A fake water bottle may sound like the kind of gadget most travelers would laugh at, but former CIA officer Jason Hanson says it is one of several simple tools he uses to make travel a little safer and harder for petty thieves.
In a recent video, Hanson said his years as a former CIA officer and his current travel around the United States for consulting and firearms courses have taught him that security does not always have to be complicated. Sometimes, he explained, small barriers are enough to make a thief move on to an easier target.
Hanson laid out three travel security tricks that he said people may either “love or hate,” including a small zipper clip, a retractable cable lock, and a fake water bottle with a hidden compartment for cash or other small items.
The point, he said, is not to build an impossible fortress around a backpack or hotel room bag. It is to slow down the kind of thief who is looking for something quick, easy, and unnoticed.
Small Barriers Can Make A Big Difference
Hanson began with the travel backpack he said he regularly carries, then pointed to one of the most common fears travelers have in crowded places: someone standing behind them in a line, quietly opening a zipper and stealing a laptop or other valuable item.
That fear is not unreasonable in busy airports, train stations, tourist streets, or crowded city centers, where people are often distracted, tired, and carrying more than usual.
To reduce that risk, Hanson showed a small clip that can connect two zipper pulls together. Once attached, the zippers are harder to pull apart quickly, which means a thief would need more time and movement to get inside the bag.
He was clear that the little clip is not unbeatable. If someone has time alone with the bag, they can still get through it. But in a public place, where the goal is usually to grab and go without being noticed, even a small delay can matter.
“It’s just a deterrent,” Hanson said.
That is the most useful way to think about many travel safety items. They do not need to stop every possible crime. They only need to make your bag less attractive than the next one, especially in places known for pickpocketing and backpack theft.
Hanson specifically mentioned Barcelona as an example of a destination where travelers may be more worried about pickpockets and theft from backpacks.
A Cable Lock For The Hotel Room
The second item Hanson recommended was a retractable cable lock that can be used to secure a bag inside a hotel room.
He said this is useful for travelers who cannot bring their backpack or luggage with them everywhere and may have to leave something behind in a room. The cable can be looped through part of the bag and around a bed frame, heavy furniture, or another fixed object before being locked in place.
Again, Hanson made a point not to oversell the device. He said it will not stop a professional thief with plenty of time and the right tools, because the cable can eventually be cut. But it can stop or slow a petty criminal who is looking for an easy theft.
“It just slows them down,” Hanson said. “It’s better than nothing.”
That kind of honest framing makes the advice more practical. Many security products are marketed as if they solve every problem, but travelers are usually better served by thinking in layers. A locked door, a hidden cash reserve, a secured backpack, and basic awareness all work together, even if no single piece is perfect.
For someone staying in a hotel, rental unit, hostel, or shared space, a lightweight cable lock may not be dramatic, but it adds friction. It makes it harder for someone to simply pick up a bag and leave.
The Fake Water Bottle Trick
The third travel hack was the one Hanson seemed most eager to explain: a fake water bottle that works as a hidden storage container.
From the outside, the bottle looks like an ordinary plastic water bottle. Hanson said it can even be filled with water, so if someone picks it up, they can see water moving around inside and may assume it is just another drink bottle.
The hidden part is in the bottom. Hanson showed that the base unscrews, creating a small compartment where a traveler can store cash, coins, or other small items.
He warned that if someone puts coins inside, they should wrap them in tissue or something similar so they do not rattle. Cash, however, would be easy to hide quietly.
“If it’s in the bottom of your luggage or bottom of your backpack, there’s water in there, they’re probably not going to think twice about it,” Hanson said.
The trick works because it uses plain sight instead of secrecy. A thief rifling through a room may look for wallets, envelopes, jewelry boxes, money belts, passport holders, or electronics, but an ordinary water bottle at the bottom of a bag is easy to ignore.
That is what makes the idea more interesting than it first sounds. It is not about a spy-movie gadget with a secret code or a hidden blade. It is about understanding what people notice and what they dismiss.
Hiding In Plain Sight
Hanson said the fake water bottle is useful for travelers who are especially worried about leaving cash in a hotel room or who do not want to carry all of their money at once.
For most people, carrying every bit of cash and every important document in one place is risky. If a wallet is stolen, a bag is lost, or a hotel room is entered, the traveler can suddenly lose everything at once. Spreading items out in smart places reduces that risk.
The fake bottle is one version of that idea.
There is also something simple and human about the method. A thief is not searching like a careful archaeologist. In most cases, he is moving quickly, trying not to be seen, and looking for obvious valuables. A water bottle does not look like a prize.
That said, the fake bottle should not be treated as a magic solution. It is still best to use hotel safes carefully, avoid carrying unnecessary valuables, keep passports secure, and avoid leaving large amounts of cash behind. But as a backup hiding spot, Hanson’s point is that it can be useful because it blends in with normal travel clutter.
Deterrence, Not Perfection
Across all three tips, Hanson returned to the same basic theme: these tools are not perfect, but they are better than being completely vulnerable.
The zipper clip makes it harder for someone to open a backpack quietly in a line. The retractable cable lock makes it harder for someone to walk off with a bag in a hotel room. The fake water bottle makes it less likely that hidden cash will be noticed during a quick search.
None of these ideas require special training, and none are expensive or complicated. That is probably why they are useful for ordinary travelers. The best travel safety habits are often the ones people will actually use, not the ones that sound impressive but stay at home in a drawer.
Hanson’s advice also reflects a larger rule of personal security: most criminals prefer easy opportunities. If one backpack opens freely and another has clipped zippers, the easier bag is more tempting. If one suitcase is sitting loose and another is cabled to furniture, the loose one is simpler to take.
Security often works that way. It is not always about defeating every possible threat. It is about reducing the chance that you become the easiest target nearby.
Simple Tools For A Busy Travel World
Hanson closed the video by calling the three ideas “stupidly simple travel hacks,” but that simplicity is exactly why they may be useful.
Modern travel already comes with enough stress. People are watching boarding times, rideshares, hotel check-ins, passports, children, bags, phones, chargers, and directions all at once. In that kind of environment, small security habits can protect a traveler during the exact moments when attention is stretched thin.
A tiny zipper clip, a cable lock, and a fake water bottle will not make someone invincible, and Hanson did not claim they would. What they can do is add a little delay, confusion, and concealment at the right time.
That may be enough to matter.
For Hanson, the fake water bottle is not ridiculous because it is fancy. It is useful because it looks boring, and boring is sometimes the best disguise.
Raised in a small Arizona town, Kevin grew up surrounded by rugged desert landscapes and a family of hunters. His background in competitive shooting and firearms training has made him an authority on self-defense and gun safety. A certified firearms instructor, Kevin teaches others how to properly handle and maintain their weapons, whether for hunting, home defense, or survival situations. His writing focuses on responsible gun ownership, marksmanship, and the role of firearms in personal preparedness.
