Money Belts – What you need to know
Gear | by
With many different variations of Money Belt available, it’s often difficult to choose which one is right for you.
The main objective with all money belts is to conceal, not just your money, but other valuables that are able to fit into the belt without being noticed. If after you have put your valuables in the belt and there is an obvious ‘bulge’, then you need to remove some items or find another option to conceal them.
With this in mind there are two questions that need to be answered before deciding which Travel money belt is best for you?
- What do you intend to put in your money belt? i.e Credit Cards, Passport, Copies of important documents, as well as your cash.
- What is the nature of the trip in which you will be wearing it? With a quick weekend away to Cabo you might not need copies of your insurance, passport and back up credit cards. Your Hotel will more than likely have a safe to put your passport and extra cash in. If however it’s a 3 month trip backpacking around Europe, then the actual ‘travelling’ part of being on buses, trains and public transport in which you will be carrying your life in your backpack is increased, therefore you will be carrying all of your valuables on you.
With these two questions considered, there are two main types of money belt available that are commonly used.
The first is the design that most people are familiar with, consisting of a pouch system with two or more zippered compartments and a waist strap. These travel money belts are for holding various items and are concealed by placing your clothes over the top i.e. under your shirt or sweater.
The second design is an ‘actual’ belt that not only conceals money, but can hold up your pants aswell.
Here are the pros and cons of each.
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Common Design: Pros: Can hold a variety of items in differing sizes, Lightweight, Great value for money. Cons: Can appear bulky if overloaded, Not always comfortable in hot or humid destinations, In some locations around the world Pickpockets are aware of this design and know how to spot them. See Price or Buy |
Belt Design: Pros: Very concealed (it looks like a belt), Works as a belt, Comfortable, Great value for money, Cons: limited on what items can be stored due to the compartment size, Have to take off the belt to access its contents. See price or Buy |
Both designs are great and work well as their intended use. My biggest Tip wherever you are traveling is to always split up your valuables and cash. Do not keep everything together in one place, whether it’s in a money belt or in a daypack. If it does get stolen, or you just lose it somewhere (leaving your daypack in a coffee shop for example….it happens to the best of us) then you haven’t lost everything. Keep most of your cash in the Belt design, your passport and backup cards in the common design, and your daily allowance of cash and main credit card in a travel wallet. This means you don’t ever have to touch either travel belt in public and people only see your wallet.
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