Customer Reviews

Pacsafe CitySafe 100 Anti-Theft Hand Bag

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is a great little bag, very well made. It's neat looking and sturdy but it has a couple of drawbacks. One is the cross body strap. Elsewhere I had seen one review that said the strap was too short to wear across the body but it was only one review among many and I gave it a shot. I am long waisted and over 5' 7" and the bag with the strap extended at its fullest made it awkward getting into the bag while still over the shoulder. It was doable, but awkward. Strap extends to 42.9 inches. The one picture I had seen of it worn that way must have used a model that was about 5' 2". The second issue is the almost worthless side pockets. They are rather narrow and won't fit my phone or my new iPod. Maybe good for a few pencils. There are two zippered pockets inside and a velcroed place for phone or music player but it's not too convenient for easy access if you're not worried about getting robbed.
I'm bummed since it's so well made and am returning it.

I bought this purse for my first travel in Europe - a two week trip through five cities in three countries. A couple of the cities were known to have high crime areas. I bought this purse because of the anti-theft features, especially the wire mesh in the strap and around the bottom of the purse. There are other anti-theft devices, too, like an extra hook to hook the zipper closed and also a strap that can un-hook, wrap around the back of a chair, and re-hook. Walking around the various cities on my trip, I felt quite safe with my purse.

It's not the most attractive thing in the world, but I also don't think it's terribly ugly, either. It was large enough to fit a regular sized guide-book in, my small-ish digital camera (a Sony Cybershot - anything SLR-sized would be too big or bulky), train tickets, a little wallet for my credit cards, pens, a pocketknife, and a pack of gum. When I purchased smaller things like postcards or little gifts, I could still easily stick those in the bag as well. I was pleasantly surprised at how much I could fit in there without stuffing it.

As one other reviewer said above, the side pockets are too narrow for anything other than a couple of pens or pencils, which is precisely what I used them for. I also didn't have a problem with wearing the purse across my body, and I am a little taller than 5'6". It hung at a perfect height for me to access.

In short, it was a perfect travel purse for me -- it met all my needs and I would recommend it highly for anyone who is looking for an anti-theft purse.

I brought this purse to me for 3 weeks in Germany and while I know a lot of the other reviews were to South American, etc., I was in some very "touristy" and crowded areas and this purse helped me travel with confidence. There is a black clasp located at the base of one side of the strap that clips to the main zipper to keep it closed which I LOVED. It's also pretty inconspicuous which was nice. The purse doesn't look unusual but the slash-proofing at the bottom can be felt when you press hard (which I only did to see how it was built) and seen in parts from the inside. I was very happy with the outward appearance. There are a number of card slots built into the inner wall of the purse which I chose to use in place of a wallet so that I only had to take out the card(s) that I needed and not an entire wallet. There is a pouch inside that is the prefect size for a point and shoot camera. It is slightly padded and has a strap with velcro to keep the camera/phone in place. There is also a zip side pocket inside the main pocket where I kept mine and my sister's passports and other important documents when we were relocating. The shoulder strap feels sturdy without being overly stiff or unattractive. Really I was looking for a purse that would give me some peace of mind taking a minor around Europe and this did just that. I'm very happy with it and would definitely recommend it to others.

I bought this bag in April of 2008 for a trip to Rome and liked it so much I kept using it daily after that. I am 5`8 and slender and had no problems with the length of the strap. Unfortunately now, ten months later, a connection point on the strap suddenly broke. At the clip end of the strap that you can use to secure the bag around a chair leg etc the metal piece that anchors that end to the bag has come out of its metal fitting and there is no way to put the two pieces back together. Also while wearing the bag the strap would occasionally become twisted so a minor nuisance but a nuisance none the less. Perhaps the newer bags have fixed these problems.

Updated to add the following. The company replaced the bag free of charge, with the same model but with the design flaw fixed. I would recommend the updated bag to anyone.

This is well made and fits the description but is really too small to be useful on a trip. I ordered this size because I didn't want to carrying a lot of weight. Because the sides are so rigid, the inside of the purse is too cramped. Can't fit as much as you can in a regular purse with these outside dimensions.

I read as many reviews as I could prior to this purchase and I can confidently say I'm a satisfied customer. There were some issues raised on previous comments w/ the length of the purse and being 5'2 there were no problems here. The length was perfect w/ some extra room to have it drape below my hips if I wanted to.

The best attributes of this purse is of course the safety features. The zipper clasp was my favorite and the option to secure the strap around an stationary object came quite handy also. The bag was fashionable enough and blended well w/ my travels to Barcelona.

The only qualms I had was that it was a bit small. They weren't messing around when they said it was a perfect travel bag for necessities. Emphasis on necessities. So I had my camera, wallet, cell phone, tissue, hand sanitizer, copies of some docs in the inside pocket and that's about it! Some sunglasses and a bag of candy, almost made the bag burst. I know they made an updated series, but that felt a bit too big to shlep around. The only other thing I wished they had was an outside pocket a bit bigger than the 2 tiny side pockets that I managed to squeeze a small bottle of lotion in. An easy but secured bigger pocket on the outside would have been nice to slip some receipts or map in and it would have been my dream travel purse.

All in all, good bag for peace of mind traveling in Europe and I guess teaches you to travel light!

I bought this thinking of safety but I actually like it, though I think there was a flap infront of it but instead just a design. It's quality made and looks nice too, not too rugged. I don't have any issues about the strap as it fits on me comfortably of course I'm only 5 foot. I love the organization inside and some surprising secure clips, for a tiny bag it could fit a foldable umbrella, small water bottle, etc. The only thing I didn't like is the tiny side pocket outside which is worthless, all you can fit is a pen, overall it is a good bag, free shipping makes it a bargain.

I already own a Citysafe 200 (which I had to modify--see my review "Coulda, shoulda, woulda") Pacsafe CitySafe 200 Anti-Theft Hand Bag, but I wanted something smaller for use around town and perhaps on shorter trips.

The Citysafe 100 has all the positives of the bigger 200 purse--steel wire in the handle, steel mesh in the body, well-constructed, heavy-duty fabric. But it is considerably smaller and lighter.

In fact, it is almost too small, and I must agree with other reviewers who wish Pacsafe offered something in-between the 100 and 200.

The outside end pockets on the 100 are so small and so tight that they are useless except for perhaps carrying pencils or pens. My very thin cell phone does fit--however, once in, it is hard to get out because the pockets are so tight.

There are no other outside pockets. The 200 has a large outside zippered pocket (actually divided by stitching into two useless small pockets, but the stitches can be removed.) This purse has nothing like that and that's too bad, because an outside pocket would allow you to carry tickets, brochures, coupons, etc.

As with the bigger 200, I am considering making some modifications to the 100, which would include mesh water bottle end pockets with cord locks. I did this to the 200 and it was very useful on a 10-day trip to Paris. But once again I'm wondering why I have to make such heavy-duty alterations on a new purse.

I just used this bag for the last week on a trip abroad. It provided me with peace of mind having the anti-theft features. It was lightweight and attractive and easily went from daytime to nighttime use. I had read a review from a woman who was tall and had difficulty with the strap length; I'm 5'7" and had no trouble with using it across my body with plenty of room available in the adjustable strap - I think it's a non-issue. The overall size and look of the bag were perfect.

I use this bag for travel. Large and roomy enough to carry my small wallet, cell phone and ipod with room still left over. Has 2 zippered pockets inside one small, one large. Looks quite stylish especially since it is considered a "theft proof" bag. I will buy this bag again in a different color. Excellent.