Safety · 7 min read
Travel Safety: The Boring Habits That Actually Work
No gadgets, no paranoia. Nine habits that have kept our team's gear intact across 62 countries.
Grant Whitfield — Field tester · December 11, 2025
Almost nothing that goes wrong is dramatic. Bags get taken because they were behind you, cards get cloned because there was only one, and phones get lost because they lived in an open pocket on a crowded platform.
The nine habits
- Your bag goes in front of you or between your feet on any platform or bus
- Carry two cards from different banks, stored in two different places
- Photograph your passport, your open bag and your serial numbers before you leave
- Keep €60 or $60 in cash somewhere that isn't your wallet
- Never put a phone in an unzipped pocket on public transport
- Use the hotel safe for the thing you'd cancel the trip over, and nothing else
- Share your live location with one person at home on travel days
- Book the first taxi from the official rank, not the one that approaches you
- Write your email — not your home address — on the outside luggage tag
On locks
A lock stops a casual hand, not a determined one. Its real job is to make your bag a slower target than the one next to it. Lockable zipper pulls on the main compartment are enough; a padlock on a soft bag is theatre.
If something does go
Report it the same day, in writing, wherever it happened. Most travel insurance claims fail on paperwork rather than eligibility. The photos you took before the trip are what get you paid.
A note on honesty
We sell bags, so read this with that in mind. Everything above is what we tell friends who ask, and most of it costs nothing. If a cheaper bag does the job for your trip, buy the cheaper bag.
