Gears: Secure Pacsafe, tough Sanűk and cool Snap Watch

It’s been quite some time since I wrote about my travel gears here. With the coming holidays and the summer a few months coming, I’m sure a lot will be packing their bags and be heading of to their desired destinations. But remember that in travel you must take proper precautions as well, especially in regards to your possessions and security. Comfort as well in your foot gear since you spend most of the time walking around. With these let me share my recent travel gear acquisitions.

It was a delight when I happened to drop by at Bratpack’s newly opened Greenbelt 5 branch and saw some Pacsafe items displayed there. I always thought the brand was expensive but seeing their price tag, I found them reasonable for the quality of their product. Pacsafe prides their travel gears to be Anti-theft. Materials containing exomesh technology that’s close to impossible to slash, snatch and tamper.

When I saw there’s a Pacsafe CarrySafe 100 Camera Strap (Php 1000.00) there, I immediately thought of buying it. Stocks were gone fast the next day but I was able to get one from other branch which people at greenbelt called to reserve. The strap has a slash proof mesh on its slim but comfortable design that I really like. Another plus is the dual spring locking metal clips system when detaching your camera. That extra protection is reassuring. It goes well with the weight of my Olympus E3 DSLR. I take the security of my photographic gears seriously. I’ve read of horror stories from forums about cameras being snatched at the streets. Manny Librodo’s Brother wasn’t spared when his brand new Nikon D300 was snatched at the streets of Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam. I’ve used this already on a trip and really liked it. My only complaint is that the back neck-padding could have been thicker to be more comfortable. Just me though but overall I recommend it.

The other Pacsafe item I got is the Pouchsafe 100 neck/shoulder pouch (Php 690.00). It also has an adjustable slash proof neck/shoulder strap, a flap velcro closure and very soft moisture absorbent lining at the back. I actually like how the strap melds with your body which is ideal since pouches as this are recommended to be worn under your clothes as much as possible. Though one disadvantage with this is that the pouch has metal mesh which triggers airport metal scanners easily. So remove it before going through the metal detector. There’s a zipped compartment there for storing your large bills and cards and to open compartments. i wouldn’t fill it with too much stuff though since i find the outer stitching a bit weak.

The Pacsafe Wallet Safe (Php 980.00) is another item I really liked. It has a metal chain to avoid loosing your wallet when it falls. The materials is very solid and of high quality. The money bills compartment has zippers and the credit/atm cards compartment is just the right fit.

More of an aesthetic purchase there is the Snap Watch (Php 590.00). i got this one as a gift but I would buy one again with different designs as soon as there are new stocks available. I’m not really a watch person since those watch straps felt like being hand cuffed to time for me. But I like the Snap Watch since it looks more like a bracelet than a watch. It uses a real climbing rope band and the watch is waterproof that you can swim with it. One disadvantage here that the watch can easily snap off with minimal force. Like when I’m putting a back pack it would be easily caught on the strap and snap-off. With that in mind you just have to be careful. You can buy a bunch of this and interchange the rope and watch.

I think one of the essential gears for travel is your footwear. It must be tough and comfortable enough during long walks and hikes. While I pride wearing my tough and tested local Sandugo sandals, Sanuk SUV (Php 3490) has been my favorite when I had the chance to wear it. This is actually my second Sanuk. The SUV is pretty tough, I tried a bit of hiking with it and found the traction very good on damp and moist ground. It dries fast as well. Of course nothing will replace a very good hiking/climbing shoes for serious climbs but the Sanuk SUV is great for casual travels couple with light to moderate hikes.

I found these items a great addition to my travel gear arsenals. I bought most of them at Bratpack store in Greenbelt 5. I hate going to that store since I see a lot of items I really like to buy. And more often that not, each time I visit the store I get to buy something so I avoid it as much as possible.