Pacsafe GO Anti Theft Saddle Crossbody Review

Pacsafe is a brand built on protecting the Earth and your belongings, with security bags wrapped up in recycled materials. While you could just slap a travel lock on every zipper of your favorite bag, Pacsafe has developed some unique, intuitive locking features that we’ve come to know and love as we’ve tested dozens of bags from the brand. It can be daunting to unbox your first Pacsafe bag, sure, but once you get used to Dock Locks, zip tabs, and TurnNLock security hooks, using them becomes second nature, and you appreciate having them available when you’re feeling cautious in a sketchy area.

We’ve been testing the Pacsafe GO Anti Theft Saddle Crossbody for the past month, in and around metro Detroit and on a trip to Myrtle Beach, where we have to say that the security features definitely came in handy when walking in the downtown area where vendors hawk their wares and tourists press up against one another to get to the next shop. But are they features you’ll want to learn and use? And do they protect a sling you’ll actually want to carry around? That’s what we’re here to find out.

External Components

The Pacsafe GO Anti Theft Saddle Crossbody is a 5L bag that can expand with an additional 2L of space when you need it. It’s made with 600D recycled polyester that’s water resistant to 1000mm, thanks to a water repellant without PFCs (perfluorochemicals). The lining is a thinner 150D recycled polyester that’s also water resistant in case something spills inside and you need to wipe it clean. All together, the post-consumer recycled polyester is the equivalent of nine recycled plastic bottles, so you can feel better about reducing what’s in our landfills when you buy this bag.

We’re rocking the Jet Black colorway, which is understated with a few light gray accents on the Dock Lock and the zipper pulls, but you can also get it in Fresh Mint, Garnet Red, and Rose if you want something a little brighter. We like that the Jet Black looks good with whatever we’re wearing, from jeans and a T-shirt to a dress or even a bathing suit, since we don’t have to worry about clashing hues, but you’re entitled to your own opinion as to whether you want your crossbody to be monochrome or colorful. The Pacsafe brand patch is centered near the bottom of the bag’s front and is black with white writing on every colorway.

All options are reinforced with eXomesh slashguard, wire reinforcement between the layers of material to prevent someone from slashing the sling to get inside. We’re on board with that extra security, and with the structure it lends the bag. Pacsafe bags are never floppy, and the slashguard is a big reason why.

A small carry handle on the back is also in the accent color. That’s gray for the Jet Black, yellow for the Fresh Mint, a brighter red for the Garnet, and a darker salmon for the Rose. We find it convenient to use when moving the bag from place to place or pulling it off after carrying it crossbody.

As for the hardware, there are YKK zippers, which work as well as we expect from the brand. They each have metal zipper pulls with longer strips of webbing stitched on and round plastic tabs at the end with the Pacsafe turtle logo on them. That makes them easier to grab when you need to use them and, in the case of the main compartment closure, gives you something to slide through the zip tab at the end to secure the opening. The front compartment zipper includes a Dock Lock, a plastic feature at the end of the zipper track. You pull the zipper slightly harder at the end to slide it in, and then the plastic holds it in place so no one can undo it without you knowing. If you want to open it, squeeze both sides and it creates an opening for the zipper to slide through.

Of course, these locking mechanisms can be a bit tedious to use in daily life. Instead, we zip the front pocket just to the front of the Dock Lock and the main compartment in front of the zip tab. This leaves a tiny gap at the end of each zipper. Still, it’s not a potential issue unless you’re caught in a torrential downpour, in which case, the front flap protects the front zipper. However, you’ll probably want to properly close the main compartment to decrease the probability of water sliding in the small hole at the end of that track.

As for the harness system, it’s seemingly as simple as you’d expect from a crossbody. A single strap can extend up to 29.5 inches long (75 cm) by feeding it through a plastic adjustment slide. There’s also an elastic keeper to hold the extra strap in place, though we have to position it on top of the plastic tab at the end of the strap to keep it from sliding. The strap didn’t move out of adjustment; the excess just doesn’t stay locked in place if you put the keeper behind the plastic tab. We hope that it’s just our elastic keeper that’s looser and that this won’t be an issue with another bag, but we wanted to share the hack so you aren’t as annoyed as we were until we figured it out.

The strap is a Carrysafe model with Dyneema wire running through it to keep someone from cutting it off. While we hope no one would try to cut it off your body, this also comes in handy because one end of the strap ends in a hook so you can detach it from the bag and wrap it around a secured object to prevent someone from snatching it. It’s not just any hook, though, but one secured with a TurnNLock.

