I need something for all my shaving stuff when I travel and I’ve heard about “dopp kits.” What is one, and what goes into it?
Community Answers
282
3-30-12
Geoffrey says:
“Dopp kits” were a brand-name leather toilet kit first released in 1919. The term got genericized over time and is now applied to most high-quality leather (and sometimes synthetic) shaving and toilet kits.
The word refers to both the bag itself (the original meaning) and a bag with all the relevant contents (the evolved meaning). A basic Dopp kit might consist of:
- The bag itself, a leather bag about the size of a football with a zipper lengthwise across the top.
- A razor
- Shaving cream (either a can or a small mug and soap cake)
- Shaving brush if needed
- Small bar or bottle of soap
- Deodorant
- Toothpaste and toothbrush
- Small washcloth
- Nail scissors or trimmers
It’s also not unusual these days to have small, hard plastic cases for most of the items, which keeps them from dripping on the inside of the bag if you have to use them and then store them again immediately.
Obviously, many of the contents of a Dopp kit won’t make it onto a modern airline flight, so it’s common to carry a Dopp kit filled with only the non-metal items and no liquids over 3 oz. for air travel. The rest of the supplies are then either requested from a hotel or purchased after landing.
“Dopp kits” were a brand-name leather toilet kit first released in 1919. The term got genericized over time and is now applied to most high-quality leather (and sometimes synthetic) shaving and toilet kits.
The word refers to both the bag itself (the original meaning) and a bag with all the relevant contents (the evolved meaning). A basic Dopp kit might consist of:
- The bag itself, a leather bag about the size of a football with a zipper lengthwise across the top.
- A razor
- Shaving cream (either a can or a small mug and soap cake)
- Shaving brush if needed
- Small bar or bottle of soap
- Deodorant
- Toothpaste and toothbrush
- Small washcloth
- Nail scissors or trimmers
It’s also not unusual these days to have small, hard plastic cases for most of the items, which keeps them from dripping on the inside of the bag if you have to use them and then store them again immediately.
Obviously, many of the contents of a Dopp kit won’t make it onto a modern airline flight, so it’s common to carry a Dopp kit filled with only the non-metal items and no liquids over 3 oz. for air travel. The rest of the supplies are then either requested from a hotel or purchased after landing.
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LikeDislikeThe Art of Manliness has a good image of a perfectly-packed Dopp kit here:
Anatomy of a Dopp Kit
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