My Favourite Travel Purse

In the past I viewed purses as a necessary evil. Women's pants don't have a lot of pockets and since we can't go around wearing cargo pants every day, you gotta have one. But I didn't have to like it. In fact, I went through a phase where I gave up on purses all together and just took my MEC Pika Plus daypack everywhere!

Then one day, my Pika Plus and I wandered into Powell Books in Portland, and we spied the most interesting purse on sale.

This compact little Baggallini:

I had never heard of this brand before, but now I love them so much that I go around telling everyone who cares to listen (aka my sister) all about its awesomeness!

Here's why this particular baggallini made me give up the backpack...

1. The fabric looks nice but it is water and stain resistent.
   
   I have spilled soup all over this bag and it just wiped away. It is also holding up really well to wear and tear. Can you believe that this purse is over 5 years old? I've used it almost daily in that time.


2. The key attachment thing is a life saver!
   
   There are attachments with hooks built into the purse: one for keys and one for a detachable wallet.
   
   
   
   
   
   Before Baggallini, I was forever misplacing my keys.
   
   I once forget my house keys at work when my roommates were out of town and had to go all the way back to the office to get them. That 1.5 hour round trip should have taught me a lesson. But sadly, it didn't.
   
   However, I am pleased to report that I have not misplaced my keys even *once* since I switched to these purses. My keys remain attached to my purse at all times. I can lock/unlock my door without detaching them. And unless I forget the entire purse (harder to do since my bus pass is in there and I can't get too far without that), I'm home free!
   
   I don't know why every purse doesn't come with this feature!


3. The attached wallet is another stroke of genius.
   
   The detachable wallet makes switching purses or backpacks super easy. You can't use the same purse all the time. Sometimes you need a bigger one, or you want to take a backpack on a hike. We have all been through the annoying process of transferring ID, cash and credit cards to another bag. The detachable wallet makes that a breeze. As long as I keep everything that I may want to transfer in the little wallet, it takes a second to detach and go.
   
   I also like the clear ID slot on the outside of the wallet. Now, I can be ID'd without taking my driver's license out of the wallet. So no risk of misplacing my license unless I lose the entire purse. But thankfully, that hasn't happened yet!


4. The magnetic closures are actually strong.
   
   Unlike other purses where the magnetic closures don't always stay closed or wear out over time, these are incredibly strong -- even after 5 years of regular use. When traveling, I can put boarding passes in open the pocket at the back and it will not slip out accidentally, even if the purse is held upside down. You really have to pull it firmly to get the boarding pass out.
    


5. The lipstick holders are handy.
   
   
   
   I use the lipstick holders for lip chap and a small pen. Always handy when traveling and you need to fill out immigration forms.
   
   
   


6. Pick-pocket resistant
   
   The top flap may be a magnetic closure, but the main body of the purse has zippers. So it would be pretty hard for someone to get in there without you noticing it. But even if you forgot to zip it up, the attached wallet means your essentials are not going anywhere without your knowledge. The fabric of the attachment is thick enough that I think it would be hard for someone to cut it quickly.


7. Small and light
   
   This particular purse is super small and won't hold a water bottle, a sweater, my iPad or a larger camera. But its size does have advantages. It's so small that it usually doesn't get counted as an extra personal item on planes. And it forces you to only take what you need.
   
   Whenever I travel with my larger Baggallini (the precursor to this one), it invariably starts to fill up with all kinds of "just in case" items that I never end up using.  All it manages to do is make it harder to find the few things I do use and gives me sore shoulders by the end of the day.
   
   If I really need more room, I  use both this purse and a small daypack.

This particular purse has been discontinued. But Baggallini has many new ones of similar size and with similar features. This is my goto purse (both at home and abroad) for 5 years running!