I am always on the lookout for cool travel accessories.  Some of them are listed in my travel tips column.  I am huge believer in practicing security when I travel.  I have heard too many horror stories from other travelers who have had backpacks, purses or bags stolen right in front of their eyes.  So, I was particularly intrigued with this easy to use locking device called the “grab guard”

The Grab Guard in black

It is an easy to use two (2) number combination cable lock that is extremely lightweight and serves the purpose of temporarily delaying any thief that is trying to make a “quick getaway” with your stuff.  Usually all it takes is a slight deterrent to make a thief choose a different target.

I often travel with a 22 inch roll aboard suitcase and carry a small backpack.  The problem is when I am sitting in an airport waiting area and trying to keep both the suitcase and the backpack secure.  With the Grab-Guard, I simply put the cable lock through both pieces to keep them secured together. 

 I recently used it on a trip to New York and it eased a lot of my concerns with keeping my bags secured together.  I really liked using it.   My next trip was to Chicago, where I forgot and left the Grab-Guard at home.  On that trip,  I had much more anxiety about my bags when I wasn’t using the Grab Guard.

The grab guard in brown

 I wanted to get some other people’s opinions about Grab Guard.   I started out with my daughter who travels a lot.  Her comments were “Yeah! I can totally see this in the airport.  I am always afraid I am going to fall asleep and someone will walk off with my purse”  “Now, I can attach my purse to either me or the armrest while waiting for my flight.  This would be perfect for travel”!!

When I showed it to my wife, she said, “Wow that is a neat little gadget!  It’s cool! It’s small! I wish I would have had that this morning to have secured my purse in the restaurant when we were having breakfast”!

My friend Kim said, “I think it is perfect for securing my purse in the cart at the grocery store.”  “I see women all the time that are getting ready to have their purses stolen because they just set them in the grocery cart.”  ” I am going to have my husband get me one”!

I then interviewed some random 20-something(ages) young women at Starbucks.  Their comments were, “I would use it at the airport or in the grocery store”.  “It would be perfect”!  “I really like it.”   The most shocking comment I got from the younger girls was a shrug when asked if they would use in a restaurant.  Several of the younger ones said “I probably wouldn’t use it to secure my purse in a restaurant, because no one in this city would ever steal your purse off a chair” (???)  Famous last words of the uninitiated!

Grab guard secures purse to chair

Grab Guard used to secure backpack to chair

Do yourself a favor and check out their website for ordering info.   Plus you can see the video on the various uses of the product. www.grabguard.com

Steve Barrymore ssb11@prodigy.net

Read about my travel tips here

Read about the rest of  my other world travels here

Comments?  Please post below or email me at ssb11@prodigy.net