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Yet another reason why I love my Cafe Bags

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  • MaggieScratch
    Forum Member
    • Sep 2008
    • 111

    Yet another reason why I love my Cafe Bags

    My co-worker had her purse stolen yesterday. She was picking up takeout in a diner that is a long, narrow room. When you walk in, there is a counter along one side with stools. She set her bag on a stool while chatting with the servers. Another woman came in, ordered a shot (at lunchtime!), and walked out--with her purse.

    My cafe bag never has to be "set down" anywhere. It's right there, draped over my shoulder. I wear it in front so I can see that no wandering hands get into it. And anything important is attached to it with keystraps and o-rings! (Except my Color Nook...might have to do something about that.)

    I love my cafe bag. *curtsies*
  • Maria
    Forum Member
    • Dec 2010
    • 447

    #2
    Oh your poor friend! I feel for her.

    Another reason I so appreciate the key straps and such - keeps things attached!

    WHich reminds me - I have to find out if Tom and crew have added O-rings to the packing cube shoulder bag!
    "Buy the best, cry once" - Pasquale

    Comment

    • backpack
      Forum Member
      • Feb 2006
      • 4247

      #3
      I also feel for your friend.

      Make sure she gets in touch with all her cc companies, banks, credit bureau, the dmv office and file a police report with the description of the thief.

      She should be prepared to follow up all phones or email/web contacts by a certified letter reiterating the circumstances of the theft.
      It is also a good idea to document all phones call with a quick note including date, time the phone call started, name of the person who answered and transcript of what is being said, time the phone call ended.

      The exact time of the theft will be on the receipt of the diner transaction, always useful to make multiple copies of that receipt.

      I have been through the same as she, before, hence the little tips above.


      I love my Cafe Bags for the very same reason they stay on me, visible at all time.

      Comment

      • Maria
        Forum Member
        • Dec 2010
        • 447

        #4
        Great advice Backpack! Thank you for the details.
        I'll have to remember all this, yet hope I never need to use it!
        "Buy the best, cry once" - Pasquale

        Comment

        • backpack
          Forum Member
          • Feb 2006
          • 4247

          #5
          I share unpleasant experiences and way to deal with them if I think I can help somebody, even a little.

          The same rule applies for lost cc.

          Both experiences are however, relatively minor compared to an attempted break-in.

          Lesson learned: If somebody unknown keep knocking and ringing at the door, call the authorities right away.

          Seeing one's door and lock busted by a crow bar is not a comforting feeling.

          Comment

          • MaggieScratch
            Forum Member
            • Sep 2008
            • 111

            #6
            Oh, she definitely filed a police report--in fact, the police caught the woman about an hour later. She had already charged $500 in lingerie (!!!). (My question--doesn't the lingerie store person see a BIT OF A RED FLAG there????) By the time they caught her, she apparently had a bunch of shopping bags before and after the incident, and they found a few of my co-worker's things but the wallet was gone, the purse itself, her car keys, her train pass...she had to borrow $10 to get a train ticket home. So I think she's on top of everything, but still, backpack, that's excellent advice for anyone.

            It's funny, sometimes on travel boards and such people say "I never wear a money belt at home, why should I do so when I'm traveling? Are you so careful at home?" WHY YES, I AM. I have had friends and co-workers have issues: one had her wallet lifted out of her handbag that was hanging on the back of a chair in a suburban bookstore cafe, one had a credit card removed from her wallet and the wallet returned to her purse without her knowledge--so that she didn't know it was missing FOR HOURS, and in the meantime the thief racked up charges--there have been purse-snatching and wallet-stealing rings in the city. I am careful ALL THE TIME. My co-worker spent the afternoon looking for the woman, dealing with police, going to the precinct to identify her stuff and file a report, etc. and had no way to get home without borrowing money and her husband meeting her at the train station (since the purse was gone with her car keys). It was difficult enough in a place she goes every day. I can't imagine dealing with that in another city or country. Live your life, but a little caution is not out of place anywhere!

