bra pockets, eh... interesting.

Oh great! Another use for my man-boobs.

Hmm 2 pages of replies and no-one has yet mentioned the thing I've been using for nearly (oh god!) 20 years! A shoulder holster is what i call it - hangs over the shoulder and under your arm. They are about the same size as a neck pouch but much much more comfortable. They hang loose so they arent hot like a belt and they hang down the side so unless you are wearing a skin tight top - which I dont as a girl travelling - its almost invisble- also as demoed by this thread its unusual so people/thieves dont know about it! If you dont have enough weight in it will tend to slip off your shoulder (not to the point of loss but uncomfortable) - I therefore have a small loop and loop it around my bra - my brother never had the same problem - I think this is to do with shape of your shoulders - so you need to try one (with stuff in it - not just empty)

I have met more than one person who has had a money belt cut and pickpocketed - in one case he was wearing it under a tukced in T-Shirt on a crowded bus - so that's why secrecy is important. I never show my shoulder holster (especially not in hostels - which is unfortunately where there is quite a lot of crime) The neck thingy kills my neck and is really uncomfrotable to wear as a girl and is obvious to everyone looking at you.

When I travelled solo I was paranoid about loosing everything so I had some US$ under the innersole of a shoe and about $20 in my pack.

Two people traveling one with money belt the other with neck pouch. Both went into the river unintentionally at some rapids. The one with money belt had wet papers the one with neck pouch no papers. HMMMMMMMMM!

lis, good advice on the loop to your bra so that it doesn't chafe your neck! money belts are known of in some spots. I had mine tucked into my pants, underneath a long shirt and a jacket...got drugged and still had my sh*t taken from me. She knew exactly what to go for, like she'd done it before. I even had a purse with a wallet and camera in the footwell, and she didn't even touch that. As far as stuff getting wet -- ziplocks are great. I've even saran wrapped some things, too (when ziplocks are too big).

Just got back from REI and bought the leg safe. Harder to get to if you wear it right and I never ever wear shorts.

lis, is yours like this?

http://www.goplanetgo.co.uk/index.php?crn=73&rn=388&action=show_detail

i'm not too keen on the whole money belt/neck pouch thing so i'm on the lookout for alternatives.

quote:

Originally posted by Marisa:
lis, good advice on the loop to your bra so that it doesn't chafe your neck! money belts are known of in some spots. I had mine tucked into my pants, underneath a long shirt and a jacket...got drugged and still had my sh*t taken from me. She knew exactly what to go for, like she'd done it before. I even had a purse with a wallet and camera in the footwell, and she didn't even touch that. As far as stuff getting wet -- ziplocks are great. I've even saran wrapped some things, too (when ziplocks are too big).

just curious... how did u get drugged?

I wear the waist pouch, although it is not comfortable. It's probably not the smartest way to do it but I always use it anyway. I guess until I get burned I will keep using it. I remember I reached in to get out money once and my bf was like, "what are you doing? what's the point of having a secret pouch if you are pulling it out in public?" Duh. So I learned.

And I also found that the strap of the pouch would show if I reached up or bent down or did something where my shirt might go up a bit. I was constantly pushing the elastic strap back into my pants. Ha.

Maybe they should make low-rise travel belt pouches?

My bf puts all his stuff in his front pants pocket (which is snug anyway... would be impossible for anyone to reach in without him knowing) and he keeps his hand in that pocket anytime we're in a crowded public place. He does it when we're in NYC too.

quote:

Originally posted by Tickles:
My bf puts all his stuff in his front pants pocket (which is snug anyway... would be impossible for anyone to reach in without him knowing)...

A pocket that's safe if you're just standing there becomes much easier to pickpocket when you're bumped. My wife once told me the same thing about how some zippered pocket was secure because she could feel someone reaching in. I had read about "the bump" before, so I decided to see if I could do it. I bumped in to her twice, the first time to open the zipper, the second time to take stuff out, and she couldn't feel it at all. And she knew what I was doing!

So I'd say it's more dangerous than it would seem. If I could do it (a little, at least), I'm sure a criminal with a lot of practice could do it much more easily. That experiment made me much more paranoid about my pockets.

- Mike

quote:

Originally posted by Tickles:
And I also found that the strap of the pouch would show if I reached up or bent down or did something where my shirt might go up a bit. I was constantly pushing the elastic strap back into my pants. Ha.

I sewed loops on the inside of my pants at the waistband and put the strap through them, so that it would be confined.

I was drugged by a girl who I had unfortunately befriended on a long bus trip. She was a professional because she knew exactly what she was doing and exaclty what to look for. But being that I spoke Spanish pretty well, and having been to South America before, I was accostomed to the fact that people are very friendly on the busses and will strike up a conversation with the person next to you, so I didn't think anything of it. We had shared food on the trip, and that's where she snuck in the laced chocolates. My god, never again, I learned my lesson. It made me so ill for days, and I hope I threw up on her but the thing is that I don't remember. There was 'evidence' on my shoes and I was by the window, so chances are I probably did spray her while trying to go to the bathroom..well, I hope I sprayed her good. Sheesh.

I am still using my Eagle Creek travel pouch. I wear it like a shoulder holster and it lives underneath my armpit.

When I travel, I do not wear separate belts. All of my travel trousers have sewn-in webbing belts and hidden, zippered pockets. These are the ones that I am wearing today whilst on the road.

quote:

Originally posted by sweetadeline:
lis, is yours like this?

http://www.goplanetgo.co.uk/index.php?crn=73&rn=388&action=show_detail

i'm not too keen on the whole money belt/neck pouch thing so i'm on the lookout for alternatives.

Yes that looks like it - thoguh I would go with beige rather than black as black will show thru. Assuming you're a girl you can buy "bra keeps" or "bra holders" - ask at a sewing notions shop - with a little loop of tape with a snap shut dome arrangement - youjust tack it to the point on holster which will sit on your shoulder and then you attach is securly to your bra.

Marisa - that's an incredible story. I'll keep that in mind.

Back to the topic... the few times I've been in Europe I never carried any special devices for my docs and $$. I wore jeans most of the time and shove my wallet and passport in my front pockets. There were a couple of times when I had to carry a few thousand $ in cash with me. I put the bills in a small envelopes and slid them down my thick, high-riding, hiking socks. When in crowded places, I always have one hand in the pocket with the valuables. I get friendly but always keep my space and was especially suspicious around children.

The last 2 trips to SE Asia, I wore Mountain Hardwear Runout shorts when I need to carry large amounts of cash. It has a total of 3 zipped pockets that don't look like pockets. The zipper lengths are short, the zip-pulls are tiny and the flaps covering them look like seams... very clean design altogether. I carried $3k in $100 bills in the back pockets and small bills in the front one.

This time around, my trip is 6-month long so I'll probably buy a hidden pocket stash and a leg stash to enhance my crude methods.

quote:

I wore Mountain Hardwear Runout shorts

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