I’m not a knapsack or fanny pack type of traveler. I have traveled with a loose passport more often than I should. On my recent trip to New Orleans, though, I tested out the Dovetail Travel in Peace Travel Band and Travel Wing. While I didn’t need my passport, I did feel surprisingly more secure knowing I had hidden just-in-case cash and credit card. Especially as a female traveling alone, this was a bigger relief than I had expected.

To be clear, these are under-your-clothes tools for protecting important documents. They are not places to keep spending cash, unless you want to keep lifting up your shirt, skirt, or dress in public. For keeping valuables safe—and your confidence safer—they are each invaluable.

Dovetail Travel in Peace offers a set of two: the Band sits on your hips and the Wing goes around your upper body, sitting between your shoulder blades. A traveler can choose which one to use on any particular outing.

For New Orleans, I couldn’t use the Wing as much because of the cut of my outfits and because the Wing sits oddly when no passport rests inside. I could have put the included portfolio in its place. That was comfortable enough, but not necessary. The Travel Band was more comfortable for my shape, context, and needs. It was invisible under both pants and dresses. It also managed to stay comfortably and unnoticeably around my hips. Granted, the Wing was more comfortable with the passport than the Band.

Speaking of my hips, I was a bit worried that my God-given curviness would prove a problem for the Band, causing ride-up and whatnot. It didn’t. The Dovetail Travel in Peace website boasts that the Band would fit up to a size 10, and while I have my opinion about whether or not that’s adequate for the majority of lady travelers, I was grateful that it conformed to both my lower waist when I wore dresses and my hips when I wore jeans.

Both items are slim and light, surprising you by how easily they stretch to fit your passport (or portfolio). Each is easy to use and worth a try, especially in places where pickpocketing is widespread, as a female traveling anywhere solo, and when traveling as lightly as possible. The less to hold, the better.

As a former Peace Corps Volunteer, I appreciate the potential inconspicuousness of these items and loved hearing that Dovetail has contributed 25 sets to Volunteers. While I preferred the Travel Band, the fact that they snug up to your form makes the pair a useful option for different body types and circumstances.