            Comment

            • Jenne
              Forum Member
              • Aug 2008
              • 235

              #7
              While I don't wear a money belt (either at home or traveling-- though I do wear a passport pouch while traveling outside the US) I am as careful with my bags at home as I am when I travel. That's one reason I love my Cafe Bag/ Imago/ Side Effect. It's always either on me, or on the floor in front of me with the strap wrapped around my leg. (I'd rather have it a little dusty from the floor than stolen from the back of my chair!) My stuff is clipped in, so if the bottom were slashed, nothing too important would fall out. It's just easier to be in the habit all the time than try to have different habits while traveling. The passport is my only exception because I obviously don't carry it at home!
              Current carry: Super Ego, various pouches, I/O (when shooting). Incorporating the FIELD JOURNAL!!!! Next up on wishlist: S25 and SE (June 2016)

              Comment

              • MaggieScratch
                Forum Member
                • Sep 2008
                • 111

                #8
                I think there is some traveler-snobbery in the "I don't wear a money belt" commentary sometimes--like, "You in your white sneakers and shorts and waist pack wandering around gaping like a hayseed at European architectural marvels, of COURSE your wallet will be picked because you might as well hang a sign around your neck that says 'rob me, I'm a tourist'. Whereas I am cool and wear black and look like a real European so I don't have to worry." I know plenty of people who have been robbed in their native place.

                Comment

                • flitcraft
                  Forum Member
                  • Sep 2008
                  • 423

                  #9
                  You may be right about travel snobbery, but I think it may be more complicated than that. I travel a fair amount (on the road probably three or four months total out of the year), including Europe, Asia, and the US as my typical destinations. I almost never wear a money belt abroad, but that is mostly because much of my travel is for business, so I don't spend much time in prime tourist zones where pickpocketing is rife. When I am in particularly pickpocket rich areas--say, Las Ramblas in Barcelona--I'm inclined to wear a money belt regardless of whether I happen to be wearing "cool and black and European" clothing or my geeky semi-professional clothing (I personally don't wear shorts or white shoes or waist packs anywhere, so I'm not inclined to make a special purchase just to uphold American traveler stereotypes.) The reason I take special precautions like the money belt while traveling in pickpocket-prone areas but never at home is not because I think I'm not likely to be robbed or pickpocketed at home--Seattle certainly has its share of crime--but because it would be a comparatively minor inconvenience to lose my credit cards and driver's license at home but a super-major pain to lose my cash, credit and cash cards, passport, and other identification while out of town. Replacing stuff at home is annoying but I would still be able to sleep at home, go to work, and live my ordinary life in the meantime; replacing stuff abroad means cancelling all my plans or putting them on hold while trying to get emergency money, contact the American embassy, explain to tomorrow's hotel why I don't have anymeans of guaranteeing my bill, etc.

                  I don't think I'm a travel snob so much as somebody who makes choices that make sense to me based on context. YMMV of course.
                  Western Flyer (crimsom) with Absolute strap, Zephyr (black), Medium Cafe Bag (steel/olive), Shop Bags (solar, steel), Large Cafe bag (navy/cayenne), Small café bag (forest), Tristars (steel/solar and indigo/solar),Aeronaut (steel), Side Effects (old skool black cordura, olive parapack), Imagos (steel, cork, wasabi, and aubergine, hemp, steel), Dyneema Western Flyer (Nordic/Steel) and miscellaneous packing cubes, pouches, etc.

                  Comment

                  • Maria
                    Forum Member
                    • Dec 2010
                    • 447

                    #10
                    Originally posted by flitcraft View Post
                    You may be right about travel snobbery, but I think it may be more complicated than that. I travel a fair amount (on the road probably three or four months total out of the year), including Europe, Asia, and the US as my typical destinations. I almost never wear a money belt abroad, but that is mostly because much of my travel is for business, so I don't spend much time in prime tourist zones where pickpocketing is rife. When I am in particularly pickpocket rich areas--say, Las Ramblas in Barcelona--I'm inclined to wear a money belt regardless of whether I happen to be wearing "cool and black and European" clothing or my geeky semi-professional clothing (I personally don't wear shorts or white shoes or waist packs anywhere, so I'm not inclined to make a special purchase just to uphold American traveler stereotypes.) The reason I take special precautions like the money belt while traveling in pickpocket-prone areas but never at home is not because I think I'm not likely to be robbed or pickpocketed at home--Seattle certainly has its share of crime--but because it would be a comparatively minor inconvenience to lose my credit cards and driver's license at home but a super-major pain to lose my cash, credit and cash cards, passport, and other identification while out of town. Replacing stuff at home is annoying but I would still be able to sleep at home, go to work, and live my ordinary life in the meantime; replacing stuff abroad means cancelling all my plans or putting them on hold while trying to get emergency money, contact the American embassy, explain to tomorrow's hotel why I don't have anymeans of guaranteeing my bill, etc.

