Europe for Visitors Blog

ABOVE: The rotation180° Travel Away Backpack from MindShift Gear.

Backpacks are handy, but you wouldn't want to use a backpack for your passport, wallet, camera, and smartphone--or would you? With the new rotation180° Travel Away Backpack from MindShift Gear, you can enjoy the storage space of a backpack and the security of a rotating hidden or front-mounted beltpack at the same time.

According to MindShift, "In one swift motion, the wearer can rotate the concealed beltpack to the front for instantaneous and secure access to camera, passports, guidebooks, tablets, or other travel essentials." And when you (a.k.a. "the wearer") want to make the beltpack less obvious, you can rotate it back into a "secure locked channel" between the backpack and your back until you need it again.

The beltpack is large enough to carry a small tablet (such as an iPad Mini), a point-and-shoot camera, your passport, cash, and other small items.

The backpack has dedicated pockets to conceal a laptop (up to 15 inches) and a 10-inch tablet, along with pockets or compartments for clothing and other gear. If you wish, you can remove the beltpack and wear it without the backpack for local sightseeing.

We haven't had a chance to field-test the rotation180° Travel Away Backpack, but the concept sounds brilliant. What's more, the Travel Away backpack is only one of four rotation180° backpacks, including a versatile (if pricey) Professional model for serious photographers who need to keep their camera gear instantly at hand.

For more information on all four r180° backpacks from MindShift Gear, visit:

www.mindshift.com

BELOW: A video of the rotating beltpack in action on the r180° Professional backpack: