Pacsafe Vibe 30 Anti-Theft 30l Backpack, Black

To begin with, for those who are interested in knowing the country of origin of the Pacsafe Vibe 30L, please know that it is made in China. The exterior nylon and inner polyester lining look good quality stuff. The exterior looks simple and in my opinion does not indicate anything that it is a "touristy" looking bag; so folks who have this concern can relax. The backpack has just two compartments, front and main; so there is no hassle of having to secure extra exterior compartments. What's missing is an ID card holder. The backpack tilts a bit to the front when on its base. I wish Pacsafe kept the base of their bags straight at 90° to the front and back (I have the Metrosafe LS250 which has a curved base) and provided base pads / bag feet (?) to prevent the base getting dirty. The back panel also tends to bend backwards - here an HDPE frame sheet or aluminium support would have prevented this. A big negative factor is that both the shoulder straps have an approximately seven inches extension strap stitched (see photograph); obviously the straps' length were not correctly thought of initially, and subsequently their length had to be corrected. The lightly padded waist belt, with a zippered pouch on the right side, can be neatly tucked between your torso and the backpack when not needed. Pacsafe has provided elastic bands to keep the extra lengths of the straps in place and prevent them from from getting in the way. A better alternative to the elastic bands would be plastic webbing buckles. The grab handle placed at the top rear end isn't padded and an integrated rain cover is not provided. I cannot understand why Pacsafe has skimped on these essentials! A great feature is the PopNLock security clip at the top of the shoulder strap; it makes PoppingNLocking much easier, than if it was at the bottom of the strap. Another great security feature is the single Roobar Sports Locking system at the top of the bag where the interlocking smart zipper pull tabs of both the compartments can be secured together at a single point, with provision to add a lock. I have apprehensions about the longevity of the small black tab meant for locking the barrel of the Roobar Sport locking system. Would the Roobar Deluxe locking system, which has a rotary lock, and available on Pacsafe's other bags, be a better alternative? Only time will tell. The front compartment (not the main compartment, as wrongly mentioned on Amazon.com) has the RFID blocking pocket. There are extra pockets, one for two pens, one for a mobile phone and another for business or credit card/s, behind those is a medium sized zippered pocket. There is also a deep slip in pocket and a medium sized zippered mesh pocket on the fore side. Though the bag looks small, the main compartment opens wide to a spacious interior. The lightly padded laptop sleeve separately accommodated my 13.3" Asus TP300LJ laptop and my 15.6" Acer laptop (the top end of the Acer laptop protrudes into the top quick access pocket, while the laptop keeps the back panel upright). Pacsafe should have provided a zippered mesh pocket on the fore side of the main compartment. The padded base of the backpack sags with the weight of a two kilograms book and on another occasion the weight of four 750 millilitres full PET bottles. An attached, hinged and padded hardboard (?) at the base would have kept the base firm. The quick access top pocket is spacious and comfortably accommodated my Sennheiser HD 4.40BT speakers in their microfiber cloth carry bag, my Oakley spectacles' hard case, a double folded face towel (30 cms x 30 cms) with a little more room to spare. The side zippered pocket can comfortably accommodate a one litre PET water bottle, with a little more room to spare. I immediately adapted to these zippered pockets, even though I was accustomed to backpacks with open side pockets, which made ingress and egress of bottles easy. For sure, side zippered pockets may have their advantage and disadvantage for some. There is a secure fabric tab across the zipper at the closing end of the two side pockets and the top quick access pocket, which will deter pickpockets; here a nylon puller attached to the zip's metal tab is put under the secure tab and pulled to completely close the zipper. Missing essentials: 1. Padded grab handle 2. Integrated rain cover. 