                    I don't think I'm a travel snob so much as somebody who makes choices that make sense to me based on context. YMMV of course.
                    Brilliantly stated Flitcraft, plus witty too.

                    I take public transportation and am out walking about every day in the city. I don't wear a money belt at home. When I travel - I wear one (actually more of a passport pouch around my neck underneath my clothing) while en route but not necessarily while out and about at every destination. (It depends where I am, mode of transportation, etc.) No matter how I may want to blend in, some things wil make it obvious that I am not a local. Even locals can be scammed, robbed, so one just tries to be sensible and pay attention.
                    "Buy the best, cry once" - Pasquale

                    Comment

                    • MaggieScratch
                      Forum Member
                      • Sep 2008
                      • 111

                      #11
                      I was trying to be funny and apparently failed. But the point remains--you ARE cautious. I agree, as I said above, I can't imagine how difficult it would be to go through all that in another city or country.

                      Comment

                      • flitcraft
                        Forum Member
                        • Sep 2008
                        • 423

                        #12
                        Not to worry, Maggie; online communication is a blunt instrument, and tone is too often lost in translation. I think some of the "I don't need no stinkin' money belt" comments carry of whiff of bravado at times, too. Though, I admit with a smile, I sometimes am glad when I see the ultra-obvious tourist abroad, on the theory that, like the limping gazelle on the savannah, they may attract the attention of the predators so that I will go unmolested.
                        Western Flyer (crimsom) with Absolute strap, Zephyr (black), Medium Cafe Bag (steel/olive), Shop Bags (solar, steel), Large Cafe bag (navy/cayenne), Small café bag (forest), Tristars (steel/solar and indigo/solar),Aeronaut (steel), Side Effects (old skool black cordura, olive parapack), Imagos (steel, cork, wasabi, and aubergine, hemp, steel), Dyneema Western Flyer (Nordic/Steel) and miscellaneous packing cubes, pouches, etc.

                        Comment

                        • Maria
                          Forum Member
                          • Dec 2010
                          • 447

                          #13
                          So true Maggie and Flitcraft.

                          Being somewhat "snobby" at times myself, I would often feel sorry for the typical tourist. You know, the outlandish outfits that stand out as "I'm a tourist" - white runners, shorts, etc. Yet who am I to judge?

                          There are those who cannot be bothered to travel outside their own little zone feeling that nothing can compare to what they themselves have at home / in their own country / as if thier own citizens are somehow better people. As someone once told me why they absolutely hated Paris...because the McDonald's isn't as good as at home, and it was filled with French people. (This was an adult.)
                          I didn't know what to say in reply!
                          "Buy the best, cry once" - Pasquale

                          Comment

                          • backpack
                            Forum Member
                            • Feb 2006
                            • 4247

                            #14
                            Traveling anywhere entails risks of dealing with people and neighborhoods one is not
                            really comfortable with.

                            Tour guides for general information and Travel forums and blogs, including Tom Bihn's for up to date reviews and impressions are a must.

                            I found that nothing beats the knowledge of locals for real tips on the safest, coolest and better avoided neighborhoods and places.


                            To get back to the object of this thread, the Cafe Bag, the design and features are unique and extremely cool.

                            This is a sentiment that is shared worldwide, below is a review in French of the Ristretto, the Cafe Bag with padded compartment, rounder profile and clip on Straps.


                            TOM BIHN Blog - Test du sac de transport pour iPad Ristretto de Tom Bihn



                            That very cool design has even been imitated!

                            Comment

                            • MaggieScratch
                              Forum Member
                              • Sep 2008
                              • 111

                              #15
                              Heh. I feel sorry more for tourists wrestling with giant suitcases. I see them a lot on the train while commuting--they are going back and forth to the airport or train/bus station. I just want to say to them, "I was you, once! And it can be better!"

                              I still love my Cafe Bag.

                              Comment

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