course, it renders the pockets
of your pack unuseable - but hey, that's the price of notional
security - but the weight of around 570 grammes isn't insignificant,
especially if you're travelling light or have a low long haul baggage
allowance. To be fair, when not in use, it packs down pretty small to
a package about 6 x 4 x 2 inches.
Does it work?
Well, first, we didn't have anything stolen over six weeks in
Peru, which I suppose is some sort of proof, then again neither did
our companions who didn't have a stainless steel net festooned over
their packs.
We reckon it would stop someone from surreptitiously slashing your
pack in the street and helping themselves to your expensive designer
undies as well as preventing sly forays into the pockets at bus
stations and the like. We're less convinced by the locking to solid
objects bit.. The wire may be slash proof but a small pair of wire
cutters made quick work of it.
We did like it for internal Peruvian air travel though - Peruvian
baggage handlers have a bad reputation and the Pacsafe does offer
some deterent to rifling, though again, it wouldn't stop a really
determined attack.
So it's a reasonable deterrent, but like we said, it also implies
that you have something that's worth stealing. In the past we've
found that simply stashing your pack in an old cereal sac, as used by
the locals is effective simply because it no longer looks like a
valuable traveller's pack.
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Verdict: An effective deterrent to
petty, opportunistic theft, but may promise false security
in a static situation where a thief has time to attack the
device properly. It's also, at almost 600 grammes, a
significant weight when you may have only 20 kilos of
luggage overall.
It may also draw attention to you and, if
you're the sensitive type, you might be uneasy with what
might be interpreted as the implication that you don't trust
the locals - 'Peruvians / Thais / Scots etc are all
thieves'. In the end you'll either buy into the idea or not,
which is why, for once, we haven't given the Pacsafe a
score. It worked best before we lost the keys, but hey,
whose fault was that?
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Pushed for time:
Stainless steel net construction that locks ove rpack
and stops slashers and pick pockets from gaining
opportunistic access to your valuable, unfortunately it also
implies that your pack is full of rich pickings and might
also imply disrespsect to the country you're visiting. We
don't reckon the static locking facility - you can chain the
whole caboodly to a handy stature - would stop a determined
thief for more than a minute or two either. In the end, you
either buy into it or not. An old cereal sac makes a cheap,
stealth alternative and helps your bag blend in with the
locals. Good for airports you don't trust though.
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