If you’re looking for the most practical way to keep your money, cards and passport safe while you travel, you can’t go wrong with a fanny pack. Even better, anti-theft fanny packs for women don’t look as nerdy as traditional ones do and some even convert from waist packs for travel to cross-body or over the shoulder fanny pack ones that look like regular purses.
Travel pouches under clothes are usually quite thin so that they don’t create an ugly bulge, but if you’re going to carry quite a lot of things in it, including a smartphone, it’s best to pick an outer wear fanny pack. The best fanny pack for travel is more secure if it has inbuilt RFID blocking protection and slash-proof shells, so your personal information is safe from RFID readers and thieves willing to cut through the purse to make a quick getaway. If you’re going to wear it around your waist it needs to have a comfortable fit.
A bonus feature would be the ability to lock the strap of the pack around a stationary object so that you can set it down without worrying that someone will pick it up when you’re not looking.
If you want to be able to carry more stuff when you’re out and about you may want to consider an anti-theft crossbody bag instead. Or if RFID blocking is the only extra feature you need, you can get an RFID-blocking passport wallet to store in your handbag.
You can get a very good theft proof fanny pack from a large range online but if you want our recommendations on a few of the best ones, read on!
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Best Travel Fanny Pack or Crossbody Pack
These are fanny packs with shoulder straps. This versatile style gives you the option to use the pack most securely in certain destinations, i.e. strapping it around the waist, or wearing it like a regular purse over the shoulder or across your body. This means you can use it throughout the year and not just while traveling.
Travelon Anti-Theft Classic Convertible Crossbody and Waistpack
This convertible crossbody to waist pack purse from Travelon looks like a long strap shoulder bag but the strap can be adjusted to convert it into a fanny pack using just the main carabiner clips and the two D-rings at the back, so going from one to another can be done easily at anytime and anywhere. These clips also allow you to tether the bag to a fixed object to prevent a thief from snatching it.
There is one main compartment that opens via a zipper that can be locked to a smaller D-ring on the front. The opening is U-shaped and allows you to easily see inside. Inside this compartment are card slots and a passport slot on one wall and all these are RFID blocking. The other wall has another slot that can hold a smartphone. The rest of the space is good for other items and an attached key clip and LED light round off the features.
There is a pocket on the outside as well. The front pocket is zipped and the zipper head can also lock to the front D-ring.
This convertible fanny pack is made of polyester and the straps and walls are slash-proof. It is available in black, khaki, purple, mocha, and wine.
It measures 8 x 7 x 2 inches so it’s not big enough for a camera or for carrying lots of things, but that’s not what a fanny pack is for. The shoulder strap is about 50″ long. Women of any waist size can wear this as a fanny pack because it can be adjusted quite a bit.
Travelon Anti-Theft Metro Convertible Small Crossbody Bag and Hip Pouch
Travelon is the only brand that makes convertible fanny packs that incorporate theft-proof features, so the Travelon Anti-Theft Metro Sling and Hip Pouch is another a convertible waist to crossbody pack but the way it converts is a bit different from the Classic model above. The shoulder strap is detachable from the hidden D-rings at the back and can be shortened via turn and lock security clasps that also double as tethering clasps to secure the bag to a fixed object. If you want to use the bag as a fanny pack, you can shorten the shoulder strap and thread it through the sleeve at the back. This feature makes it a good unisex pack. The shoulder strap is a maximum of 52 inches long and can be shortened quite a bit.
The security features include Exomesh slash guards throughout the body and shoulder strap, 4 credit card slots and a passport slot – all with RFID blocking, and a locking zipper for the main compartment. A tethered keyring with an LED light is also in there. There is also a zippered pocket inside the main compartment, a hidden phone slip pocket at the back, and a zipper for the front exterior pocket.
The material of the bag is water-repellent polyester so the contents of the bag won’t get wet in the rain. It weighs about 8 oz and measures 8.2″ x 5.2″ x 2″.
You can get this secure cross body fanny pack in either gray or navy.
Best Travel Waist Pack
You can’t wear these any other way except around your waist but they are some of the most functional to use.
Pacsafe Vibe 100 Anti-Theft Hip Pack Waist Pack
If the organizational features of any of the above are too sparse for you and you don’t mind not having the option to switch the pack to over the shoulder, consider the Pacsafe Vibe 100 Anti-Theft Hip Pack. The best part of this pack is how much can be fit in and neatly organized while being the most secure fanny pack you could possibly have.
The Pacsafe Vibe 100 is made of water resistant recycled polyester and has Exomesh Slashguard running throughout the lining of the pack and through the waist straps. The straps feature a PopNLock security clip to make it that much harder for anyone to snatch the bag from you or from whatever immovable object you strap it to, but you can release it easily with one hand once you know how it works. Inside the main compartment, there is an RFID blocking pocket for cards and passports. It also has a sleeve that is big enough for a 7″ tablet or a smartphone. Both the main compartment and the external front compartment close via interlocking zippers that can be locked to the Roobar Sport locking system, which then locks to the bag itself. If you want you can keep just one compartment locked while only zipping up the other.
It measures 6.3 x 10.6 x 3.5 inches and weighs 11.5 ounces, while its capacity is 4 litres. You can adjust the waist strap from 32.5 inches to 45.3 inches. You can fit an iPad mini or small SLR in the main compartment and a smartphone will fit into the front compartment, so it is clearly a very roomy pack if that’s what you’re looking for.
Travelon Anti-Theft Waist Pack
The Travelon Anti-Theft Waist Pack is very bland looking and not particularly appealing to women but it’s very practical, and the robust design at a lower cost than the Pacsafe above helps it earn its place in this list.
Not only do the waist straps come with inbuilt mesh but so does the body of the pack. There’s no way a thief with a knife can get through the material. In addition, the zippers to the compartments can be locked once closed by using the carabiner clips. The waist strap can also be used to attach to a table leg or anything similar using the same clips.
There are two zippered compartments in this pack. The smaller one is on the front and has RFID blocking and organizer slip pockets for credit cards and a passport, and a velcro strap for your phone. The larger compartment is where you can keep bulky items, like a pack of tissues or a bunch of keys. There is also an inner zipped pocket here that’s ideal for some cash notes and coins.
You can even keep a small water bottle in a small elastic top mesh pocket that you’ll find on one side hidden inside a zipped compartment. You can tuck it back inside if you don’t use it.
This pack is not the most streamlined or attractive in looks but it is one of the roomiest that you can get. It measures 9 by 6 inches and is 3.5 inches thick. Another plus point is that its waist belt can be expanded to a maximum of 50″.
Pacsafe Coversafe X100 Anti-Theft RFID Blocking Waist Wallet
The Pacsafe Coversafe X100 is more like a money belt and it is designed to be worn under the clothes with its soft and breathable exterior backing of the polyester material. However, we’re including it here as a viable fanny pack because it has RFID blocking and anti-slash waist straps so it can be worn outside your clothes and still be secure. An additional reason is that it doesn’t look like the usual money belt and so would look fine on the outside, especially since it comes in black, grey or red.
It measures 5.5 x 10.4 inches and weighs 3.4 ounces. The adjustable waist strap has invisible flexible mesh running through and anyone from a waist size of 29″ to 46″ can use this.
The main compartment is big enough to hold a passport and the divider inside will keep it separate from your cash and cards. If you’re not carrying a passport, a smartphone can take its place. It’s quite thin so that’s about all you can carry.