Arden CoveAnti-Theft Waterproof Full Cross-Body Bag with Adjustable Faux Leather Strap with Classic Hardware

Bought this bag for a trip to Switzerland. It will now be the bag I take on every single trip. My favorite thing about it is that it doesn’t look like the typical ugly anti-theft purses you see women carrying. The fabric, the hardware, the colors - all of it is high quality and beautiful. I received compliments from strangers about what a beautiful bag it is.On top of it looking nice, it is incredibly functional. I loved that I didn’t even need to carry my wallet because I was able to put my ID and credit cards in the slots in the front pocket. The side pockets in the larger compartment were the perfect width for two passports, which made them easily accessible to us. Both compartments allow for plenty of space to carry things, but not so much that you will overload it and make it too heavy to carry all day long. I was able to fit everything I needed in the purse to be away from the hotel all day, including larger items like sunglasses (in their case) and a backup battery pack for my cell phone with plenty of room.The strap was very comfortable and never irritated or rubbed, even when carrying the bag for hours on end. The zippers feel very secure because it actually takes some pull to open/close them. By that I mean that I would definitely notice if someone had tried to get into the bag while I was carrying it because the zippers aren’t flimsy. That, along with the anti-theft latches, made it so that I had zero concerns about anyone getting into the bag. While Switzerland ended up being a place I didn’t really need to worry about pickpockets, I will absolutely be using this bag for future travel and will be completely comfortable carrying it in countries where that may be more of an issue.If you are on the fence about buying this bag because of the price, trust me and just buy it. This bag is worth the cost and will hold up for years of travel.

Took this purse to Spain and Portugal for 11 days after reading about it in a blog.I'm going to start with cons because by the end of the trip, I hated this purse.1. The hooks for the zipper compartments are absolutely annoying as hell! The fact that they loop onto the hook that holds the strap and not their own loop make them challenging to open. Yes, that's great for anti-theft, but I'm positive if there was another loop in-between the two zippers that they could share (or their own small loops) it would still serve the same anti-theft purpose but actually be easy to maneuver and access as the wearer. As it is your fighting the hooks, loop and strap the whole dang time!2. I absolutely LOATHE the strap! LOATHE!!! The plastic bit that allows you to lengthen or shorten the strap will rip your hair out! I'm fairly small (5'4) and I prefer my purse at hip-height (thereabouts). I had to adjust it constantly because the that plastic buckle that allows for the strap adjustment will dig into your body and hurt! It sat right at my collar bone and bugged the hell out of me. If I moved it to the top of my arm, bugged me there, too. The only time it didn't bother me was if I loosened the strap beyond what was comfortably wearable for the purse. There's no soft felt or cover or anything to put over that plastic buckle. No padding at all for the whole strap situation. It's basically some thin vinyl/plastic-y/faux leather hiding a metal wire that runs through the strap to prevent purse cutting. It's uncomfortable as heck! It's also kind of cumbersome and doesn't bend or move well. Yes, metal wire, I understand. However, I have seen other bags with anti-theft/anti-strap cutting straps and they're not as unyieldly or uncomfortable, so it can be done.2a. The strap stained my shirts. It rubbed a brown-ish line across my white shirts and on the shoulder I wore the strap across. 😑 Not cool!3. The credit card slots are 1. Backwards, they should be facing the wearer so they can view their cards when that pocket is open. 2. VERY small and tight and even after 11 days of a lot of use, I struggled to get my cards out of them. I actually ended up not fully putting my card into the slot just because it was such an absolute pain to retrieve.4. Purse layout was frustrating to me. I needed more pockets. The purse is also slightly (or more than slightly) too small. I traveled with: A small hand sanitizer, sometimes 2 passports (took my husband's and mine when we switched towns, flew from Madrid to Lisbon and from Lisbon to Barcelona, and when we took the trains, etc), a battery charging pack (which took up the majority of purse real estate), a small charging cord (to go into that battery), and my phone. That was everything that I fit into the main compartment and it was a tight and uncomfortable fit getting those items in and out of there. The main compartment has a small zipper pocket (again, I feel like the wrong side for the wearer as it was against the body and hard to access/see) but I didn't utilize it because my purse was too full with what was in the main compartment to even access that pocket, which was too small for any of the items in the main compartment. It's a travel purse! One should expect that people will be putting things like battery charging packs into the purse. It needs more room, and it would be nicer if it opened out more instead of trying to deal with a stupid slit of an opening. The smaller front compartment had 1 chapstick, 1 lipstick, all my cards and ID, and some very stuffed tampons. That's all the smaller compartment fit. I feel, as a woman, that's a very small amount of stuff to travel around with and for the purse to be filled with only those items is annoying. It was impossible to fit any extras into the purse, like, I don't know, a snack! If I used pads it would have been a no-go.Pros: ...1. It has a nice purse color in blue, and looks nice.2. It has metal feet so you can place it on a counter. Or floor (completely defeating the anti-theft features).3. No one pickpocketed me. Not surprised, how could they? As the wearer, even I struggled to get into the purse, much less remove the cards from those impossible slots.4. Uh... it's waterproof or resistant, which isn't a huge deal to me as I wasn't visiting Sea World.Conclusion: When I travel to an area with a high rate of pickpocketing/theft again I absolutely will *not* bring this purse. I'd rather look like a tourist and be comfortable in a different anti-theft bag than wear this pretty disaster. It's a solid no for me.

The strap does arrive in a tight fold. I lengthened it to the max, put a folded towel over a chair (like a shoulder would be) and hung the bag there for a week with some seasoning jars in to to weigh it down. It has stretched the fold lines out almost completely. I have some time until my trip so I'll let it continue to stretch for a bit more but it will be fine. Much more stylish than other cross-body bags that have the security features like this one. It is more expensive than most but for this trip I'm paying for more style and glad I found it.

Bought this for a trip to Europe, since I would be doing all the touristy things that attract pick-pockets and was not disappointed! I had peace of mind the entire time, which made it worth every penny. I guess I'll also add that my valuables were totally safe and I made it through my vacation without incident.

I was looking for an anti-theft purse with a more high quality look. It may be impossible to find, as they all look somewhat cheap.Thought this one would be different, but it wasn’t. Straps are narrow and arrived with folds on it. The type of handle that gets twisted very easily and does not lie flat. Had to return.An improvement would be a wider strap that lies flat.

Just received this item, but have not really used yet to comment on how it holds over time. It appears well made. I was happy that it fits my Sony a7, as I am taking this to various countries and didn't want to carry an obvious camera bag, but wanted easy access to my camera that did not require wearing it all the time or digging in a backpack. I like that I don't have to worry of someone stealing my stuff. Front pocket helps to throw in small items.

The chain and clasps are PLASTIC. How is this safe? Good for a regular purse but not safe like it says since the safety feature is made of cheap plastic. NOT worth $138!!!!!!!!