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FrançaisThe Pacsafe Metrosafe LS450 is a 25 litre anti-theft laptop backpack with lockable zips, a steel wire mesh lining and an RFID blocking pocket, and it works as a carry-on for anyone who does not wear a backpack high on the back. Pacsafe has since retired the LS450, and the model that replaces it is the Pacsafe X 25L at $179.95 (about €169, £135), which takes a 16 inch laptop instead of a 15 inch one.
Pacsafe sent me the Metrosafe LS450 to test, and I used it for several months, mostly as hand luggage and as a day bag. I already knew the brand by then, because I had carried the same company’s Pacsafe anti-theft handbag for years and it had survived everything I did to it. Below are the LS450’s specifications, what each security feature does, the one thing that stopped it being the right carry-on for me, and what to buy now that it has left the range.
Pacsafe Metrosafe LS450 specifications
The Metrosafe LS450 holds 25 litres and weighs 0.84 kg (1.84 lb) empty, which is light for a bag carrying a steel mesh panel. Its full specification is in the table below.
| Specification | Pacsafe Metrosafe LS450 |
|---|---|
| Volume | 25 litres |
| Weight | 0.84 kg (1.84 lb) |
| Dimensions | 48 x 30 x 17 cm (18.9 x 11.8 x 6.7 in) |
| Laptop sleeve | fits up to 15 inch |
| Strap length | 68 cm to 92 cm (26.8 in to 36.2 in) |
| Shell | 650D polyester, PU1000mm |
| Lining | 75D polyester herringbone dobby, PU1000mm |
| Storage | 11 pockets across 7 compartments, one of them RFID blocking |
| Warranty | 5 years |
Two numbers matter more than the rest. The 25 litre volume is carry-on sized at almost every airline, and the 68 cm minimum strap length is the figure to check against your own height before you buy.
What the anti-theft features do
The LS450 carries 5 separate security features, and each one blocks a different theft method rather than repeating the same trick. The 5 features, and the theft each is built to stop, are described below in the order a traveller meets them.
Lockable zips
Lockable zips stop a pickpocket opening the bag on your back. The main zip pulls clip into a Lockabout security clip that then slides shut, so a hand in a crowd finds a fastening it cannot work out quickly, in the dark, from behind. You have to use them for them to help, which sounds obvious and is the reason most anti-theft bags fail.
RFID blocking pocket
The RFID blocking pocket is one interior pocket lined with RFIDsafe material, which stops radio scanning of contactless cards and passports. The RFID blocking pocket is the place for your passport and for the cards you are not using that day. No other pocket is shielded, so the feature works only when the right things go into the right pocket.
eXomesh slashguard lining
The eXomesh slashguard is a flexible stainless steel wire mesh set into the side and bottom panels. It exists for the slash-and-run theft, where a blade opens the bottom of a bag and the contents drop into a waiting hand. You cannot see it and you can barely feel it, which is the point.
Carrysafe slashguard straps
The Carrysafe slashguard straps carry stainless steel wire along their full length, so a strap cannot be cut through in one pass. These straps are aimed at the grab rather than the pick, because cutting a strap and running is how bags are taken from a passing scooter.
Turn & Lock security hook
The Turn & Lock hook opens the shoulder strap so you can pass it around a chair leg, a table leg or a luggage rail and close it again. I used it most at restaurant tables and on trains, and it is more useful than it sounds, because it removes the low-grade anxiety of checking a bag is still beside you every few minutes.
Storage and organisation
The LS450 holds 11 pockets across 7 compartments, which is a lot of subdivision for 25 litres and the reason the bag stays tidy. The main zipped compartment takes a jumper, a camera and a book. A front compartment holds an organiser panel with card slots, a pen loop and a key clip, and 2 interior zipped pockets take the small things, the RFID blocking pocket among them.
The padded laptop sleeve is suspended rather than sitting flat against the base, so a drop on the pavement does not land directly on the machine. It takes a 15 inch laptop and a tablet alongside it. The two side stretch pockets take a water bottle or a folding umbrella, and they are deep enough that a bottle does not tip out when you bend over.
Is the Pacsafe Metrosafe LS450 waterproof?
