Mini Clips/Carabiners?

Nite Ize.

Thanks Ed! That was fast.

For others who may be interested:
http://www.niteize.com/pc_combined_results.asp?tab=product&search_prod=((searchlike~p.sku~carabiner|Or|searchlike~p.nm~carabiner|Or|searchlike~p.ds~carabiner|Or|searchlike~p.child_skus~carabiner|Or|searchlike~p.child_nms~carabiner|Or|searchlike~p.child_rollup_search_terms~carabiner|Or|searchlike~p.search_terms~carabiner)|Or|searchlike~p.child_rollup_search_terms~carabiner|Or|searchlike~p.child_skus~carabiner|Or|searchlike~p.child_nms~carabiner)&search_keyword=carabiner

http://www.rei.com/c/keychains

I can find the mini ones at my local outdoor store. You may have to look in different sections but mine usually stock an aisle of different sizes near the camping area.

Are you sure you want to hang your wallet at the end of a chain that advertises exact when the wallet is? I am sure that as a Professor of Philosophy, you believe that logic rules the day. No way in the world could someone logically take my wallet on a chain without my knowing it. You might want to reconsider after reading what John from Sacramento posted on this site a couple years ago.

Money stolen out of wallet - It was on a chain hooked to my belt, but on the Paris metro, it must have looked like Christmas came early. Crowded, had to stand. Someone just slipped it out during all the bumping, extracted the money, and left it hanging, not noticed by the numb butt tourist until he felt it banging against his leg once he exited the Metro. Couple hundred dollars in it.

My common advice is, "If it is easy for you to get to, then it will be easy for someone else."

Are you sure you want to hang your wallet at the end of a chain....

Chain and clip may or may not reduce the probability of pickpocket loss but could reduce the risk of dropping one's wallet. I briefly thought that I was a pickpocket victim at a crowded Huangshan temple frantically feeling pockets for my wallet. Then I looked down and realized I dropped it while tucking away the postcards I had just purchased.

Thanks for the information, everyone. Frank, I certainly am capable of stunning lapses in common sense (details to be withheld), but I think this chained-wallet experiment may not be one of them. The chain will be attached to loops that I found sewn into the pockets of the travel pants I wound up purchasing, so that it will not be visible except when I remove the wallet. I would not carry anything in it beyond the day's spending money (just as I did with the clip wallet on a recent trip), so it will not be the end of the world if I do lose the contents; plastic/passport etc. go in the money belt. If I were to get robbed, I would just go back to using a (spare) clip wallet.

As for the possibility that a thief might extract the wallet and empty it without my noticing, there must be a way to "lock up" the zipper pull so that you have to fuss with it in order to unzip it, as in the Pacsafe products. This will be another one of those little projects to work on in anticipation of the next trip.

And speaking of Pacsafe, I found this: < http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004LLCZMA/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=276FZE0PHDDYQ&coliid=I3475XQ7MQGWSP&psc=1 > This might do the trick, though I would still replace that clunky connector on the end of the chain with a small s-carabiner, and shorten the chain to reduce weight and bulk; also (strangely for Pacsafe) it does not look as though the zipper pull locks, and if so that would need to be tweaked.

George, I don't think so, at least the company site does not say so: http://www.pacsafe.com/walletsafe-50-compact-wallet-3.html

Hi Joel:

I purchased these for my upcoming trip to Europe:

5pcs mini Carabiner D-Ring key chain/hook/clip/toy Keychain Hiking

These are mini carabiners with screw downs so you have to manipulate the 'biner to open it. I am using these to secure the zipper pulls of shoulder bags and other such luggage that I will be carrying while walking around. These cost $6.90 for 5 shipped from China (takes about a month).

Regarding wallets, I use a Pac Safe small wallet that is on a chain. I drop the wallet down my pant leg so it would take a real skillful pickpock to retrieve it. I usually wear an untucked polo shirt which will hide the fact that I am using a chained wallet..

Good luck

Geor(ge)

Joel:

These are being sold in ebay:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/5pcs-Mini-Locking-Carabiner-D-Ring-key-chain-clip-snap-hook-toy-Keychain-Hiking-/181354507190?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2a39922bb6

There are many others for sale with and without the screw down.

Geor, thanks for link, and thanks also for the "down the leg" idea. That is a new one to me, and sounds like it would be really secure.

I am still at a loss here.

All this seems to be so over engineered. A very thin wallet, or better yet a money clip, and a money belt works perfectly fine. With some planning you think about your day and what money you might need, place that money in the money clip, leave your cards and passport and extra cash in the money belt, and I have never, ever, had to think about it. I have often accessed my money belt while in public. I am careful and aware of my surroundings or I plan ahead and use a bathroom.

I just don't believe there is a better system.

jkc,

IMO a "locking" zipper pull on a tethered wallet might be over-engineered, but I don't know about the tether itself. Whatever degree of difficulty there might be for a pickpocket to lift a wallet from an attentive person, surely it would be increased by a tether. In any event, using a tethered wallet in cities where guidebooks warn of pickpockets will give me more peace of mind than an untethered one, so what the heck, that is what I'll do. Besides, I get a kick out of obsessing over optimal accessories/plans etc. for travel, and I suspect I'm not the only one on this list who does :-)

Speaking of obsessing, it has occurred to me that a tethered wallet (with a "locked" zipper pull) could be attached to the inside of one's pocket with velcro, so that it would take a substantial tug, and make a noise, to remove it from the pocket, even before you get around to disengaging the zipper pull. But that would probably be over-engineering even for me.

Target has mini keyring s-carabiners in their automotive department.

How about a Hell's Angels wallet with the really big chain?

Ed, I think you have to have pretty serious tattoos before they let you buy those.