Below the toggle you would depress to open the hook is a little tab which, when pushed to the left, wedges itself below the toggle so you can’t use it and, when pushed to the right, allows you to release the hook. We’ve always thought this could be a useful feature and were super happy to have peace of mind while watching a pirate-themed dinner show on vacation. Instead of having to find a place for the Pacsafe GO Anti Theft Saddle Crossbody on the small table or worry about it falling off the chair or being snatched by someone passing by in the dark, our tester was able to feed the strap through the back of the chair and rest assured that it would still be there when the lights came back on.

Fit Notes

Once you adjust the strap to the correct length, it is quite comfortable to wear, even with bare shoulders. The strap isn’t super soft, per se, yet it doesn’t rub or scratch against your skin. Our tester prefers to wear it crossbody instead of over one shoulder simply because it stays in place better that way, though your mileage may vary. The back panel doesn’t have additional padding, yet the combination of the material and the structure from the wire mesh means that you won’t feel anything poking into your side or back as you wear it. It tends to slide nicely onto your back when worn crossbody, and that’s when the locking mechanisms really come into play, especially in crowded situations. If you’re in a place where you feel like you want to keep reaching back to make sure no one has opened your bag, that’s the time to engage the locks and walk around with peace of mind. During our testing period, we found ourselves a lot less anxious about the safety of our wallet, phone, and keys with the locks secured.

As for aesthetics, this is definitely not a fancy bag, yet it pairs well with resort wear and business casual clothing as well as jeans, sweats, and tees. We like the vaguely messenger-bag style with the front flap folded over the front, where it secures with a hidden magnet. Design takes a hit if you need to carry more gear and extend the flap upward, though, with the bag turning into a more rectangular shape bisected horizontally by the front pocket zipper. It’s not a look we love; but, on the other hand, it’s nice to have the extra space when you find yourself needing to carry home guide maps, brochures, and other taller gear that wouldn’t otherwise fit inside. We did this on a recent bike ride and found it to be as comfortable resting on your back as it is when folded over.

Inside The Sling

You have two choices of where to stash your gear on the Pacsafe GO Anti Theft Saddle Crossbody. Option one is the front pocket, which takes up the entire front of the bag below the fold. It’s an open space with a bit of depth, depending on how much other gear you have in the main compartment. The two areas share a bit of capacity, so overstuffing one will impact how much you can fit in the other.

We mainly use it for small toiletries, like lip balm, hand lotion, and hand sanitizer, though there’s plenty of space for your phone here, too. However, we found it just as convenient to use the main compartment for that as to go into the front pocket since you have to flip the front flap up either way, so we usually stashed our phone inside the main compartment throughout our testing period instead.

Hopping into that space, you’ll see that the zipper runs in a horseshoe shape across the edge of the flap. There’s only one zipper, so you must open it from left to right. While we may have appreciated having two zipper heads to open it from any direction, this minimized jangling from the metal pulls, so we’ll take the silver lining there.

Against the back panel is a large slip pocket equipped with RFID-blocking to protect your data from digital theft. It’s large enough for a minimalist wallet or your passport and stays closed thanks to a small piece of hook-and-loop fastener. To the right of that pocket is another slim space to slide a pen, pencil, or stylus inside. It lays flat if you don’t need it.

Against the right side of the bag, you’ll find a key clip attached to a webbing leash. It’s not so long that it gets tangled on the bottom of the sling, yet it’s long enough that we can leave a key fob attached and still reach the pad to unlock the door when swinging the bag around to the front. It’s a convenient feature since the rest of the bag is open space, saving you from constantly digging for your keys when they fall to the bottom.

There is plenty of room here for all the travel essentials, from a battery bank and cord to recharge your phone to tissues, said phone, travel bottles filled with medication, snack bars, hair scrunchies, and more. If you use the extra space, you’ll have no issue tossing a packable travel jacket or water bottle inside, though there’s nothing to keep that bottle standing straight, so make sure that it closes securely.

The Pacsafe GO Anti Theft Saddle Crossbody is a good size and shape to carry every day and on a trip, and we find it convenient to use since it has the space we need yet hangs out unobtrusively against your back or side when you need your hands free. Is it the most stylish or innovative bag we’ve ever seen? No, but you don’t always need a lot of bells and whistles to get the job done, and the Pacsafe GO Anti Theft Saddle Crossbody is a workhorse that does just that.