The Pacsafe GO Anti-theft Crossbody Bags are stylish, adaptable, and designed to protect your valuables.
Are you looking for a new travel-safe bag that’s lightweight and reliable?
I’ve tested both crossbody bags by Pacsafe: the Festival and the Saddle.
What are the unique features of each?
Which one should you get?
Today, I’ll be diving into a detailed review of the Pacsafe crossbody bags.
Overall rating: 9/10
Let’s get started!
I absolutely love Pacsafe as a brand and enjoy their products, which I’ve reviewed a few of.
While they’re known for their anti-theft bags, what I love the most is that these features are very discrete instead of being too obvious.
This means they blend well for everyday use, or even for travel.
The company’s history dates back to 1998, when it was founded by fellow travellers Rob and Magnus.
Pacsafe is also big on sustainability, which is perfect if you’re trying to make more eco-conscious choices in your everyday life.
From product designs that are meant to be long-lasting to donating 1% of online sales to turtle conservation projects.
Those trying to find the perfect crossover bag for travel would love the Festival and Saddle bags. They’re simple yet effective, with anti-theft features that work well.
These bags are great for both travel and day-to-day life, especially in keeping your valuables safe. The design itself is quite versatile and stylish that they’re easy to pair with your everyday outfit.
If you’re looking for a lightweight crossbody bag with excellent security, then I’d highly recommend these.
To be honest, I can’t think of a real reason not to get the crossbody bags as I feel they are worth the price and have some options in terms of style to choose from.
However, I’d say that they’re not the most appropriate as an evening crossbody and may look out of place with a nice dress. Instead, these bags are perfect for daytime and things like sightseeing or running errands.
Just before I got to test out the Pacsafe Go crossbody bags, I was planning a trip and wanting to bring a small bag with me.
Something small and more compact so that I didn’t have to carry a full backpack with me, while still offering some kind of anti-theft features.
So, perfect timing!
I was travelling with my sister Cazzy and she needed a larger crossbody bag to fit her medication (her being type 1 diabetic), so she opted for the Pacsafe® GO anti-theft festival crossbody.
Get your Pacsafe Festival Crossbody here.
For me, I decided to go for the Pacsafe® GO anti theft saddle crossbody, which is smaller
Get your Pacsafe Saddle Crossbody here.
The bags are made from recycled polyester and PFC free materials that are water-resistant.
A huge benefit if you’re travelling and ever caught in a rain — you know that your belongings will be protected.
Both bags are very lightweight, which is something I appreciate in a crossbody bag. I love feeling like you’re not carrying anything.
At 0.47 lbs., the Festival bag wears comfortably. The Saddle crossbody is only slightly heavier at 0.56 lbs. Still super light!
Moreover, these bags are flexible too, which means you can easily squish them inside a luggage, for example if you’re moving cities or going on a flight.
I do love the overall finish and craftsmanship of the bags. It all feels premium and durable.
Not to mention that Pacsafe offers a limited 5 year warranty on their backpacks and bags.
They are really comfortable and I had no concerns at all in this front!
Especially considering the fact that they’re both extremely lightweight.
The straps are solid and have a nice feel, and they’re adjustable to adapt to your build and height.
The Festival Crossbody and Saddle Crossbody both have very similar features, from the material to anti-theft security, so I thought it’d be useful to list them together.
1. Smart zipper security and cut-resistant materials
The anti-theft features are no doubt the main highlights here.
First up is the eXomesh slashguard, which is a built-in stainless steel wire mesh material that makes your bag cut-resistant.
This basically means no one can slash your bag to get inside, which will come in handy in busy crowds and touristy areas that may be prone to theft.
The smart zipper system includes its own dock locks that make it harder to maneuver the zips, and thus harder to pickpocket.
These zippers have pullers for you to use.
2. Cut-resistant anchor strap
The Pacsafe bags come with an anchor strap that can secure around a fixed object.
