The Best Dopp Kits And Wash Bags For Men
For British readers, it’s a wash bag. Across the Atlantic, it’s more commonly known as a Dopp kit. Either way, we’re talking about the same thing: somewhere to keep your grooming essentials organised at home and, more importantly, prevent your toothbrush, razor and moisturiser rattling around loose in your luggage when travelling.
It isn’t the most exciting purchase you’ll ever make, but a good one quickly proves its worth. It’ll keep liquids away from your clothes if something leaks, make packing easier and save you rummaging around the bottom of a suitcase every morning. And because a quality wash bag can easily last for decades, there’s a reasonable argument for buying something you actually enjoy using.
Why Is It Called A Dopp Kit?
The name is generally traced back to Chicago leather-goods maker Charles Doppelt, whose company produced men’s toiletry cases during the first half of the 20th century. The exact origin story varies depending on who tells it; some accounts credit Doppelt’s nephew with the original design, but the bags became widely associated with American servicemen during the Second World War.
‘Dopp’ subsequently became a generic American term for this type of compact toiletry case, while ‘wash bag’ remained the more familiar name in Britain.
An original 1948 advert for the Dopp Kit Toilet Case by Charles Doppelt & Co. Inc. of Chicago
What To Look For In A Dopp Kit
Material
Bennett Winch
Leather is the traditional choice and arguably the smartest, particularly if you want something that’ll develop character over years of travel. Full-grain and vegetable-tanned hides tend to age particularly well, although leather is generally heavier, more expensive and requires a little more care than synthetic alternatives.
Suede offers a softer, more tactile take on the same idea. It looks considerably more luxurious than nylon or canvas and will develop its own patina over time, although conventional suede is more susceptible to moisture and marks. Some makers now get around this with treated versions. Bennett Winch, for example, uses waterproof, moss-backed Italian suede for its wash bags, giving you the texture and character of suede without making it quite so impractical around bathroom sinks.
Size
Bigger isn’t necessarily better. A wash bag needs enough room for your everyday grooming kit without becoming another piece of luggage in its own right.
Think about what you actually travel with. A toothbrush, deodorant, razor and a handful of travel-sized products require relatively little space. Add an electric shaver, full skincare routine, hair products and fragrance and you’ll want something considerably roomier.
Organisation
Bennett Winch
A single compartment looks clean but can quickly become a lucky dip of toothpaste, cables and loose razor heads. Internal pockets, elastic loops and separate zipped sections make a real difference if you travel regularly.
A removable or waterproof compartment is particularly useful for wet razors and electric grooming tools, while smaller pockets stop easy-to-lose items disappearing to the bottom.
Hanging Vs. Countertop
Traditional Dopp kits are designed to sit flat on a bathroom counter, which works perfectly well until you find yourself in a tiny hotel bathroom with nowhere to put anything.
Hanging wash bags sacrifice some of that clean, compact shape but can be hooked over a rail or door, giving you instant access to everything inside. For frequent travellers, they’re difficult to beat for pure practicality.
Lining & Cleanability
Bennett Winch
This is perhaps the least glamorous consideration, but one of the most important. Toothpaste leaks. Shampoo lids work themselves loose. Razors get put away wet.
Look for a water-resistant or wipe-clean lining wherever possible. It’ll protect the outer material and means one rogue bottle of shower gel doesn’t condemn an expensive wash bag to an early retirement.
The Handmade One
Bennett Winch Black Leather Wash Bag / Dopp Kit
Bennett Winch’s Leather Wash Bag is the sort of thing that makes the case for spending properly on an accessory most people barely think about. Handmade in England from full-grain Italian vegetable-tanned leather, it’s built more like a piece of luggage than a throwaway toiletry pouch.
That doesn’t mean function has been sacrificed for looks. The interior is lined with waterproof Italian nylon, there’s an additional zipped pocket and, most usefully, a removable zipped wet compartment for storing razors or beard clippers separately from everything else.
A wide opening makes the contents easy to get at, while solid brass hardware and a Swiss-made RiRi zip complete what is unquestionably an indulgent proposition. At 34cm long it’s generously sized too, making this one better suited to proper trips than an overnight dash.
The Understated One
WANT Les Essentiels Kenyatta Wash Bag
Luggage specialist WANT Les Essentiels has always excelled at making practical travel gear look considerably better than it needs to, and the Kenyatta is a perfect example.
The current version is a beautifully streamlined wash bag with a wide, double-zip opening and enough space to handle a full travel grooming routine without becoming cumbersome. It’s understated, smart and exactly the sort of design that looks equally at home next to a Rimowa suitcase or sitting on a hotel bathroom counter.
If you want your wash bag to look like a considered part of your luggage rather than something you grabbed from the chemist on the way to the airport, this is the one.
The Functional One
TUMI Alpha Hanging Travel Kit
Few brands do functional travel gear better than TUMI. Its current Alpha Hanging Travel Kit takes everything the brand does well with its suitcases and bags and shrinks it down for the bathroom.
Made from TUMI’s famously tough ballistic nylon, it features an antimicrobial-coated lining, two exterior side pockets and a mixture of mesh and translucent internal storage. The built-in hook means it can hang from a door, rail or bathroom fixture when counter space is limited, but it folds back into a relatively compact package when you’re finished.
It’s not the prettiest option here, but for someone who’s permanently living out of hotels, it’s probably the most useful.
The Luxury One
Montblanc’s original clear Nightflight bag has long since disappeared, but the brand still knows how to make a seriously luxurious travel accessory.
The current Panorama Wash Bag uses a water-repellent technical fabric trimmed with black leather, keeping the overall weight down without losing the polished Montblanc feel. A 360-degree zip opens it up fully, revealing two internal compartments, elasticated straps and an additional zipped pocket.
At this price, nobody could accuse it of being essential. But if the rest of your luggage is similarly considered and you want a wash bag to match, it makes a convincing argument.
The Pre-Loaded One
MALIN+GOETZ Best-Sellers Travel Kit
Sometimes you don’t want an empty wash bag. You want someone to pack for you.
MALIN+GOETZ’s Best-Sellers Travel Kit does exactly that, bringing together six of the New York grooming brand’s staples in travel-friendly sizes. There’s a grapefruit face cleanser, vitamin E face moisturiser, bergamot hand and body wash, vitamin B5 body moisturiser, peppermint shampoo and cilantro conditioner.
The products now come in recyclable aluminium tubes housed inside a biodegradable transparent pouch, making this more of a ready-made grooming kit than a forever wash bag. For a short trip, however, it’s difficult to fault. Throw it into your hand luggage and most of the bathroom packing is already done.
The Affordable One
MUJI Hanging Travel Case
MUJI has built an entire business around making ordinary objects simple, useful and affordable, so it’s hardly surprising that its wash bag follows the same formula.
The Hanging Travel Case is compact, lightweight and fitted with an internal hook so it can be suspended from a bathroom rail or door. Inside, there’s enough organisation to keep smaller grooming products under control without covering every available surface in unnecessary pockets and zips.
The polyester construction also makes it easy to live with. If something leaks, you can clean it up without worrying about ruining expensive leather. And at a fraction of the price of most other options, it proves a good wash bag doesn’t need to be a luxury purchase.
