The PacSafe Anti Theft Briefcase & Backpack (Unbox Therapy Edition)

(A note from Kurtis - The Connected is an article-a-page site that reviews a variety of products related to technology and my interests. Click on Apropos for more information. I will usually post a new article 2-3 times a week, so, if you love deep-dive reviews with lots of pictures, please check back often!)

For today’s article, I’ve decided to write about the bag I use for both work and travel.

Historically, I’ve always been a backpack kind of guy, with a focus on light, no-frills backpacks that don’t demand much time or attention. For several years, I’ve used a Herschel Pop Quiz, which has the added benefit of including a soft, velvet-lined laptop interior pouch, along with no external pouches apart from those that are closed with zippers. Regrettably, that’s a necessity where I work, as many people who come into my building live in cockroach infested apartments, and my wife and I both face the eternal dread of accidentally bringing a little “friend” home someday. 

I like my Pop Quiz, but I stopped using it at the start of the current school year in favour of a different bag — one that I purchased mostly with air travel in mind, though it’s proven to be a convenient bag for daily use as well. 

The bag I use currently is the Unbox Therapy x Pacsafe Anti Theft Briefcase & Backpack. Despite the mouthful of a name, it’s a minimalist bag with a number of useful features. With only a few minor caveats, it’s the best bag I’ve ever owned.

The Look/Function

The Pacsafe is designed to be functional, but it is also a quality make. The bag is generally charcoal and black, with a black leather handle which snaps closed should you choose to carry it more as a traditional briefcase rather than by slinging the strap over your shoulder. The only hints of colour are in the logo, which is affixed with orange stitching, and a cosmetic button affixed to the front zipper.

It’s actually pretty difficult to talk about how it looks without also discussing its function — after all, the Pacsafe was built with security in mind, and so its look is heavily influenced by the practical ways in which it was designed to protect your tech. 

The shoulder strap is made of a durable fabric, which might feel unpleasant on my shoulder if I were carrying a number of heavy items, however, it includes a velcro’d grey strap which provides comfortable padding. 

The front of the bag has a wide pouch which stays sealed with a heavy duty zipper. When zipped shut, the zipper can be tucked into a small pouch, making it harder for a passing stranger to see or easily unzip. There is similarly a double, interlocking zipper which is used to keep closed the main compartment. All zippers on the Pacsafe are designed to be puncture resistant, and there’s a handy little latch to which the shoulder strap is affixed. It’s very simple to unclasp that latch for either the purpose of removing/tucking away the shoulder strap, or locking into place the interlocking zipper, adding a layer of difficulty for any potential thief who would need to sit down with the Pacsafe to figure out how to release the zipper and access the compartment within. 

About those double zippers — I think my only complaint about the Pacsafe is that, when those zippers aren’t clasped together and affixed to the protective latch, they really rattle and jingle around as I walk. I probably wouldn’t notice if I was listening to music, and, in any case, out of habit I keep those zippers latched, so the noise really isn’t an issue. And in the event that I’m walking somewhere with the bag and I forgot to latch the zippers, it’s actually quite easy to do it on the fly while standing or walking. 

There are two other small enclosed pouches on the Pacsafe — one is for the previously mentioned shoulder strap, which can be unlatched and tucked away with little issue. The other is a small, hidden compartment that’s placed on the interior side of the case, meaning that it remains pressed up against my side whenever I am carrying the bag. This second compartment is an ideal location for things like one’s wallet or passport, and it’s where I tend to keep my family’s travel documents when we aren’t busy trying to survive a pandemic. 

As far as the interior goes, it is incredibly spacious and accessible. Within the main compartment is a 15” laptop sleeve and also a similarly-sized tablet sleeve, which easily fits either my 13” MacBook Pro and my 12.9” iPad Pro.

Additionally, the interior contains a large mesh zipper pocket, an RFID Blocking Pocket, which is excellent for credit cards, another internal pocket, and a key clip.

While all Pacsafes include a wide opening to better allow its owner to remove various devices, cables, and whatever else you might be carrying around with you, the Unbox Therapy version was designed to zip lower and open even wider, to better make your belongings more accessible to you without having to rifle through an otherwise crowded pocket. 

On the back is a luggage slip, which was honestly my top priority when I bought the bag. I don’t know how you parents of multiple children accomplish travel, but in my small family (consisting only of my wife and son), we especially find air travel to be some kind of overwhelming juggling/balancing act. 

Overall, the bag looks like it is well made and designed to function. It fits comfortably under my arm, and even, when filled to the brim with my gear, it doesn’t feel too heavy or uncomfortable when strapped around my shoulder. 

Final thoughts

The Pacsafe is a well-constructed bag designed to be used. It offers a layer of protection against bag snatchers — they might be able to rip your bag off your shoulder and run with it, but they aren’t going to easily get your contents out of the bag unless they understand how it works. 

When I bought the bag, it cost $175 on Amazon, but you can buy it now for $141, or a backpack version for just around $130. (Note: I am not an Amazon affiliate and will not receive any kind of payment if you like my review and choose to buy the briefcase or backpack. Prices change all the time, so it may be more or less expensive when you read this, and all currencies are in USD, not CAD.)

The Pacsafe is sturdy, well-crafted, hard to break into, and big enough to carry everything you might take with you on a trip. It is my favourite travel bag, and I expect to use it for, hopefully, the rest of my life.