Pacsafe EXP 12″ anti theft sling crossbody Review

Whether you’re taking a business trip to a busy metropolis or vacationing somewhere new but still want to bring a small computer or laptop to keep in touch, you might want more protection than your average laptop bag provides. By protection, we don’t mean padding to prevent cracked screens or corners; we mean safety from unsavory characters. You should be relaxing on vacation, and you don’t want to add the stress of worrying about someone stealing your gear on a work trip, either.

That’s where Pacsafe’s built-in anti-theft features come into play. You can carry your passport, laptop, and cash without worrying about pick-pockets or someone rummaging through your sling without your knowledge as you wait for your flight at the gate. So, how does it all work, and is it easy enough to use so that you can still get your gear when you need it? Let’s find out.

External Components

Along with locks and security features, Pacsafe is also known for its focus on environmentally-friendly materials. The 10L Pacsafe EXP 12″ anti theft sling crossbody is made with post-consumer recycled polyester (rPET). It’s equivalent to recycled plastic from 16 bottles and includes a PFC-free water-repellent to keep your gear dry without using harmful chemicals.

It feels sturdy and durable, and we haven’t had any problems with moisture getting inside, even while carrying a library book around for a few miles in blowing snow. No one will be able to cut their way inside, either, thanks to the eXomesh wire built into the material. The Pacsafe logo on the front matches the material, whether you choose Black or Slate, so it’s more inconspicuous than loud.

There are two loops on the front where you can connect a carabiner to hang a bottle of hand sanitizer or a keychain flashlight. There are also two compression straps at the bottom of the bag that fasten with Duraflex buckles. You can use them for an umbrella or travel tripod, or to cinch the bag when you’re carrying less. We never used them, but our tester said they didn’t get in her way, either.

A padded carry handle on top makes it easier to pull the bag out of the car or to carry it short distances when you don’t want to use the crossbody strap. You can’t remove that strap, though, so it’s really just for picking it up, not for long-term carry.

However, you can use the PopNLock to secure it around a fixed object so someone can’t pull it from the back of your chair, and the strap has a built-in wire to prevent someone from cutting it away if you do. Undoing the lock is easy enough—turn it to the unlocked position, push it, and slide it out, but it will still take enough time that hopefully you or someone else will notice a thief trying to grab your bag and be able to stop them before they get away with it.

The strap includes a long piece of padding that slides along it to blunt the feeling of the bag on your shoulder. It’s easy to move when you adjust the strap, and it doesn’t get in the way of the adjuster, either. A plastic piece keeps the extra strap in place when you shorten it, so nothing dangles. The back panel features a good amount of padding to blunt the feeling of your laptop when you’re carrying it. However, the back panel is still stiff, as the device takes up most of the space in that section of the bag.

Most of the other security features involve the KCC zippers around the bag. While that’s not our favorite brand, we haven’t had any issues with the zippers during our testing period, and we hope that continues.

The front zipper is a self-locking model, with one zipper pull featuring a T-shaped tab and the other with a complementary channel for it to slide into. That means you must press one side down while pulling the other up to pull them apart and unzip it. That can be harder to do, as you’re pulling the zipper in opposite directions, so we tended to leave it disconnected when we weren’t concerned about our surroundings. However, we found that the pulls will connect themselves in the right circumstances, so play around with this feature before your trip to ensure you can get them apart easily when you need to grab your keys.

The zippers for the main and laptop compartments also fit together, but these triangular shapes slide together and undo more easily. However, that doesn’t mean they’re less secure. There is a Roobar Sport lock centered between the two tracks that you can slide one or both sets of zipper pulls into, providing an extra locking mechanism to keep your gear safe. To unlock it, slide the bottom tab toward the back of the bag, slide the bar toward the carry handle to open it, pull out the zippers, and then undo each zipper pull from its partner to open the section you want. Tedious? Sure, but we’re counting on that to keep the bad guys from grabbing our laptop and passport. You don’t have to lock these sections, since the zipper pulls come together without the locking mechanisms holding them in place, so you can lock them when you need to and not when you don’t.

Fit Notes

The Pacsafe EXP 12″ anti theft sling crossbody is pretty small, so it’s not surprising that it’s comfortable. Wearing it crossbody, as the name suggests, is the best way to do it, especially when you’re wearing a big puffy winter coat like our tester was. Whenever she slung it over one shoulder to walk out to the car, it slid down her shoulder, but it stayed in place and was comfortable (even on a 4-mile walk) when worn crossbody. We like wearing it across the back. That way, you don’t keep hitting the bag with your arm as you walk, and it stays in place without slipping or banging around.

Aside from copious zippers and locks, the bag has an unobtrusive aesthetic that will blend well in most situations, whether that’s on an airplane, in a city, or at the office. Both colorways are dark, so you won’t stand out from the crowd while wearing the sling, which we appreciate.

Inside The Sling

For such a small bag, it does have a lot of pockets where you can stash your gear. We’ll start at the front. Once you pry the lock apart, you can open the zipper across the top of the pocket. By the way, squeezing the front of this pocket lets you feel the built-in mesh, so you can be sure your gear is secure.

Inside are two large mesh slip pockets. We use them for AirPods and a phone, though extra-large models may be a bit too tall to fit in the pocket. You can lay larger phones down in front of the pockets, or place them elsewhere in the bag, though this front pocket is the most convenient place. The left pocket also includes a key clip on a leash, so you can find it at a moment’s notice. You can let the leash fall into the pocket or in front of it, whichever you prefer, based on what else you stash in the pockets.

Moving to the back of the bag, you’ll find the zipper for the laptop compartment. It’s a simple padded section of the bag, with no additional bells or whistles. Pacsafe says that a 13-inch MacBook Pro fits inside, and it will, but even a 13-inch device comes right up to the top of the pocket, so be sure it’s nestled all the way in there before zipping, or you may catch the corner of your computer.

Finally, the center zipper opens the main compartment. This zipper opens the furthest, running two-thirds of the way down each side of the bag so that the area can open more widely than the front or laptop compartments. Thankfully, there are gussets on each side to keep any small gear from falling out if you do.

Against the front panel is a large zippered mesh pocket where you can lock down cables, cords, and anything else small that you don’t want bouncing around the space inside. It’s even spacious enough for a small toiletry bag or a tech pouch, if you prefer a little more organization.

The back panel features several pockets with RFID blocking to protect your data from skimmers. The one on the left is passport-sized and features a hook-and-loop fastener at the top to keep your important documents from falling out. Then, there is a wider pocket next to that where you could stash a travel wallet, a small notebook, or even a guide map if you so choose. There’s a phone pocket in front of that, and it’s much lower in the bag so that even larger models will fit. Finally, there are two pen slots to the left of that pocket for writing utensils or a stylus.

A decent amount of space remains between the two sides, whether you’d like to carry a larger notebook or journal, a magazine or book, a Nintendo Switch, or an extra layer. We were pretty surprised at what we could fit inside a bag that Pacsafe says has a 10L capacity, and found it to be a great little everyday carry bag for our commute to and from the office. If you’re the type of person who travels with a laptop or large tablet, it definitely makes a great personal item bag. You’ll be able to keep everything you need with you on the plane right under the seat in front of you, all nice and locked up, so you don’t have to worry about anyone rummaging through it when you need to use the bathroom if you’re traveling solo. Pair it with a great travel backpack or rolling carry on luggage, and you’ll be ready to hit the ground running the moment you land.