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There are plenty of commercial items out there to help conceal your travel money and valuable documents whilst abroad, with the most popular
among them being the tried and tested backpacker special: the travel money belt.
In this post we examine money belts and other similar
items, and list the pros and cons along with some tips to use them
effectively whilst backpacking.
What is a Travel Money Belt?
Essentially, the travel money belt is a slim line, usually flesh
coloured cloth pouch around 8-10 inches wide and about 4 inches high,
and is just large enough to accommodate your passport, tickets and
other valuable documents. They have a strap and fastening arrangement
so you can sit the main money belt pouch on your belly, wrap the strap
around your waist and secure it at the back or the side.
Although money belts vary in their dimensions they’re typically
thin by design, thus allowing them to be concealed under a top.
Pros of using money belts when traveling
1. They’re another place to spread your valuables around. By
splitting things between pockets, a wallet AND a money belt, you
may have a better chance - even if only slightly - of not losing
everything if you get robbed.
2. It’s better to have your most valued items on your body where you
can feel them at all times than in a bag that can be snatched or a
pocket that can get picked.
Cons of using money belts when traveling
1. Due to their utility and popularity among backpackers, the travel
money belt is now the worst kept secret in the world. If backpackers
know backpackers carry money belts, it’s a fair to assume that some robbers
may also. And, in the belief that only you
know that you are carrying it, it may cause you to put too much trust and
too many things into it, and to lose even more should you have an
exceedingly unlucky day.
2. You can’t put much in them before they become glaringly obvious
3. They can be uncomfortable - especially when strapped tight to your body in sticky 30 degree heat.
4. Your reminded of it every time you sit down or bend over when the
corner of your passport prods you where no-one likes being prodded.
Tips for using travel money belts:
Don’t use them in public. It may sound like a no brainer, but you’d
be amazed at how many folks use them as they would a wallet or purse.
Keeping some money in your pocket negates the need to access it in
public, so it can be kept under wraps and used purely as a kind of
‘body safe’. But what about the money now in your pocket? Well, you
have to weigh it up, I guess. But surely it’s got to be better to
slightly increase the risk of losing a little than massively increasing
the risk of losing a lot.
Place documents inside Ziploc bags before the go into the money belt
- it stops them going soggy if they get wet – which may well happen
when your in searing heat and sweating like a pig with a 10×4 inch thin
cotton band stuck against your skin.
Instead of wearing the hidden money belt high around your waist,
position it like an internal fannypack/bumbag – don’t worry though,
it’s not as painful as it first sounds. Just wear the money belt so
that the top of it sits no higher than the top of your trousers/shorts
(where possible). It’ll appear as though you’re not wearing a money
belt at all and, since you shouldn’t really need to access it in public
anyway, it shouldn’t prove to be any more of a problem that if it were
around your waist.
Leather Money Belt
This
is a different kind of money belt - the kind of belt used to hold your
trousers up. The difference here is that it has a slim line zipped
compartment on the inside that you can slide a small bunch of folded
bills into.
 Pros of leather money belts
1. Very stealthy as it just looks like a bog standard leather belt.
2. Not only can it be used to hide money, but it can also hold your trousers up - dual purpose bonus!
Cons of leather money belts
1. You can only really use it to conceal money, as a passport/credit card is too large to fit inside.
2. It can’t really be used in conjunction with a dress or casual/beach shorts…unless you want to look a right tit.
Other Types of travel Money Belts
Concealed Leg Money belt
The
concealed leg money belt is similar in design to the regular belt but –
yep, you’ve guessed it – it goes around your leg. Although it usually
goes around your calf, if you wear shorts then in theory you can put it
around your thigh.
 Pros of concealed leg money belts
1. Not used as commonly as the waist money belt, so there’s more chance of it going undetected should something bad happen.
2. I find that something wrapped around my calf feels a little more
natural and comfortable than something around my midriff/abdomen – but
that’s just a personal one.
3. It doesn’t restrict movement or get in the way like the standard travel money belt can do.
Cons of concealed leg money belts
1. If you wear shorts a lot, this may not be the one for you. When
it’s on your thigh it may see more movement than if it were snugly
around your calf – also, if really high up on your thigh, there’s more
risk of it chaffing as you walk.
Hidden Neck Pouch
The
next popular hidden wallet is the neck pouch. It’s pretty much designed
to do the same as the other two types of hidden money belt, but it just
comes in neck flavour instead.
 Pros of hidden neck pouches
1. Not used as commonly as the ‘secret’ hidden waist belts and so may be less likely to be looked for if you get robbed.
2. When resting reasonably high on your chest bone it can be more
comfortable than the money belts that stick fast around your waist.
Cons hidden neck pouches
1. The string around your neck can be a bit of a tell tale giveaway
that you are using one. And, especially if you wear lower cut/open
tops, you have to think a little more carefully about what you wear if
you wish it to remain a secret.
General tips for using concealed travel money pouches:
There is one rule applies to all these hidden money pouches: don’t
put all your trust in them. On their own they are not the 100% secure
solution to storing money/documents, but then no single item really is.
Don’t try and pack too much into them and, if you do choose to use
one, remember to spread your valuables around in a number of different
places. Think eggs and baskets.
Final Note
In addition to these commercial options, there are also other ways to hide valuables on your person
that can be used in conjunction with money belts. Some of these others
ways, in fact, should appeal to the true ubertrampers since they are
also cheap and effective.
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