Let’s face it. Road warriors have lots to juggle. Responsibilities can include meeting schedules, itinerary changes, navigation skills and project management. Keeping all of those balls in the air can lead to distraction, and that distraction can leave you wide open to theft and data breaches. From luggage selection to stashing your cash, here are some of my favorite security solutions for frequent travelers.
Cash: Carrying limited currency and keeping it in multiple locations keeps your theft risk at a manageable level. The storage strategies are as varied as the types of currencies you could carry, but a few stand out as being particularly secure. For example, frequent traveler Elizabeth Houck secures her spare dollars in an emptied cardboard tampon tube like the ones you can buy from restroom vending machines. Storing it this way and carrying it in her cosmetics bag provides cost-effective camouflage. Says Houck, “Nobody ever looks there!”
Products with hidden security pockets abound, including stylish caps, men’s sport coats, zip-up fleece tops for running and even khaki dress pants with hidden front pockets. Other options include pinning a small, closeable pouch to the inside of your bra, buying a zippered money belt or literally keeping it in your sneaker.
Luggage: At the most basic level, security is all about access. Small day pouches and messenger bags with cross-body straps allow you to carry your belongings in front of you, where they can be seen at all times. Totes with a top zipper rather than open access help prevent grab-and-go theft of things like loosely packed tablet devices or identification documents. And of course, safety pins and miniature travel padlocks are popular go-to solutions for securing zipper tabs together.
However, if you’re on the road for the majority of the time you may want to explore performance gear with built-in security measures. Pacsafe is one company that produces such luggage and accessories. While their slash proof expandable cable nets have long been a favorite of backpackers needing to stow their belongings, the company now makes stealth security items for soft adventure and business travelers.
Features include knife-resistant mesh hidden in the fabric, interlocking zipper pulls and tote straps reinforced with stainless-steel cables. Options start at less than $100 and increase according to storage capacity and functionality. While their shoulder bags and wheeled carry-ons make a great deal of sense for frequent business travelers, day trippers can likely get by with a tablet handbag, sling pack or smaller cross-body bag.
Information: Itinerary details and personal data can put you at risk if they fall into the wrong hands. Solotravelgirl.com’s Jennifer Huber helps manage this particular risk through delayed social media postings. Rather than share where she’s staying during her time at a particular venue, “I wait until the morning I’ve checked out.”
Leaking electronic data can be just as risky, making Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID) protection less of a novelty these days and more of an outright travel necessity. While there are plenty of pocketbooks for women allowing them to store various items in an array of protected pouches, men often struggle to find one storage option to rule them all.
Those who frequent the international travel circuit may want to check out Allett’s passport wallet, which in addition to passport room allows space for any size of international currency, a significant number of cards and several forms of identification. The threaded RFID security fabric is used on all faces of the wallet, providing close-encounter data protection in the field for roughly $50.
With the number of digital nomads navigating the travel circuit these days, the need for secure back-up copies of critical documents has increased. Theprofessionalhobo.com’s Nora Dunn knows a little something about this, having lived on the road full time for several years now. Her solution involves the use of a free application called KeePassX, which she uses on her computer and a USB stick to create an encrypted database. This database helps her not only manage her passwords, but also to store scans and additional notes associated with each item.
Dunn has digital copies of all the cards and forms of identification in her wallet, along with passwords, account numbers and even emergency contact information encrypted on a single thumb drive she carries underneath her clothing at all times. This secure storage of her personal information provides serious peace of mind. Says Dunn, “If something awful happens and I’m stripped of everything, I can wander into the nearest consulate with my trusty USB stick and start the process of reinstating my ID, canceling stolen cards and getting on with my life.”
Travel, Pages 50 on 04/20/2014