travelon1It’s time to hit the road again!

Most of us fly regularly and need to take along all the essentials to keep ourselves looking good and fresh for several weeks and carry our electronic friends along as well.

That’s requirement Number One: lightweight travel gear so that we can maximise our luggage allowance.
But it also has to be strong, durable and good looking.

That’s why we again looked at Travelon gear for this year’s line-up of different pieces of luggage.

 

Here’s our Requirement Number Two: maximum in security. We don’t always travel in safe environments and the harder it is for opportunistic thieves to get into our bags or abscond with them, the better it is. And don’t forget identity theft from a distance: RFID blocking pockets have become necessary.
Locking hardware where zippers have to be unclipped first will make it harder for thieves. Shoulder bags need to have slash proof straps. Drive-by scooter grabs are very common these days.

All of these requirements are where the Travelon Anti-Theft range shines.

We reported earlier on these products in the Travelon 2017 Show here.

Let’s have a closer look at some of the other products, starting with the
Travelon Anti-Theft Tailored Wheeled Underseat Carry-On (product number 44052)

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We were looking for a compact, easy to manoeuvre carry-on which could be stowed under a seat for easy access during flight. It should accommodate a decent size laptop plus accessories and overnight clothing.

This wheeled carry-on seemed just the ticket. It touted it could even accommodate a 15.6” laptop, the size of my main workhorse.
However, there’s no way it can handle a lappie of that size. A comfortable fit for this padded section would be for a Sony Vaio of about 30cm wide. Or something like a Surface or Galaxy Book. I opted for the Sony and a Galaxy Book 12.

There’s enough room for chargers, cables and whatever else you need on a business trip. The RFID section is the full width of the bag and can hold passports and wallets.
The overnight section can carry shoes in addition to the usual pants, shirts, underwear and toiletries.

The telescopic handles reside in that section as well, hidden behind some lining. The handles are also neatly zipped away when not in use whilst you carry it by the soft handle. On the back side there’s also a strap to piggy-back it onto your other rolling luggage.

Some of the very nice touches of this wheeled carry-on are the gold plated zipper accents, the luxury lining and the grip on the bottom of the case.

In traveling with this compact bag we found it would carry quite a bit of gear, including my Mavic Pro drone.
It weighs 2.7kg so the biggest problem might just be to keep the contents at not much more than 4.3kg to stay with the 7 kilos of carry-on allowance for airlines within Australia.

We found this carry-on exactly what we needed: great looking, sturdy yet light, easy to wheel around or carry. The only hitch was the airline we chose. Virgin Airlines is not known for generous seating arrangements and that resulted also in having to stow it overhead. On some of their aircraft the window or aisle seats have tighter underseat spaces.

Priced at USD141 and available from the US only at this stage as are another couple of products.
Fortunately other items in this Show are for sale in Australia which makes it easier and cheaper to get.

Travelon Anti-Theft Signature Quilted Slim Pouch (#43322)

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From the Signature line we have the Slim Pouch – again with Anti-Theft technology, like slash proof straps and body panels. There are 6 compartments to stow small personal items. A 7 or 8 inch tablet will also fit which is a bonus. RFID pocket also has slots for credit cards.

Nice accents with this pouch are the antique brass hardware, a quilted flap on the front with magnetic button and the oh so handy mini flashlight that’s attached on a keyring to light up the dark recesses of this pouch. This is a life saver in sudden power outage situations.
The inner lining is teal coloured which also helps to find darker items.

My wife found this pouch perfect during the 3 weeks trip and not just in air travel either.
Price: USD42

Moving up in size just a notch is the
Travelon Anti-Theft Classic Slim Double Zip Crossbody (#43116)

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This is taken from the Travelon Classic Collection and has essentially the same features as the Slim Pouch.
The Double Zip refers to the 2 silvery lockable zippers across the front. There’s a magnetic button to close the back pouch which is fairly deep. The straps and body panels are slash proof. Inside: one zipped compartment, the RFID section, pouches for your phone and sunnies and a main area that can hold an 8 inch tablet. Your little flashlight is already in place!

We found that this Crossbody fits a lot more than you would imagine, like a small cardigan or water bottle plus all the other travel essentials.
Compact and stylish go together for just AUD80.

Travelon Anti-Theft Classic Crossbody Bucket Bag (#42757)

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Everything is scaled up in size a bit more yet again and that makes this bag even more useful as a standalone all-purpose bag. No wonder it’s called a “Bucket” bag! You can throw in just about anything on all the trips you have planned for your “bucket list!”.

Plenty of compartments, some zippered and the ones on the front and the main one are lockable. There are 2 zippered holders on the sides for a water bottle and umbrella. Again, the straps and body panels are slash proof.
RFID? Of course! Flashlight? Sure! Style? Mais naturellement!

It’s a classic design so nothing too ostentatious.

Again, my wife praised its usefulness that goes beyond air travel and extends to trips to town as well. Price: AUD89

Finally, the last item is the
Travelon Packable Crossbody Tote (#42815)

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This is the bag you throw into another bag to cater for all the stuff you want to bring home. It takes up very little room – that’s why it’s called a packable tote.
There’s nothing fancy about it, no anti-theft features, just a big just-in-case bag to tote along.

It opens up to about 40x36x13cm. And because it has the Travelon name on it, it still has the waterproof toughness you’d expect and 3 zippers and 2 water bottle holders on the sides.

Chuck it in for just USD26. You never know how handy it’s gonna be one day.

Conclusion

All the items as reviewed here came in black as that’s our preferred “colour”. Most of them come in a range of modern colours though as shown in the photos.
Check them and dozens of other travel items on their site here

They’ve been around since 1978 and that’s long enough for them to know what travellers want and for customers to know they’ll be around some more.
And that’s why we look forward to their new range in 2019!