security reminder

G

gadgetgeek

Joined
May 19, 2007
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A good pal of mine just got all his gear and vehicle stolen while on vacation in NZ. Really puts home the fact that important gear, in this case passport and cash, needs to stay in sight. From what I gather he was just out of sight of his car when he heard them break in, load most of his stuff and drive off, and knowing him, it was probably mostly put away in packs. on the upside, now he has an excuse to go gear buying, for the second time. Dude has seriously bad luck with this kind of thing.
Thanks to the power of the internet he was able to get all of the info he needed to get a new passport issued quickly so he will still make his flight next week, saving a huge pile of coin.

As painful as the event has been, there has been some awesome local response to his situation, it feels good to know that even in a recession, there are still good people left!


For discussion, how to you secure your vital gear (id, cash, plane tickets, vehicle etc) while traveling? particularly in a vacation/recreational setting where wallet in pocket isn't a feasible option?
 
When a wallet isn't an option, a waterproof pouch around the neck is. Or make a copy of your passport, carry that and some cash and a credit or ATM card and leave the original passport and everything else of value at your hotel or other secure location.

Putting all your eggs in one basket is not a good idea, whether at home or when traveling.
 
When i went overseas, i used the old money pouch under the pants (elastic type) with copy of passport, travel bookings, cash, extra credit card. I kept everything on my person. put everything in shirt pockets, split up cash (the jackpot of cash was in the money pouch, safely next to my privates, little more money was in the shirt pocket with passport, credit cards in the other shirt pocket, and the pocket money was in my pants.) Technically I could have had all my gear stolen and just be in a foul mood, but not down and out.
 
When I was regularly travelling internationally (space A flights!) I followed family tradition and had some tailored pants made. each pair had a "gem smuggler's" pocket in the waistband inside where the buttonhole went (can hold about 5 bills folded up easily), double button front and rear pockets, another gem smuggler's pocket inside of each cuff, but about credit card sized, and a passport wallet sized thigh pocket- on the inside of the pants.

Most of my wandering around in places like rome of Cadiz where you do a lot of walking I had my ready cash and documents in a neck wallet, and carried a basic backpack with the zippers of both compartments (NO 15 pocket packs!!) tied closed.

I used a mechanic's retractable keychain with a snap hook on my belt loop to make sure the pack never got more than a couple feet from me.

Only things I left in my hotel room were spare clothes and brochures, maybe extra books. (I can go through a paperback in a couple hours, but carrying more than two at a time gets old).

Yes, my toothbrush lived in the backpack. I was a young single guy wandering with only the necessity to get back to the local airbase to catch a space a flight back to my duty station. toothbrush and some basic toiletries of course go with you :D
 
I've been looking into the "Ribz" for out of US travel. They allow you you to carry quite a bit and keep it under your clothing and out of sight. I went to the web page and the amount you can carry in a set is darn near amazing for something that size. There has been a couple threads on here about them, so I'm sure a lot of us have seen or heard of them. Anyways, give them a look.
 
a couple more details, my friend was swimming a little way from his campsite, so he would have been able to keep some stuff on shore, had he thought about it. but besides disabling the vehicle, which would be well inside his skills, what other measures could one take to secure everything else? Given that his traveling companion isn't very mechanical, I'd suspect that even if he thought to disable the car, he wouldn't have in case it was needed in an emergency, he as we have seen, has rather bad luck at times.
 
Don't forget to upload copies of important documents and numbers to your e-mail account. Then you can download them at a library, police station etc
 
In my youth, I loaded up my backpack (Coleman Peak 1) and hitch-hiked and worked my way from the U.S. over to Australia and New Zeland, over to Africa and then back through South America then up to the states. I slept in youth hostles, under bridges, in pastures, and in various people's homes on occasion. I kept a Gerber double edged knife within easy access at all times and my passport and money on a money belt inside my shirt around my waist. I keep a very close eye on my gear at all times. Luckily, I never had any major problems. (I also kept a photocopy of all important documets in my pack just in case.)
 
Witz has a water resistant case for passports that I have used. Although it has an O-ring seal, I still put the paper documents into a plastic bag and then into the Witz case. I can wear it swimming, etc. I keep some money, copy of airline tickets, contact info, etc. in that case while traveling. I spread my money around other pockets.

Spud
 
I Spent many years living, working, and traveling all over the world. I reduced what I carried in my wallet to an absolute minimum. I would carry it in my front pocket or shoved down inside my sock. I carried a small amount of money in my pocket, with the rest, again, in my sock. When leaving a vehicle I would pull the coil/distributor wire. In vehicles I have owned, I drilled a hole through the trunk floor and mounted a solid eye-bolt and secured my pack to it with one of the cable mesh back-pack security systems. I leave nothing of interest in plain view. I keep my vehicles "boring" to look into. When traveling on public transportation I would set my pack on the floor between my feet and place one foot thru a shoulder strap. I would tie the zippers. or at a minimum, fasten them together with the mini d-rings.
 
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