3. Plastic webbing buckles instead of elastic bands. 4. HDPE frame sheet or aluminium support for the back panel. 5. Hard board (?) for a firm base. 6. Bag feet (?) to prevent the base getting dirty. 7. ID card holder. 8. A zippered mesh pocket on the fore side of the main compartment. The first impression is usually the last impression. While there are a few flaws and then the missing essentials (listed above), I like the spaciousness of the main compartment, the Roobar Sports Locking system, the PopNLock security clip and the other security features. I use the Vibe 30L as a day pack and I am sure it will be fine for an overnight or two to three days trip as well. I will update my review as I continue using the Vibe 30L for a longer period of time. Updates: 1. Pacsafe responded to my query with information that the grab handle can safely lift a load of 30 pounds / 13.60 kilograms. 2. A couple of hours out in the city on a cloudy and humid (83%) morning made my back and clothes wet with perspiration. The padded back panel definitely needs channels to enable air flow to aid cooling one's back and a lighter shade of colour fabric that would not absorb heat easily. In addition a lighter shade colour nylon on the front would reflect the sun's rays / heat. This is very essential. Pacsafe has to emphasize drastic improvement on the back panel's air flow system; there are cheaper backpacks that have back panels with better air flow systems. 3. I fitted plastic webbing buckles on the waist straps, while retaining the elastic bands (see photographs). 4. Tightening the shoulder straps while the backpack is worn is very difficult, or should I say, next to impossible; and apprehensive that stitching somewhere would get ripped off, I did not use extra force to tighten them. I'd recommend that the shoulder straps be tightened only when it's off the back. 5. A **big disappointment** is that there is no reinforced wire around the padded areas of the shoulder straps; a thief with a sharp knife can cut through these, even with the PopNLock security clip activated with a lock. Pacsafe **must** address this concern and arrange replacement for all existing customers. What's the point in calling this an anti theft bag, when the shoulder straps do not have this important security feature? For this major drawback, I am constrained to reduce the rating by a star. 6. 14.2.18 - I am currently using this for past three months on the go, travelling; it's my only backpack. What I sorely miss is a daisy chain at the bottom where I could strap my sleeping bag. IMPORTANT AND IMMEDIATE CONCERNS TO BE ADDRESSED: 1. Reinforced wire security all around the shoulder straps. 2. Air flow channels - wide and deep - for the back, with light coloured fabric. 3. Padded grab handle. 4. Integrated rain cover. 5. Light / subtle colours to reflect heat. 6. Shoulder straps that can be easily loosened or tightened without the apprehension of stitching tearing. 7. Daisy chain at the bottom. 31.1.2019: I had to dock a star, from five to four, as a metal zipper pull of the main compartment broke; besides making it difficult to close the side with the broken zipper pull, this has rendered the main compartment un-lockable. 9.4.19: I have added the docked star back as Pacsafe sent two sets of zipper pulls.

