Rome diary: The chainmail purse

The modest exterior of my new travel purse hides a big surprise for thieves. 

According to its information tags, the purse is so tough that knives would have a hard time cutting through it. Which raises the question: what if the alternative is slashing the human who carries it?

It’s not a purse, no, it’s a “lockable stainless steel cage,” says the tag describing my new travel accessory. “Like chainmail for your bag,” it says, with a little sketch of a vase-shaped sack with lines portraying, I suppose, the stainless steel wires that will foil knife-wielding thieves hoping to slash and grab.

That’s not all. It has zippers that clip into locks, a steel-wire reinforced “slashguard strap” covered with a special tough fabric, and puncture-resistant double zippers. You can even lock it to your chair at a restaurant. And in case the bad guys don’t come with knives, it has blocking material to shield passports and credit cards against RFID skimming.

Preparing for a trip to Rome after decades as a homebody, I may have been carried away by the precautionary goods offered at my local travel store. An RFID-blocking neck pouch to hide valuables under my clothes – why not? And just to be really, really sure, perhaps a little pinkish-satin pocket to clip to my bra!

I expect I will feel quite foolish about this eventually. The thing about not travelling for a long time is that  you forget that wherever you go is just a place where other people live. I’m pretty sure Roman women choosing their summer purses right now aren’t thinking chainmail and lockable steel cages.

One tough purse isn't enough: I also bought a neck pouch and a pocket to attach to my bra. Just in case!

 

Travel stores are big on RFID blocking material to prevent people from skimming passport and credit card information.

John bought me this backpack as a gift long before the Rome trip was on the horizon. But I will use it on the trip along with the purse, as it is also meant for travel.

Yup, it too has internal pockets with that RFID blocking material.