Travel Safe

Do you ever fear your wallet or cards will get stolen while travelling or staying in a hotel or hostel? I do and had once a part of my cash stolen by a hotel personnel. I now split my resources and keep at different places, bags, on person, but also devised some not so obvious secret stash compartments . One of them is an empty toothpaste tube. It is just laying in your bathroom kit, and not very attractive prize.

In this short tutorial I show how you can use an empty toothpaste or shaving cream tube to create a small hiding place that can hold at least few hundred bucks and can get you out of trouble when you need it the most

Supplies

Empty or near empty toothpaste / cream tube

Hair pin

Scissors

Cash

Step 1: Find a Tube

Select an empty or almost empty toothpaste or shaving cream or hand cream tube and empty any left over contents

Step 2:

Cut the end of the tube open.

Clean it using water and or paper towel. Make sure you use something long like a spoon to reach the top from the inside. Let let dry naturally or use another paper towel

Step 3:

Stick your cash, jewellery, or even cards ( not all toothpaste are wide enough)

Wrap the end several times and clamp it with a hair pin

You might want to deflate some air out at the end to make it looks like almost empty tube

Step 4: Go Out and See the World

Comments

[aabergel2]

hi

[a1auto]

This is such a great idea I am going to use this on my next trip

[gcai_fwb]

good idea - I'd change it a bit though - put your cash into a drinking straw, seal the ends of the straw (or use plastic wrap) ; cut end of the toothpaste tube, insert sealed cash and reseal the end of toothpaste tube with a heat source (soldering iron, hot knife, iron ,etc.) or fold over and hold close with binder clip.
This allows the toothpaste tube to have the some heft if someone is curious and also if they open the cap, toothpaste will come out. May want to dedicate that tube as a decoy only :)

[sg19point3]

Great idea, but emergency only stow away I'd say. If you want to have a quick access though that might be problematic.

[gcai_fwb]

then just crimp over the end and use the binder clip (or your hairpin) - I use binder clips all the time to keep the used part of the tube rolled up. What I'm getting at is the tube would be more 'real' i.e. why would you have an empty tube in your kit?

[mrcurlywhirly]

Neat job, though I'd be careful with this. It does remind me of the true story of a Melbourne couple stowing their expensive jewelry in the wheely bin in their backyard while on holidays for 'safe keeping', and not expecting the helpful neighbor to wander over and put it out for them while they were away.

[sg19point3]

No neighbour touching my toothpaste or else haha

[justin_the_jack]

Should work great as long as your thief isn't a Monk or Poirot type that notices, "hey, this guy has two tubes of toothpaste in use. WTF?"

[sg19point3]

haha yes... but generally people that are monks are not into stealing :) But just in case i'll throw my paste into wife's kit :)

[DennisO48]

An excellent simple method of protection.

[themotorchannel9]

That's quite interesting.

[Ertugrul_QAZ]

Last thing I want to be stolen is my toothpaste :)

[sg19point3]

nice ;)