Oct 26

Oct 26 FlexSafe™ Portable Travel Safe

We have all done it: walked off and left our cell phone, wallet, keys or other valuables sitting on or under our lounge chair at a hotel or cruise ship pool, or at the beach. We try to hide our valuables under a towel or even in a cooler, but how secure is that? Not! On a recent cruise assignment, we tested the FlexSafe from Aqua Vault. This portable, nylon reinforced "safe" is a simple way to protect your valuables.

As you can see in the photos above, the FlexSafe can be secured to any portion of a lounge chair (or any object). The three-digit security code tumbler-style lock on the front prevents a would-be thief from grabbing the bag and walking off with it. Here, we have secured it to one of the lower tubes of a lounge chair in order to keep the contents in the shade.

The FlexSafe material is very tough and it would be nearly impossible to cut it with a knife, so it is slash resistant. I suppose a committed thief could just take the entire lounger while you are in the pool or ocean, but it might look strange to see someone walking down the beach with a pool lounger under his arm. The idea is to get the thief to move on to an easier target, and in that regard, the FlexSafe is a good solution.

The FlexSafe we tested is large enough to hold a cell phone, some keys, and cash, but that's about it. We could not quite cram our iPad mini into it. However, a FlexSafe Plus is a larger model that will hold more. If you just want a place to secure your keys, some cash and your cell phone, the smaller FlexSafe should suffice. There are also expandable mesh pockets on the side.

The FlexSafe is easy to pack, too. It can actually be rolled up and stuffed into one corner of your suitcase, making it a great travel companion. At $59.95, the FlexSafe is a good investment for anyone who spends time at the pool, or at the beach. Of course, the company is quick to point out many other uses for the FlexSafe other than just beach/pool use. You could loop it around the frame of your bicycle, or a hospital bed.

We also had an opportunity to test the AquaVault Waterproof Phone Case which is designed to protect your smart phone from water damage. The clear plastic case allows you to shoot video or take photos underwater. Enough air gets trapped in an internal bladder to allow the case and phone to float. We tested this with our Samsung Galaxy S6 and found the protective case to be somewhat difficult to use. It was hard to get the phone into the case, and even more difficult to get it out. The "ziplok" style closure never felt like it was securely sealed, which did not instill confidence and made me hesitate to put my phone under water. Perhaps it would have worked better with a smaller phone?

While we were not that impressed with the waterproof phone case (at least not with our Samsung), we were very impressed with the FlexSafe. We can highly recommend the FlexSafe for cruise enthusiasts looking for an affordable way to secure their valuables when soaking up the sun at the cruise ship pool, or at the beach.

For more information, go to: theaquavault.com