Choosing which anti-theft bags are worth carrying is our job. That's exactly why we'll be honest about the features that aren't worth paying for.
The moment a bag matters most is the one where you can't see it. On a packed train with your back to the doors. In a market where the crowd is close enough to feel. At a café where you've hung it on the chair and turned to order. Every anti-theft feature is really an answer to that moment, and some of them answer it far better than others.
The trouble is that the market is full of claims, and most of them are written to sound reassuring rather than to be true. Choosing anti-theft backpacks and bags for Australians is what we do, and we have a simple rule for what earns a place in the range: if we wouldn't carry it ourselves, it doesn't make the cut. So we've spent a lot of time working out which features actually do something. Here's the honest version, feature by feature, including the ones we don't think are worth paying a premium for.
Is RFID blocking worth it? Yes, as a layer for your cards and passport
RFID blocking is often sold as if digital skimming were the main threat, and it isn't. Skimming a contactless card or passport chip through a bag is possible but uncommon, and banks cap and monitor contactless payments. So we won't pretend RFID is what stops a thief. What it does well is quieter: it gives your cards and passport one shielded place to live, so the things you'd most hate to lose are together, protected, and not loose in a jacket pocket.
So the bags we carry, like the Commuter 20L, include an RFID-shielded card pocket, because it costs nothing extra and it's genuinely nice to have your cards in one protected place. When you travel, a dedicated RFID wallet takes the same idea further: passport, cards and boarding pass in one shielded wallet that lives inside a locked bag, or on you. Think of it as the last layer. The bag stops the grab, and the wallet keeps your most important things organised and protected inside it.
Slash-resistant fabric: real, rarely the actual threat
Slash-resistant panels and anti-cut webbing are real, but it's worth being clear about what they do. They don't make a bag impossible to get into. What they do is remove the fast option, so a thief counting on a quick slash and grab has to give up and move on. That's the whole point. The honest question is how often you'll meet that threat. It clusters in a handful of crowded tourist spots. Rome, Paris and Barcelona top the European rankings year after year, and the crush around the Trevi Fountain or Las Ramblas is exactly where it happens. On a Tuesday commute in Sydney or Melbourne, it almost never does.
We look for anti-cut webbing in the straps when we choose our anti-theft range, because a cut strap is the one slash that actually loses you the whole bag. But if a brand is leading with slash-proofing as the headline reason to buy, ask yourself where you'll be carrying it. For most people, most days, it's a reassurance rather than the deciding feature.
Lockable zips: the one that earns its place
This is the feature that does the most work for the least noise. A thief in a crowd needs speed and quiet. A zip that locks, or that needs two hands and a deliberate motion to open, removes both. It's not about defeating a determined thief with tools and time. It's about not being the easy bag in the crowd, and easy is what opportunistic theft runs on.
Every anti-theft bag we carry uses lockable zips on the main compartment. The Tempo 18L takes the simplest version of the idea, a magnetic locking pull that clicks shut on its own. It's the least dramatic feature in the range and the one we'd tell you to care about first. If you're shopping for a lockable travel backpack, this is the feature to check before anything else.
Hidden back-panel access: the design choice that matters most
The best anti-theft feature isn't a material or a lock. It's a decision about where the openings face. On the Roam 23L, the main zip sits against your back, so the only way into the bag is to take it off. Worn normally, there's no opening a hand can reach without you feeling it. Nothing to unzip while you're reading the departure board.
The best anti-theft bag is the one a thief can't get into quickly, and can't get into quietly.
That's the whole principle, and it's why we'd rank these features in almost the reverse of how they're usually advertised. Back-panel access first. Locking zips second. Anti-cut straps third, for where you'll actually need them. RFID as the final layer, for your cards and passport. A bag that gets the first two right protects you on the ordinary days, which is nearly all of them.
Deterrent, not a vault: what an anti-theft backpack can and can't do
It's worth being straight about the limits, because overselling them is how people end up disappointed. No backpack is a safe. Given time, tools and privacy, anyone can get into anything. That isn't the job. The job is to make your bag the harder target in the moment that matters, so the opportunist in the crowd picks someone else.
For most Australians, those moments are predictable. A packed train or tram at peak hour. A festival or a stadium crowd. A busy airport. And above all, travel overseas, where you're distracted, carrying more than usual, and visibly not from around here. A travel safe backpack earns its keep in exactly those places: closed, locked, worn properly, and boring to look at.
So the honest test for any anti-theft backpack is simple. Can it be opened quickly? Can it be opened quietly? Can it be opened while you're wearing it? If the answer to all three is no, it's doing its job.
If a bag can't be opened quickly and can't be opened quietly, most opportunistic theft simply moves on to an easier target. That isn't a thrilling sales pitch. It's just what actually keeps your things where you put them, which is the only thing an anti-theft bag is really for.
Anti-theft backpack questions, answered
Are anti-theft backpacks worth it?
For travel and crowded commutes, yes, if they get the basics right: lockable zips and openings that face your back. Those are what stop opportunistic theft. Anti-cut straps and RFID protection add extra layers on top, especially for travel.
What makes a backpack anti-theft?
Mainly two things: zips that lock or need a deliberate two-handed pull, and main openings or pockets that sit against your back where a passing hand can't reach. Anti-cut straps and RFID-shielded pockets add further layers, and an RFID wallet extends that protection to your passport and cards.
Can I take an anti-theft backpack as carry-on?
Yes. On Qantas and Virgin, any backpack up to 56 × 36 × 23 cm counts as carry-on, and every anti-theft backpack in our range fits. Jetstar is changing its rules from 2 February 2027. Our carry-on guide has the details.
Where can I buy an anti-theft backpack in Australia?
We're a Sydney business. Orders placed before the daily cut-off leave our Sydney base the same day, delivery anywhere in Australia is free, and you get 60 days to return a bag that doesn't suit you.
