Let me first say I'm a guy who loves his hip/fanny pack. I have a Sony video camera and it fits perfectly in there.
However I've gotten spooked by reading all the advice on the Graffiti Wall. I fear over 16 days there might be some attempts to steal it.
Anyone have any creative ideas so that my $1,500 video camera isn't stolen yet I can still have it accessible on my day trips?
Pete & Robyn
(Naive travelers from Charlotte flying to Paris & Italy)
I would only ask when are you traveling? If in the colder months, you could hide the fanny pack under your jacket. If in the warmer months... well, you'll have difficulty hiding the camera from potential thiefs. Can you wear the camera around your neck? That might be the least-bad place. Otherwise, your best defense is vigilance. I'm not one of those fascinistas (notice the spelling!) who says don't wear a fanny pack in Europe, but unless you wear the fanny pack under your shirt, it's just too easy for a potential thief to access.
We'll be traveling in (probably hot) mid-July.
If I wore it around my neck I should seek out a reinforced camera strap so that it can't be easy cut.
My husband and I are confirmed hip pack fans. He purchased a pack that has "uncuttable" straps. He got it in a sporting goods/camping supply store in the UK They have double layers of twisted steel wire running through both the top and bottom of the waist straps. It also has a hidden closure snap. I only have a "regular" pack- I carry things like tissues, pen and pad, etc.- so no problem. We have never had any attempts to steal our packs in over 20 years of travel. Enjoy your trip!
If you insist on wearing a "fanny pack," check out the ones made by Pacsafe. They also carry a camera strap that can't be cut.
How about a messenger bag worn around your body? Not as easy to get into.
For that expensive a camera, I would definitely take a look at the Pacsafe Metrosafe line, such as the Metrosafe 200. I used it on our Paris/Italy trip last summer and felt very secure with it. I wore it messenger-style (across the body).
If you are going to Italy, you will see all the old guys wearing fanny packs! I was so taken back by this..but it's a fashion there...as well as a multi-pocket vest!
I teased my husband that I was going to buy him one of those vests....something he'd NEVER be caught wearing in the US.
Take a fanny, if it makes you feel secure with your camera, take it, but wear it in front, not on the back (where you normally wear a "fanny" pack)
By the way, the PC term is "LUMBAR" pack!
We took our $1500 HD video camera with us to Italy, Germany and Austria. We were also concerned after reading about cutting straps, people unzipping it, etc. We bought a "normal" fanny pack, not a pac safe. My husband took the strap and looped it though his belt loops on his pants, keeping the pack in front. Then he used a safety pin to secure the zipper. He pinned through the eye on the zipper and then to a belt loop. It was very secure and easy to access. We never felt threatened in any way..even in Rome! He could undo the clasp on the pack and it was hard to get off through the loops on his pants. So, it seemed thief-proof to us. The video is amazing, so glad we took it with us. Good luck and have fun.
Wearing a fanny pack will just shout out to others that you are a tourist. I would use a messenger style bag instead.
there are all kinds of various bags out there to carry audio/video equipment. Think some sort of messanger bag or something
I did not think anyone still used fanny packs anymore? At least I never see them here in Canada.
Leave the fanny pack. Not to be mean, but they are very dated and will make you more of a target.
I carried a military looking man-purse for two weeks in Italy, and never received a seconded glance from anyone.
I kept my camera, glasses, maps, and water in it.
-Brett
"By the way, the PC term is "LUMBAR" pack! "
Especially in the UK where "fanny" is a vulgar term for a certain part of a lady's anatomy!
Its called a Bum Bag in the UK. I never saw anyone with a fanny pack in england, mostly messenger bags or "rucksacks" (Backpacks)
Fanny packs are targets. Period. They are not worth the trouble - actually, they bring the trouble. I would never take one.
Instead, we take with us a backpack that holds our touring day supplies. One with zippered compartments. Then we lock the compartments with those little locks you can buy on-line or at a good travel store that have a three digit combination. This also makes you appear local, as many people in Europe carry them, and since we have both our camera and video camera in it, I can attest that access when needed never seems to be an issue. We take the cameras out when at a site we want to film and I leave the video on a strap around my neck.
We keep all kinds of other items in the backpack we may need on touring days, such as windbreakers, kleenex, medications. Since it seems to always be part of you anyway, no one grabs at it either.
I know for a fact that thieves can get into fanny packs without the owner knowing it. If you insist on taking one, they also sell smaller fanny pack locks, but they can be hard to see down there on your hip to work the combination.