It’s straightforward and easy to use, although to be perfectly honest, the bag is small enough that it’d be simpler to just have it with you at all times.
(In comparison, this feature is fantastic on a backpack, which would be heavier and more of a hassle to carry around.)
But this is still a great feature to have and I imagine some people would appreciate it more!
Plus, the straps are wire reinforced, which means they are also cut-resistant.
3. RFID blocking pocket
Another great feature here is the RFIDsafe material used for the pockets and the bags.
Identity theft is a real threat these days, so you’ll want a bag with RFID blocking materials.
This is especially useful when you’re travelling to busy places, as this ensures that your ID, cards, and passport can’t be scanned.
4. Internal attachment points
Inside the bags, you will find internal attachment points for your keys and wallet.
Not only does this ensure that they won’t fall out when you’re digging around, but it also makes them much easier to get. Just pull on the leash and voila!
5. Surprisingly spacious inside
Despite being small and relatively lightweight, I was quite surprised by how spacious the bags are.
We were able to fit a lot, including a camera in each of our bags.
For Festival: My 500ml bottle fit in nicely, although the lid stuck out but because of the awkward shape.
All in all, there was just lot of space for things you didn’t want to carry in your hands or needed quick access to.
The Saddle: Expands to a larger bag
Want the flexibility and convenience of a crossbody bag, but you just have a lot of things to carry?
You might want to choose the Saddle crossbody, as it expands out to a larger bag when you need to carry more.
This is via a magnetic flap that you can fill out when needed and folds down when empty.
The Festival: Small and compact
The Festival is a tad smaller and more compact. It can just about fit everything you need on a daily basis: a phone, Kindle, portable charger, passport and wallet, and even a small water bottle.
The two compartments inside are surprisingly roomy and you can organize your items as you wish.
There aren’t many things I can complain about these bags.
They’re altogether very high-quality and well-designed.
Personally, I’m not the biggest fan of the fabric on the interior lining, which is 150D Recycled polyester.
It’s probably just the style and is actually super easy to clean, I just found the festival marked more easily.
Here are my impressions after using the Crossbody bags for the first time, and then two weeks later.
If you don’t have a lot of time to read this entire review, you’ve skipped ahead to the right section!
Here’s the most important question of the day…
Are the Pacsafe Go crossbody bags worth it?
I would say yes, they are.
Overall, they are super convenient, easy to use, and saved us a lot of faff throughout our trip.
I’d highly recommend them for city breaks and exploring sites like museums, or even going to festivals and concerts.
Basically: a small travel shoulder bag that you can always rely on!
You might love the Festival Crossbody if you just need something easy, tight, and compact.
Get your Pacsafe Festival Crossbody here.
Or if you prefer to have even more space, you'll love the Saddle Crossbody with its expandable flap!
Get your Pacsafe Saddle Crossbody here.
They’re light enough that they won’t weigh you down and can fit all your essentials, while still giving you peace of mind in terms of anti-theft.
The overall build quality is also very impressive, as with the other Pacsafe products I've tried.
For a smaller crossbody bag, the Micro Crossbody is ideal. It’s big enough to carry your passport, phone, wallet, and small camera, and has fantastic anti-theft security.
This includes a lockdown point for zippers, cut-resistant technology, RFID blocking, and wire reinforced straps.
The Citysafe CX is a great travel backpack with Pacsafe’s signature anti-theft technology that is still stylish. It has beautiful aesthetics, a laptop sleeve, unique clip purse opening, and is quite spacious inside.
Read my full review of the Citysafe CX.
Featuring excellent organisation and great anti-theft features, the Metrosafe X is design for commuters in the city. I’m a fan of its slim profile and sideway opening, which isn’t something you see a lot of.
Here’s my in-depth review of the Pacsafe Commuter Backpack.
Okay, that wraps up my Pacsafe Crossbody bag review.
What are your thoughts on Pacsafe and their bags?
I’d love to hear from you in the comment section!
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