Here are four super-tough bags that one could take around the world.

Concealed Holster Attache or Laptop Case

I love the duality here. You could use it as a shield when under fire and to carry a weapon in secret…or you could carry your laptop.

This little beauty is said to be able to withstand sub-machine gun fire and provide the highest blunt trauma protection available with soft body armor. This is a class III-A protection shield and can perfectly fit your toothbrush, shaver, and a change of clothes.

A Pelican Case

These cases are focused on protecting things from threats like three story drops and submersion. Pelican says their cases are extremely sturdy, water proof, and even airtight. So sturdy in fact that they can handle being run over by a truck or submerged for two hours without any problem.

I just wonder…will it blend?

A Pacsafe Bag

In order to foil pickpockets and other street theifs pacsafe has woven steel cables into their bags. There are some in the strap so that it can not be easily cut off you by a passing thief. There are even some cables in the fabric itself to prevent someone from slashing the bottom of the bag and letting things fall out.

But perhaps the most important features counter the sneakier criminals. With carefully placed zippers, many with locking ability, the sticky fingered will probably skip this bag.

I actually have and use one of pacsafes smaller bags and enjoy it’s durability and well placed zippers.

A Metal Laptop Case

Few things will raise more eyebrows than a shinny metal briefcase that is handcuffed to you. Combined with a few gigantic bodyguards I know of few flashier ways to securely transport things.

Sure, because it gets more attention than the other methods it may not be nearly as secure as the other bags mentioned above. However, what is really more important respect or security?

In the previous SimplyLeave.com article we went over how to transport your money in such a way that it vanishes, now let’s look at three money-toting methods that encourage it’s persistence.

Creative Commons picture by infomatique.

3) Money Belt

Your crotch is pretty high on the list of “areas of your body that you instinctively protect.” Why not use your instincts to your advantage? When you carry money near your genitals, you will be surprised how fast you react to someone try to grab it.

Don’t use if:

You put ALL your money in there. It is embarrassing to have to root around in your crotch when you want to buy that candy bar in the airport. You can get arrested for that in some places.

Even beyond your pride, reach into your money belt all the time sacrifices one of it’s main advantages: that people don’t know you are keeping your money by the baby maker.

You are usually better off if you carry the things you will need frequently somewhere else.

2) Inside Your Boot (Under That Little Insert)

Inside your boot and under your foot is one of the most inaccessible non-body-cavity options you have. This inaccessibility is your shoe-safe’s biggest asset. I don’t even have to mention that you shouldn’t keep your short term money there. You just aren’t going to. Plus, imagine being a thief tasked with getting your fingers in there without the “mark” noticing. You would need an event more distracting than everyone else wearing see through clothes.

A plastic bag around your money is suggested.

Don’t use if:

You are transporting a faberge egg instead of paper money.

1) Credit

There are few things more secure than a worthless piece of plastic that provides only you with money. If someone else wants it enough to threaten you, give it to them. By US law you are only liable for $50 of unauthorized credit card charges. Many credit card companies even exceed this required level of protection and don’t hold you liable for any such charges. It does help the company if you let them know your card was stolen though.

Don’t use if:

You are headed to those remanding parts of the world that don’t accept credit. These are places like rural china and the drive in movie theater near my apartment here in the states.

Creative Commons picture by gruntzooki.

3) In An Open Purse, in Cash

A big wad of cash loosely stuck in an open purse is like a big red button with a sign that says “do not push.” Previously honest people will be tempted. Those who have spent the last few years working at a boring job will wonder if they could get away from it. Even a devout monk would get a rush of adrenaline looking at it. It is just so easy.

Extra points if:

You only hold one side of the purse, so gravity seductively pulls it open.

2) Cash Taped to Your Elbow

I have no idea how you would end up with cash taped to your elbow. But, I have a feeling that the story about why you have money taped to your elbow is worth far more than the actual money you could lose. As a result, I’m not wholly against this situation.

Extra points if:

You walk up to strangers, say numbers and expectantly wait for them to tell you if that is the amount you have taped to your elbow.

1) Ask a Stranger To Carry Some Cash For You

Truthfully this is just a somewhat mean donation. On the plus side you get to choose who gets the money. This way you can be reasonably confident that the person who gets it needs it. Unfortunately this particular donation comes with a side of guilt and a dash of shame.

Extra points if:

You tell them they have an “honest face” before you ask them to carry your money.

Creative Commons picture by gadl.

If you plan on camping in an area with bears, or other almost-as-tough-as-chuck-norris animals, pepper spray can be a nice “just in case” tool. It can also be used for self defense when you don’t trust all the humans around you. That said, it is illegal in places like Canada, Belgum, Hong Kong, an many others. Even in locales where it is legal, it can be a bad travel companion.

The solution: flashlights. Airport security usually doesn’t care about them and they can be bright enough to temporarily disorient an assailant. If things get really bad and the bear just keeps coming, you could always use a big flashlight like a battery powered club.

As normal light bulbs have become more energy efficient our ability to make really bright bulbs has also increased. Some flashlights are so bright they advise people to keep them out of the reach of children. Running off of just a few batteries these flashlights can do there job so well that they are self-defeating. They can light up the path in front of you to the point of making it difficult to look at. Luckily, most flashlights with this sort of capability have lower settings.

Check out this video demonstration of one such flashlights. Even when the camera adjusts to the brightness it still can’t record the image from the center of the beam.

Here is another video that compares various flashlights.

