pacsafe fanny pak

Get him a Satchel (man bag) and have him carry all the stuff. It's the EU and all the men use them. I have one and I'm 50ish. I carry with me RS's book, two umbrellas, maps, attraction-museum tickets, baby wipes (you never know when there might not be any toilet paper in a restroom in EU), camera, phone, pen, a COPY of our passports, airline ticket copies and hotel reservation copy (you might have to show it to a taxi driver to get you back to the hotel). You're a woman, you know all the stuff you gals carry in it. It does take getting use to it, but I manage. I got mine at the Kenneth Cole Outlet for men and I always take it in my travels. My son that is 24 also takes his. Funny that fanny-paks are taboo but man-bags aren't? Ha Ha Ha... I LOVE my MAN-BAG!!!

Taboo? Interesting word. I don't think they are taboo... but they defintely aren't a great idea for tourists, because they're such an easy mark for pickpockets (or is that pickfannies?). My husband carries a man bag both here and abroad. It's a habit he picked up after seeing guys in Europe rocking them. He liked the style, then realized how USEFUL they are. His is a Victorinox - dull gray with red and black trim. Pretty sharp, and masculine-looking, too. When traveling, he can get a map and a brelly and a bottle of water and a snack and his passport and wallet.... oh... oops. Cue everyone who is going to tell you that you MUST also wear a money belt for the passport and wallet. I will stay out of that one! :D

the fannypac is a pacsafe with hard to get at openers and imbedded with wire mesh so slit resistant. He will carry a pacsafe sm backpack

While they're not as common here as in the states I do see them. You'll be fine with it.

I wouldn't carry a backpack for day touring. It's simply too easy of a target. I have a few pacsafe bags so I know their built in safety measures but a backpack will make you a target. Thieves are not going to know if it's a pacsafe or regular backpack and will see it as easy pickins. I would leave it at home or in the hotel while out and about. I do think you should use the pacsafe fanny pac. It will be right in front of you so it's more safe and you won't be such a target. I don't know if they're taboo or not but I have seen people using them. I wouldn't worry too much what others think about how something looks. If you don't want to carry a purse because of a neck issue then you should just use the fanny pack and not worry. Donna

You won't be "shunned" because of a fannypack. It will just be another check mark in the "You're a tourist" column. That matters more to some people than others. My "tourist check mark" that I won't give up when in Italy is wearing a hat to protect me from the sun. (Italian men just don't wear hats. Go figure.) Oh, well. We all place ourselves at a different point on the fashion v. comfort/practicality continuum. Just don't be surprised if some British tourists start to giggle when you mention your fanny pack. "Fanny" has a completely different meaning there. :-) Happy travels.

Rubbish! You won't be shunned and you will be a lot safer wearing a good, slit-proof lockable fannypack than a backpack! I have travelled all over the world with mine, in the most dangerous places like south america or africa, and then, in Pisa, for the sake of appearances I used a backpack. Guess what? someone very very clever managed to open it, put their arm right down inside the pocket, extract my purse (all bankcards, money, health etc cards) and rezip the bag! And I thought I was super aware!! I am also middle aged and I could have kicked myself!

And I thought we weren't supposed to call it a fanny pack? (especially in the UK) :)

I just spent 10 weeks in Italy with a pacsafe shoulder purse. I usually carried a daypack (RS recommended) as well. Never had a problem, but I think the pacsafe bag identified me as a tourist as much as the daypack did. It was convenient for reaching things easily without taking off the daypack (I usually used it as a backpack) to search for something. I probably won't use the pacsafe again, however. Love the man-bag idea.

I wouldn't use the word fanny pack in very polite company of course! They are also called bum bags... is that any better? But Italian has the best word: marsupio. How about that for appropriateness!

I'm going to bring this forward, for I had planned on using a fanny pack in addition to one carry on bag and a personal bag (which I see is herein called a satchel or man bag -- well it's darn close to it in sise and shape) for our 30 trip to IT GR and TR in October. The fanny pack is not "pacsafe". It would also not be positioned in the back but rather in the front. Sure it would make us look like tourists, which is what we are! So the questions are -- why wouldn't this work, would it be more safe in the front than back, is the fanny pack that dis-respected?

If you wear a fanny pack, watch out for people shoving a map or some kind of paper under your nose because their other hand is digging into your fanny pack robbing you. This actually happened to my sister in Spain years ago. Lucky for her, a cop saw it happening and made the thief give her back her money. She had a neck pouch with most of her cash and credit cards, of course. This has been discussed quite a bit in the graffiti wall under tourist scams. Please take a look at it if you haven't done so.

Whatever you call them, *** packs are prime for distraction theft. If they are on facing backwards they are out of sight, low down and easy for pickpockets to enter or remove. If they are on forwards they are low down, out of immediate sight and even easier to remove as the clasp is behind and the strap is easy to cut. We no longer use them.