There’s a very simple way to ensure that opportunistic thieves stay away from your travel gear: make it less desirable, or rather make it appear less desirable. It’s a trick that I picked up at bicycle racks not long after moving to New York: if you don’t want your bike stolen, make it really, really ugly. Techniques ranged from basic, solid-black paint jobs with minimal decals to all-out vandalism of one’s own bike via the liberal application of electrical tape, spray paint, stickers and old inner-tubes.
The implication for travel is obvious: hauling 70 liters of bright red backpack overflowing with the latest in electronic gadgetry through a third-world bus station is the equivalent of parking your carbon fiber racing bicycle on a sketchy Brooklyn corner (for the record, I love Brooklyn—lived there for three great years). Your stuff has instantly become a target, and perhaps rightfully so; people in developing nations could live for months —years even—off of the contents of some traveler’s packs.
Don’t want to be that guy? Vandalize your own stuff. I once saw a guy carrying a massive green pack that looked like Jackson Pollack’s practice canvas — it had multicolor paint splattered from one end to the other, even on the straps and buckles. It looked wonderfully horrible. Steal it? Most people wouldn’t want to touch it. What’s more, they’d probably assume that it couldn’t possibly contain anything of value. Brilliant.
Electronic gear is a theft magnet: it’s bright, shiny and expensive, and it’s also difficult to uglify without completely trashing it or voiding all kinds of warranties. Luckily, some world-roaming photographer friends let me in on the industry secret that is gaffer’s tape. Like duct tape for the photo/video set, gaffer’s tape can be used for nearly anything, from leveling unsteady tripods to bandaging wounds to taping a $3,000 camera to a tree. Really. Unlike duct tape, it can be peeled off easily and doesn’t leave sticky residue all over your camera. My photog friend Mike recommends putting a swath of it across every logo and label you’re carrying, including the Canon logo on the front of your camera and especially the massive one on your camera bag that declares its contents to the world. While you’re at it, go ahead and wallpaper all of your electronics with the stuff; with a layer of tape over everything, it’ll attract far less unwanted attention.
Is taking a cue from Big Apple cyclists and trashing your own stuff worth the lost (gained?) stylepoints? Most likely. And even if you’re not willing to spraypaint your backpack, choosing nondescript gear in muted colors will go a long way toward making thieves opt for the Trust Fund Kid’s rolling luggage instead. Don’t worry. He’ll be fine.
photo: connors934
How far would you go to make your gear less attractive?
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this is good advice. also as equally important as making your gear low-key is acting low key. If you act like a dumb tourist, people are going to treat you like one and jump you.
Also, if you smell bad enough, nobody will come near you, even in a third world country.
[...] radar of would-be thieves,” Mann says. To avoid looking like a Canon-sponsored target, he tapes over all of the logos with black gaffer’s tape — yes, even third-world crooks are brand-conscious. Mann also [...]