When I travel, I need to have the following items safe but easily accessible at all times:
- Phone
- Coin purse/cash/card holder
- Sunglasses
- Passport
- Chapstick
- Hair ties
- Travel journal
I even occasionally have to carry the bottom halves of Luke’s zip-away pant legs! Point is: travelers need space.
Actually, travelers need just enough space to avoid lugging around unnecessary junk. Before I reveal the only travel purse you’ll ever need, let’s start with why a travel purse is the way to go.
Backpacks
When you need to move from point A to point B on your trip, you use a backpack. When you are exploring a Croatian market or drinking a budget-ruining cocktail in a Hong Kong highrise, you don’t use a backpack. No one wants to be the traveler that knocked over the adorable display of handmade Austrian cuckoo clocks with their obnoxious puffy nylon turtle shell. As you probably won’t need to suddenly change your wardrobe while touring museums or joining a macaron cooking class, please leave your ungainly backpack in the AirBNB where it belongs.
But Tara, you say. I have one of those adorable little tiny backpacks.
Me too, I say. But do you feel comfortable with your precious belongings on your back where you can’t see them or get to them quickly? My little backpack is for snacks, water bottles, and small souvenirs, not my money and passport.
Short-handled purses
Totes, with their fathomless depths and dinky little handles, are not a traveler’s friend. Go ahead and try trudging up crumbling Laotian temple steps while the short-handled tote bag stuffed full of crap keeps sliding off your shoulders in a desperate attempt to fling itself into the misty river valley below. What if a monkey suddenly lands on your partner’s head and begins to slurp their hair like spaghetti? You’re going to need both hands to get a steadily shot video of the flailing. And to help, of course.
Clutches and other purses
Unless you’re hiding some James Bond-esque gadgets in your clutch, don’t even think about it. In all fairness, I have never owned a clutch because my bare hands can hold more objects than a clutch. What’s the point?
The one purse to rule them all
This super sturdy hand-crocheted bag is all you need: Off the Hook Convertible Crossbody by TheSak
Strength and style
This bag is strong. The crochet knit is incredibly tight and made with some kind of yarn that’s smooth like silk but has the integrity of climbing rope. TheSak’s website mentions the liner is made of proprietary yarn made with recycled water bottles. I’m just going to assume the braided strap is woven from Valkyrie hair and leave it at that.
Another benefit of this bag: it’s completely mashable. If you need to roll it into a ball and jam it in your backpack while you go through TSA screening, no problem. It won’t hurt it one bit. There are no rigid elements, and thanks to the thick crochet, it bounces right back and never looks crumpled.
And the colors! Think grown-up boho Lisa Frank. The bag comes in an ever-changing variety of shades; my favorites being the achingly pretty jewel tones. This bag genuinely makes me smile.
Utility
The Sak’s Off the Hook Convertible Crossbody bag has one main zippered chamber that contains a liner with a long inner zipper pocket (perfect for a phone), a small open pocket (perfect for chapstick and hair ties), and a small tiered pocket probably meant for cards. The outside has one zippered pocket on the side great for souvenir ticket stubs or brochures. In total, the bag’s dimensions are 11in(L) x 2in(D) x 7.3in(H), the perfect size for everything I need for a day of discovery.
Wearability
The strap is adjustable for up to a 21 inch drop that is perfect for wearing as a hands-free crossbody bag, and the metal clips make it easy to transform the strap into a shoulder bag or clutch. I keep mine slung across my body with the bag in front of me for security.
My only complaint is about the cute little accessory (bag charm?) that comes with each bag. All of the accessories are a bit different, but one tassel-style charm that came with a previous bag unraveled. Though, that is probably due to me occasionally (often) getting the charm caught in car doors and hooked on other immovable objects.
The Company
Here’s a bonus: The Sak is a family-owned and operated company focused on environmental responsibility and sustainability. The owners, Mark Talucci and Todd Elliott, are travelers themselves who decided to start their business while on a trip to Bali, Indonesia. They work with organizations like Oceanworks, that use recycled fishing nets to create yarn for their products.
Conclusion
All travelers, especially us pocket-hungry women, need space for the essentials. The Sak’s Off the Hook Convertible Crossbody bag has provided me with stylish space for over a decade now. It’s tough, beautiful, and perfectly proportioned. I’ve taken mine on an elephant trek in Thailand and to a Michelin-starred restaurant in Poland. But usually, it’s sitting on my passenger seat or at my desk at work, looking bright and making me smile.