If a thief slashed my backpack he'd have a choice of receiving a bottled water, a pain au raisin or a sandwich jambon, some dirty clothes, and contact lens solutions. Maybe if he's really fortunate he'll get my treasured Paris guidebooks.

>>>>>>>sunstar, no one on this thread has been talking about personal safety. we're talking about the most practical kind of luggage.<<<<


As in protecting your own valuables. Securing your items!

I mean that all of us should do whatever is necessary to insure the security of our own items.

Someone commented that it was not that big a deal.

I always put my passport, my money and other items such as cameras and such in my backpack.

I'd consider that to be an unsafe practice if you are taking public transit, particularly if you don't wear your backpack in front.

I use a fanny pack from TravelSmith with a slash-resistant steel cable in the strap, and wear it in front, not in back. A clip through the zipper pulls makes it take a bit of time and fumbling to open it up. See:

http://makeashorterlink.com/?A1B72518B

- Larry

My thought was the phrase 'personal safety' referred to your physical person, rather than your belongings.

I would never carry a passport in a backpack. It really needs to be on your body in a more secure place IMO.

They were doing that in 1973 when I was backpacking. Oh the memories!!

This technique is used since the middle ages in Europe. (Of course they didn`t have backpacks then) The german word is "Beutelschneider" "= cut purse".
The meaning of the word has changed over the centuries though.