Pacsafe was one of those products that made immediate sense to us. We met founders Rob Schlipper and Magnus McGlashan at their first Outdoor Retailer show in Salt Lake City in 1998, when the backpack protector was still their only product.
The basic idea was simple: build the security into the bag instead of asking travelers to add locks, cables, and separate gadgets after the fact. Pacsafe put slash-resistant material, locking zippers, secure straps, and hidden storage directly into backpacks, sling bags, wallets, and portable safes.
We have watched Pacsafe grow from that single backpack protector into backpacks, sling bags, wallets, portable safes, and other travel gear. The basic idea has not changed: make the bag harder to open or steal.
Where Pacsafe Helps
Pacsafe is particularly useful on trains, in airports and markets, and anywhere your bag may be surrounded by people or out of your hands for a few minutes. The locks, slash-resistant material, and anchor straps simply give a thief more work than an ordinary zipper and shoulder strap.
For more general travel-safety ideas, see our Travel Tips Guide .
What Pacsafe Builds Into Its Gear
- Slash-resistant panels inside the fabric
- Cut-resistant anchor straps
- Lockable zipper systems
- Puncture-resistant zipper coils
- RFID-blocking pockets for passports and credit cards
- Hidden internal storage pockets
Pacsafe Product Categories
Pacsafe's line runs from small sling bags and wallets to laptop backpacks, carry-on packs, and portable travel safes.
- Anti-theft carry-on backpacks
- Crossbody and sling bags
- RFID-blocking wallets and passport holders
- Laptop backpacks
- Portable travel safes
- Secure daypacks
Recommended Pacsafe Products
Who Pacsafe Is For
Pacsafe is aimed at travelers carrying passports, phones, laptops, and other valuables through airports, public transportation, and crowded cities.
For charger and adapter questions, see our Electrical & Voltage Advice Guide .
Blast from the Past: Walkabout and Pacsafe
Walkabout Travel Gear was there when Pacsafe introduced its original backpack protector.
Pacsafe founders Rob Schlipper and Magnus McGlashan introduced their original backpack protectors at Outdoor Retailer in Salt Lake City in 1998. Walkabout had been founded in Salt Lake City and had only started attending the show the year before, so meeting them there was a lucky break for both young companies.
At the time, the backpack protector was their only product: a stainless-steel mesh cage that wrapped around a backpack or soft-sided bag and locked to a fixed object.
Walkabout was already selling travel gear online, and we became one of the first online retailers to carry Pacsafe. We may have been the first, but I have not found enough proof to claim that.
Those original backpack protectors came in several sizes, and Pacsafe still sells versions of them today alongside its anti-theft backpacks, sling bags, wallets, and portable safes.
Globlinker automatically connects to the strongest available local mobile network. Use it in the U.S. and 130+ countries without a SIM, contract, subscription, or roaming fees.