This is a great travel bag! The variety of pockets including the side ones give you a place for everything. The front pocket has organization features that can be used to carry power cables and other accessories. I combine the middle part with packing cubes in order to keep it organized. It could use a separate tablet pocket but the inside pocket for the laptop will accommodate either two laptops or a combination of laptop (full size 15") and tablet. The security options for the zippers ensure no one will get in the bag while you are carrying it. As usual Pacsafe created a very durable bag with all of the security features needed to secure your valuables when used properly. I use this bag daily for commuting and can easily carry my gym clothes, shoes, laptops and a variety of other things. Weight distribution makes it easy to carry even when fully loaded.

The main zippers have an obvious weak point that, in my case, broke after about 10 days of use. After this, the backpack is not securable (the whole point of it), and obviously hard to use with only a stub of the zipper remaining. Pacsafe's customer service is terrible too. The one woman working there is very nice, but it takes months to get a response.

I bought this backpack because I was studying in Sydney and was planning a lot of travel to other countries while there and wanted to keep my valuables safe. It does provide me with an extra layer of security, knowing that I can lock my backpack to a chair or table and a thief can't snatch and grab. Pros: 1. It does what it says it does well, locks your compartments, etc 2. Fairly large. I fit my 13" MacBook pro, iPad, camera insert with Sony a7rii, 24-70mm, 55mm, and 35mm, DJI spark drone with remote, Sony mdr-1000x headphones, Anker battery pack, cables and accessories, chargers, etc all into the backpack with a little room to spare (all of this is a tight fit!) 3. Chest strap helps alleviate some of the pressure on my shoulders 4. Top pocket is great to hold things you might need quickly or put away quickly like headphones Cons: 1. I wish the laptop sleeve was on the outside of the backpack. If the top pocket has headphones in it, then you are wrestling to open the entire top of the bag in order to access your laptop or iPad 2. This style of backpack makes it very difficult to find and reach items at the bottom of the main compartment 3. The outside accessory pocket is too slim! Can't fit anything in there 4. The bottom waist straps are kind of annoying, not sure what they're used for 4. Top handle feels like it will break at some point 5. Side zippered pockets aren't great for storing water bottles, especially when backpack is full. If water bottle has condensation then it will make the inside of the back wet and there's nowhere to attach a caribiner clip to attach a water bottle. Budget wouldn't allow this at the time but will likely be purchasing the peak design every day backpack to replace this one in the near future

Not very comfortable, but did not think I had to worry as much about pickpockets while using this backpack.

I used this for a trip to Italy. It fit under the seat for a domestic and international flight. I got two 9x7x4 s-zone camera bag inserts to make this into a high security camera bag since I couldn't find one on Amazon.

Outstanding quality, function, and sizing. The opening at the top is not as large as typical backpacks so be aware of that.

Perfect for an upcomeing trip to Europe.

Should post more information on the waist belt is not retractable like other model. I am disappointed on the waist belt that is dangling if i am not buckle it up.

Muy practica

Ich habe diesen Rucksack für eine 2 wöchige Reise in die USA gewählt und war absolut zufrieden. Die Größe war mehr als ausreichend, um neben Getränken, Fotokamera, Reiseführer auch noch 2 Jacken und 1 Handtuch unterzubringen. In der Vordertasche waren Handy, Reisepaß und Geld sicher aufgehoben und ein Fach in der oberen Klappe ist groß genug für Sonnenbrille etc. Auch gut beladen trägt der Rucksack sich angenehm. Durch die Sicherungssysteme habe ich mir weder in der vollen Metro, noch im Restaurant oder am Flughafen, wo der Tragegurt sicher um Stuhl- oder Tischbein zubefestigen war, Sorgen gemacht. Daneben gibt es noch eine kleine Tasche am Hüftgurt, wo Kleingeld und Metrokarte schnell greifbaren waren.Ich war/bin alles in allem sehr zufrieden und kann diesen Rucksack nur weiterempfehlen.

The reason for the purchase was to have an inconspicuous daypack when on city trips or at airports and was closer to 30 litres in size. This was also recommended by a security instructor with 30 years experience, who has no connection with the manufacturer. That statement will probably now make you doubt the review. Still here is my review. There are so many variants of the daypacks but I chose this one for the following reasons: 1. No big labels on it. 2. Looks like a average day sack for going to the gym with. 3. The main section and the front pocket can all be secured using the bespoke metal interlocking tabs and a small padlock can also be used to further secure it. 4. There are 3 zipped pockets on the outside of the main body, 2 for water bottles or umbrellas and one on the hip belt for little non important things. These all have a small security tag on them, if it is not used then personal access is easy. Otherwise if the security tags are used with the zipper tag then it becomes quite fiddly to open easily, which is excellent. 5. The main straps have plenty of adjustment on them and they look quite robust. 6. The main body is perfect for a day at work, laptop sleeve and a lockable compartment with enough room for pens, mobiles, notebook, etc. I was reluctant to purchase it, as the advertising photos do not do it justice. Again, for me, it is perfect, good enough with a suit in the city or taking all my stuff on a travelling holiday using public transport.

I know it is expensive, but I take this to London alot and it makes me feel so much better knowing that my backpack is that much harder to access than most peoples. I like the fact it has slash proof straps and a designated RFID blocking compartment for your wallet. Pacsafe make brilliant backpacks and after owning one, I wouldn't buy another from anyone else now, worth every penny.