The Metrosafe LS450 is water resistant, not waterproof, and the distinction is worth getting right before a trip. Pacsafe specifies a water resistant shell with a PU1000mm coating, which handles a shower and a wet walk to a station. I never spent hours in rain with it, so what I can honestly report is that it came through quick wet walks with a dry laptop, and that nothing about the construction suggests it would survive a day of steady rain without a cover.
Fit and comfort at 165 cm
The LS450 is cut long, so at 165 cm it sat lower on my back than I wanted it to. Even with the straps pulled to their 68 cm minimum, the body of the pack hung below my waist, and a bag that hangs low pulls backwards and feels heavier than its 0.84 kg after an hour. I wear my backpacks high, and none of this will bother you if you do not.
The back panel is the saving grace. It is quilted and well padded across the whole surface, so the weight spreads rather than pressing on two points, and the pack stayed comfortable on days it had no business being comfortable. My honest summary is that the LS450 is drawn for a taller frame and carries well on one.
Durability after months of use
The LS450 survived everything ordinary I did to it and showed none of it. Over several months it went on short hikes, took suncream spilled inside it, sat against a sweaty back, dropped on hard floors and had its zips yanked rather than pulled, and it still looked like the bag that arrived. Pacsafe backs it with a 5 year warranty, which is longer than most luggage brands offer and a reasonable proxy for how long they expect the fabric and zips to last.
The verdict
The Metrosafe LS450 is a well built anti-theft carry-on that suits taller travellers and commuters who want the security features to be invisible. The compartments are genuinely useful, the fabric shrugs off abuse, the lockable zips are quick enough that you keep using them, and the bag looks like an ordinary black backpack rather than a security product, which is the whole trick.
It was not the right bag for me, and the reason is a fit problem rather than a fault: the straps do not shorten enough for a 165 cm frame. If the body were a few centimetres shorter and the straps went shorter still, I would have kept using it. Try one on before you commit if you are under roughly 170 cm and you like a high pack.
What replaced the Metrosafe LS450
The Pacsafe X 25L backpack replaced the Metrosafe LS450 and is the model to buy now, since Pacsafe no longer lists the LS450 and it has gone from Amazon’s catalogue too. The X 25L keeps the same 25 litre volume, the lockable zips, the cut-resistant panels, the RFID blocking pocket and the anchor strap that locks the bag to a fixed object, and it is built from 750D recycled polyester.
3 things changed between the two models, and only 1 of them is an improvement for everyone. The laptop sleeve grew from 15 inch to 16 inch, the bag got 5 cm taller and deeper at 48 x 31 x 18 cm (18.9 x 12.2 x 7.1 in), and the empty weight went up from 0.84 kg to 1.0 kg (2.2 lb). A taller, heavier bag is the wrong direction if your complaint about the LS450 was the one I had, so shorter travellers should look at Pacsafe’s smaller packs instead. You can check the current price and colours of the Pacsafe Metrosafe X 25L backpack on Amazon, where it lists at $179.95 (about €169, £135), the same figure Pacsafe charges directly.
WonderfulWanderings Pro Tips
The 4 tips below come from carrying this bag rather than from the specification sheet, most useful first.
- Measure the 68 cm minimum strap against your own back before you buy. At 165 cm the LS450 still hung below my waist at its shortest setting, and no amount of adjustment fixed it. This is the single thing a spec sheet will not tell you.
- Clip the zips shut before you get on the metro, not once you are on it. The Lockabout clip takes a few seconds and needs both hands, which is exactly what you do not have in a packed carriage.
- Put the passport in the RFID pocket and leave it there. Only one interior pocket is shielded, so a passport in the main compartment gets none of the protection you paid for.
- Use the Turn & Lock hook at restaurant tables, not just at airports. Looping the strap round a chair leg is the feature I reached for most, and it is the one that changes how a meal in a busy square feels.
About the author. This guide is written and maintained by the Wonderful Wanderings editorial team. Wonderful Wanderings was founded in 2012 by Sofie Couwenbergh, and the first-hand notes in this post come from several months of carrying the Pacsafe Metrosafe LS450 as hand luggage and as a day bag, after years of using a Pacsafe anti-theft handbag. The team covers anti-theft travel gear for independent travellers, including the backpacks, handbags and wallets worth buying, and updates this page when models, prices and specifications change.
