The Essentials: Three Perfect Grooming Bags For When You Travel
There are truths that can’t be untrue.
Academics call these “truisms.”
Whatever.
When we think such truths, we recall, for instance, that the sun will rise and set, that immortality is unavoidable (physically, that is), and that if you go number two in the forest, but no one’s around to see it, it’ll still have happened.
Well, unconquerable truths pervade even in the world of men’s grooming.
Said truths include, but are definitely not limited to:
Truth #1: If you have access to grooming provisions, you must groom. You will look good, and thus, feel great.
Truth #2: When you venture abroad, you must groom hard, for the comforts of your environs — that Spider-Man towel within your left arm’s reach, the Bluetooth dock blaring The Ronettes on loop, and maybe even some assistance in the form of a leggy accomplice — will not be there.
And most of all, when you travel, you’ll need something to hold your blades and balms. A dopp kit, a toiletry case, or if you’re British, a washbag. Call it what you like, you’ll need one that won’t let you down when you’re out of town, one that’s constructed with an assiduous attention to detail, the same way we make our own products.
Here are three well-made grooming bags — we call them grooming bags — that’ll go to hell with you and back.
1. Barbour x Noah Waxed Cotton Washbag
Image: slamjam.com
Coveters of fine coats know the name Barbour. The South Shields, England-based company crafts maybe the best waxed cotton jackets buyable, and they’ve been doing so since 1894. And if you don’t know about New York’s Noah, know they make no-fuss, non-assuming classics (think the perfect pair of double-plated cords), that focus on fabrication; As proclaimed on their site, their clothes are “made in countries, mills, and factories where tradition, expertise and human dignity take precedence over the bottom line,” all things we can get behind.
Now take that glorious, 100% waterproof waxed cotton, add a little of that New York oomph, and you’ve got a collaboration for the ages. This washbag came way of said collab, and it’s living proof that men’s grooming kits have a place in haute couture.
Key Specs:
100% waxed cotton on the outside (just like Barbour’s coats)
100% polyester lining on the inside
Outer pocket with a ring zipper for easy use
Hanger loop
2. m0851 Po 10 Toiletry Bag
Photo: m0851
Montreal’s m0851 is the probably the best leather goods purveyor to elude your radar, and if so, it’d make sense. Sleek, curiously textured card cases and messenger bags make up a fraction of the brand’s offering, and while colour and style vary, too, everything’s streamlined by a disciplined sense of minimalism and utility (and 90% of what you’ll find in stock was made in local workshops).
Nothing’s flashy here — nor should a fine leather accessory be as much — and that ethos is championed by the brand’s Po 10 travel toiletry bag.
All-black (save for the interior), all business, and that aniline leather’s even softer than it looks, not mention that interior’s roomier than you’d think.
Key Specs:
Durable nylon interior
Double inner pockets for things like citrus-infused cleansing wipes
Hanger loop
Made in Canada
$150 (CAD)
3. Filson Nylon Travel Pack (featuring A Handsome Signature Twill Base)
Photo: Stag Provisions
Filson’s famous for their tough-as-hell, though equally handsome Rugged Twill duffle bags, backpacks, and briefcases. If you know someone who owns a one of these, you’ll know exactly what we’re talking about. They’re clean, classic, and complementary to any kind of outfit.
Their grooming bags, while smaller, spare no exception in quality when compared to their larger patriarchs.
Photo: Stag Provisions
The Seattle-based outfitter offers two versions of these guys, one of which is made entirely from that beautiful Rugged Twill. We’re partial to its lighter, simpler cousin, the Travel Pack.
Blending a “tear-resistant” type of nylon with a Rugged Twill base makes for a rich interplay between fabrics that’s as subtle as it is sapient.
Key Specs:
“Tear-resistant ballistic” nylon shell, which, how awesome does that sound?
Two interior “stow” pockets
One exterior pocket
Hanger loop
Bridle leather zipper pulls
Comes in whiskey (our pick), dark navy, and otter green