What’s in my travel kit? Part 1:The Bag

“Why buy good luggage? You only use it when you travel.” –Yogi Berra

When I went in search of a new toiletry bag last year… I was not excited. I had had this same, great, perfect sized toiletry bag since high school! It lasted forever, it had this great almost water tight area that zipped closed for shampoos and body washes… There were elastic loops for make up brushes and small pockets for jewelery… Anyway, I loved it. I couldn’t imagine finding another to replace it but I knew it was time to move on when I zipped that lovely leak-resistant compartment closed and the ancient clear-plasticy front ripped away from the seams of the zipper, effectively demolishing any hope of restraining liquidy soap spills.

I decided, being the grown up that I am, that I would start my search not at Target this time, but at Macy’s. I had purchased a great over-night bag by Fossil the year before on Black Friday and I loved it. I use that bag as my carry on when going on a longer trip or as my only bag for shorter ones. But more on that some other time…

I went to Macy’s specifically looking for a Fossil bag, I will admit, partly because a good friend of mine had used one of their toiletry bags when she had stayed at my house last spring. It was a good size and a playful print and it had been in the back of my mind somewhere for a while. I found a similar one, checked out the different compartments, and fell in love. Now, once I used it for a trip, I discovered that it does have a few flaws, and I want to go over the features and benefits of the kit here. All in all, however I will tell you that I love it and I have learned how to work with it, what it is best for, etc. I hope this is helpful to you and if you have any comments or questions, please leave them below! This is the first part of a series on what I pack in my toiletry bag, depending on the destination and activities there. But I wanted to talk a little bit first about the bag it self.

The Fossil Key-Per Toiletry Kit: Pros vs Cons

Pro

• Love the creative pattern and lively design
• Hanger extends out of the top for easy hanging in hotel closet or on the back of a door
• Three separate compartments
• One clear, more flat design
• One larger extended pocket design
• One much larger, more ridged design (for your bottles, liquids, etc).
• Favorite thing: The bottom largest compartment is Velcroed on, very securely. So this compartment could be removed and used for short one or two overnights when you don’t need the other space! Great space saver and works really well. I always just use this detachable compartment when I stay over at my folks house. I usually only really need contact solution, my face wash, lotion, etc. So I don’t really need the other space.

Cons

• The entire case folds up upon itself, and is a great space saver. However, depending on how much you have packed in the middle compartment, the case does not always close as securely or tightly as I would like
• The case/kit is only held closed by two semi-strong magnets. If I only have a few things in the middle compartment, or those items are very strategically packed, they it works fine. However, if one thing is of place or I’m in a slight hurry, I find it’s difficult to maneuver the case’s magnets to the optimal positions.
• Wouldn’t work well in a carry on <or> Not the best choice for keeping TSA carry-on approved liquids in a carry on bag.
• I have seen some cases more recently that have a clear detachable pouch that could easily be used alone or together with the rest of the kit. On my last trip to Costa Rica, I had one small clear TSA approved “1 liter” bag for my small bottles of liquids and the rest of my toiletries in my larger kit. While traveling in the country, I just kept my clear pouch in the large compartment and then more handy on flight days.

Again, overall, I love this bag but there are some things to consider when choosing a new toiletry kit or bag and I hope this was helpful. I’ve tried to link some other options in here, and be sure to check out the video on our YouTube channel that goes with this post where you can really see the bag “in action”.  =)

Love,