All these computers have wifi cards. I think they might get striped of their “netbook” title and expelled from the kingdom if they didn’t. That is just wild speculation though, as I don’t know of any company that has dared to release a netbook without built in wifi.

Asus eee PC 701 – around $320 on ebay

This was the computer that is thought to have started the recent ultra portable laptop craze. Sure there were previous really small laptops, including the OLPC’s innovative XO. However, this model was was designed with your normal internet-addicted consumer in mind.

One thing that rightly earned it some attention was it’s software. This software allows the computer to boot in 15 seconds and is incredibly easy to use. Turns out, that is just what people wanted.

Creative Commons picture by roland.

Acer Aspire One – around $380

The aspire one is a more recent addition to the club. It uses a new-fangled Intel chip that is supposed to be super energy efficient. It also sports a slightly larger keyboard than the eee PC 701. However, the keyboard is not quite full sized. Notably, it’s keyboard is more sturdy than the keyboards on most other “full-sized” laptops I have used (yeah, i have one of these).

Because of it’s recent arrival, there hasn’t been quite enough time for the Linux community to iron out all the bugs. For example, at the time of writing this the Ubuntu community is still grappling for a way to get this computer’s internal microphone to work. Despite the bugs, I still think Linux is the software best suited for this compu-pu.

Asus eee PC 901 – around $600

So many eee 701s have sold since it was released last October, that it probably seemed like a no-brainer for asus to come out with a new model. Now, they can even put in the more energy efficient chip. This eee “version 2″ PC sports the same line of processor that the aspire one has and a nearly full-sized keyboard.

However, you do get a little more for the extra money. The hard drive can hold more and are a bit faster, not to mention that this machine comes with a bigger battery allowing it to be separated from an electrical oasis for longer.

MSI Wind – around $500

Yup, this one also uses the same line of electricity sipping processor that both the eee 901 and the Aspire One use. However the wind brandishes a FULL SIZED keyboard and a bigger display (10 inches, compared to the 901 and aspire one’s 8.9 inches).

Unfortunately, the bigger screen and keyboard do come at the cost of making the whole shebang bigger. Though it is still ultra-portable, it is less ultra-portable than some of the other ultra-portables.

This post is part of an 2 part series on ultra-portable laptops:

• A Traveler’s Introduction to Ultra-Portable Laptops
• 4 Ultra-Portable Laptops You Could Buy Right Now

These new wee hunks of computing plastic tend to share an emphasis on internet use and a small form factor (generally about 2lbs and roughly the size of a hardback book). They pretty much all have wifi cards. Depending on the model you can also get one with a webcam and microphone built in so that you can easily video chat (or even record videos) from the road.

As you might expect, not all ittsy bittsy laptops are created equal. Here are things you will want to look at before purchasing:

Price

I don’t want to spend a lot of money on these things. I figure others are like me. Netbook prices range from $200-$600.

Keyboard ease of use

Having a “condensed” keyboard is pretty common with these ultra-portable laptops. If you plan on using the keyboard at some point, make sure it isn’t so small that it hurts your hands.

Is it portable enough?

We are going for portable right? Make sure it can easily fit in your bag. “Netbooks” or “ultra-portable laptops” are certainly not all the same size.

Does it seem durable?

It sucks to have a cracked screen.

Battery Life

It can be nice to have a computer that thinks it’s a camel.

What software does it support?

I like Ubuntu myself. However, it doesn’t run perfectly on all hardware. Make sure you get a computer that can run the software you want.

Boot speed

A lot of the uses for such a computer are little. How do I get to that restaurant? I wonder if my mom has emailed me? The sort of thing you just want to quickly check and then close the computer. It can save you a lot of time to have a computer that boots in 15 seconds.

Creative Commons picture by Dan4th.

When you are searching the web for these computers, it is also valuable to know that there isn’t really a standard name for them. Sometimes these new portable laptops are called “netbooks,” “ultra-portable PCs,” or sometimes “weee bitty hunks of plastic.”

This post is part of an 2 part series on ultra-portable laptops:

• A Traveler’s Introduction to Ultra-Portable Laptops
• 4 Ultra-Portable Laptops You Could Buy Right Now

Creative Commons picture by mel e mo.

If your bag gets on that airport conveyor belt enough, it will eventually not return on time. It is one of those unavoidable risks of air travel. However, airlines rarely simultaneously lose two people’s bags, and they are even less likely to lose four people’s bags at once. If you have a set of underwear in all four bags, the chances are pretty good that you will not have to immediately go shopping.

If you are traveling with some buddies, cross-packing is one of the best way to avoid those embarrassing “I have no clothes” situations. Before you head to the airport just swap some of your essential stuff with your friends. As an addend benefit, it will probably make them more sympathetic when your suitcase doesn’t show up in the baggage claim.

This system is pretty simple, but there are still some guidelines you probably want to follow. First don’t exchange stuff with your traveling companions in the airport, and certainly don’t exchange stuff with people you don’t know. Breaking these two rules can get you arrested. Having a drug sniffing dog who is trained to show no mercy chase you down terminal A tends to suck more than losing a bag.

Second, you probably want to focus on spreading your essentials across multiple bags. Ending up in Barcelona with the three socks your girlfriend carried for you is roughly equivalent to ending up in Barcelona with no bag. It is hard to get bus fare out of a delicately positioned sock fast enough to avoid holding up the line.

It is almost never fun to have your stuff lost for you. However, when your bag is misplaced cross-packing can really make your life easier. For all those times when your bag isn’t lost, at least you will be able to strut around the airport slightly more confident that you will have clothes to wear tomorrow.