What’s the Best Travel Toiletry Bag?
Your travel toiletry bag… Any seasoned traveller will know this is just one of the many things you’ll never consider before heading out into the great unknown. You worry about the big things: flights, hotels, vaccinations. Everything else falls by the wayside, and it’s only when you’re thousands of miles from home that you realise the folly of ignoring the small stuff. Small stuff like ‘Damn, my travel toiletry bag is huge!’
Back home you don’t worry about the size or convenience of your toiletry bag. As long as it’s large enough for your shampoo, toothbrush, razor and the other crap you take into the shower it’s just not a thing you waste a whole lot of time considering. When it comes to travel toiletry bags, though, the issues of size, portability and convenience suddenly become much more important.
I usually buy a new travel toiletry bag before each big trip. My trips are usually around six months long, so my travel toiletry bags take quite a beating. Between general wear and tear and the occasional luggage-based exploding shampoo bottle mishap my toiletry bags usually return home in tatters. Even though they have a short shelf life I find it worthwhile to take care to pick out the right one before I take my flight.
These, then, are five of my favourites…
Top 5 Travel Toiletry Bags
Briggs & Riley Brx Travel Toiletry Kit
I used this kit on a road trip around Europe a couple of years bag, and it did a fantastic job in the cramped bathrooms of German hostels. The hanging strap is ideal for keeping the bag dry in a soaking wet bathroom, and the wet/dry pockets keep your toiletries nicely separated. There’s not much else to say about it: it just does the job.
Piel U-Zip Toiletry Kit
This Piel bag is a nice, simple budget option: nothing fancy, but not lacking in the essentials. The roomy main compartment is more than big enough for full-sized shampoo and shower gel bottles, and the side pouch is perfect for toothbrush and toothpaste. The vaquetta cowhide material is a nice touch.
Royce Leather Travel Toiletry Bag
Heading towards the midrange, this Royce toiletry bag comes in high quality leather with both an external hanging strap and internal coat hanger-style hook. A removable net pouch is ideal for small items, while the close fitting elasticated internal straps do sterling work holding your bottles steady.
Adventure Hanging Toiletry Kit
On styling alone this is my favourite ever travel toiletry bag. I picked this bag up before a US road trip and used it solely to pass myself off as an English gent (I’m nothing of the sort). The rich leather exterior and brass clips make this travel toiletry bag look like an old-timey school satchel, but inside it’s all business. A sturdy hook allows you to hang the bag away from a wet, dirty floor, and the multiple interior nets keep everything nice and separated.
The only downside of this bag is its size. If, like me, you have the luxury of a car the large size isn’t a problem, but if you’re moving from place to place and trying to travel light it could pose a problem. Still, it looks just great.
Ralph Lauren RRL Canvas Travel Toiletry Bag
This bag is reserved for those for whom money is no object. At $175 this is a little on the expensive side for a toiletry bag but, after owning one for a couple of years, I’d argue that it’s well worth the investment. The heavy canvas construction, chunky zip and riveted brass base mean that this bag can take a hell of a lot of punishment. This bad boy has been with me through Central and South East Asia, along with a prolonged stay in the wilds of Mongolia, and it still looks like new.
I know it’s a large investment for something as simple as a travel toiletry bag, but in my mind there’s simply no better option. This bag will last a lifetime.
