Building The Perfect Dopp Kit
March 18, 2008
Unlike many women who require a small suitcase for their toiletries, a traveling man needs only a few essentials to be happy. Nevertheless, a man needs a place to stow these items. Enter the Dopp kit.
The History of the Dopp Kit
Charles Doppelt, a German leather-goods maker from Chicago, invented the Dopp kit during the early 1900’s. The small pouches became known as Dopps, in recognition of its creator. Doppelt scored a contract with the US Army during WWII to provide the toiletry pouches to millions of American GIs. The bags became a hit, and demand for Dopp kits soared when American men returned home from war.
My memories of Dopp kits include looking over my dad’s black leather one. It was worn from years of use. As a child, I was always amazed at all the stuff he could put in there. It was almost like a doctor’s old medical bag.
Building your Dopp Kit
The Bag
The first thing you’ll need is the bag. These aren’t difficult to find. You can get a nylon travel bag for under $5 at any big box store like Target or Wal-Mart. They’ll get the job done.
But if you want a Dopp kit with class, leather is the only way to go. Sure, it will cost you more, but it will last forever, age nicely, and become something you enjoy owning and toting around. It’s something you’ll be able to pass down to your sons and grandsons, along with the stories of the places you took it. You can find a nice leather Dopp kit at most department stores. You can also buy nice affordable leather Dopp kit for $35 online. If you’re lucky, you can also score a vintage leather Dopp bag on eBay.
The Supplies
After you have your bag, it’s time to fill it up with the stuff you need to keep you well groomed while traveling. Most of things we suggest are common sense, others you might not have thought of, but will be happy to have on hand during your adventures.
- Travel bottle of shampoo
- Bar of your favorite soap
- Deodorant
- Toothbrush, Toothpaste, Floss
- Shaving supplies: razor, brush, and cream
- Nail clippers
- Lip Balm
- Band Aids
- Safety Pins
- Aspirin or Tylenol
- Lint Roller
- $20 bill
- Extra pair of contact lenses
Organizing the kit
One of the things I remember about my dad filling up his Dopp kit is the care he took when packing his supplies. Everything had its place. The way you place supplies in the pouch will ensure safe arrival to your destination.
If you will be flying with your Dopp kit, keep in mind that pressure changes on the airplane can cause your shampoo and cream bottles to explode. This will create a big mess and a lot of disappointment, especially if you went ahead a bought a nice leather kit. To avoid a mess, try this hint: Before placing a bottle that holds liquidy materials in your bag, squeeze the air out of the bottle right up until the cream reaches the tip of the hole. Without this excess air, your bottles will be much more likely to hold unto their contents during flight.
What do you carry in your Dopp kit? Did we miss anything that you think is essential to have? Drop a line in the comment box and let us know.
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Good post! Here are a few things that I keep in my kit that weren’t on your list:
-A little black film container of quarters. (For parking meters or emergency pay phone calls)
-Some sort of styptic. (Stop those pesky razor nicks from bleeding in a jiffy)
-Nail or cuticle scissors (to trim up stray nose or eyebrow hairs)
-Gold Bond powder (no need to explain, we are all men here)
I also ALWAYS include some Alka-Seltzer or ENO Antacid caplets. They work for all sorts of upset stomachs (heartburn, indigestion, etc.), plus they last for a long time, take up very little space, and all you need is water.
I’d recommend a comb in there as well. Dopp kits are great for me at college. For the shampoo bottle, I use an old L’Oreal Kids bottle (http://tinyurl.com/2pn3qw) with a much more manly shampoo of course. The it’s thin enough to fit well into the kit and not take up as much room, plus I can go about a month without refilling.
a few items i always keep in my Dopp and find indispensable:
-Purell hand sanitizer. (its a dirty world out there)
-Quality face wash. (you guys are not using regular ‘ole soap on your faces are you?)
-NyQuil and DayQuil. (you can function surprisingly well when sick on a steady balance of these two medications. )
-Condoms and a small tube of lube. (for the bachelor life)
- a comb (or hairbrush, if you can accept the bulk)
- earplugs
- sewing kit (nothing fancy, just to reaffix that button)
good article, however good luck trying to get the aerosols, razor blades, trimmers, and liquids onto the plane nowadays!
Great post. The only thing I would add is diarrhea medicine, especially if you are traveling to somewhat exotic locales.
I second the small sewing kit and would add some sort of anti-diarrheal medication, especially if you’re traveling overseas.
Curse you Matt B! (I bow to your superior posting speed.)
Another quick tip: Any bottles of liquid that might explode I pack in a zip lock bag…That way if they do explode, leak, or just come open it doesn’t make a mess of your case or other supplies.
Another essential: a few q-tips! Coming back from a trip with no q-tips to find an ear full of golden treasure can be quite shocking.
A few additional essentials that come in handy:
1) Condoms
2) Floss (can be used for sewing in a pinch)
3) Teeth Whitening Strips
4) Comb
When flying, I always put my liquids in a little zip-lock bag. Due to the 3-1-1 FAA regulation I have all my things in small bottles in the bag so I can quickly pull it out for security screening.
Don’t forget condoms! Another helpful item is a tin of solid-state hand salve, in case your destination is cold and dry and your hands get chapped.
Always go for a solid rather than a liquid, if the products are otherwise comparable, because solids are so much easier to travel with.
[Women need a suitcase, huh? My dopp kit (always packed and at-the-ready for a last minute trip) is 5" on its longest dimension. http://flickr.com/photos/loxosceles/2155179111/ ]
Great tips everyone!
@Kevan-Ahhh yes, Gold Bond powder. I just rediscovered it a few weeks ago, and now I’m not sure how I went without.
@David-Q-tips! Another good tip! Q-tips are always the thing I forget and then regret forgetting. On a related note, why do Q-tips feel so darn good in your ear?
@Beth-Notice that I said “many women.” Some women can travel light too. They are known as a “keeper.”
A good article, and a complete kit after adding the additional suggested items.
You can get liquids on board planes - in small but sufficient quantities.
A small bottle of mouthwash, and a bottle of multivitamins.
I have the same Dopp bag (not an official Dopp, but good enough) I’ve been using for 20 years, and it still holds up well.
I inherited mine from my grandfather. It’s durable nylon that looks like a folded dress shirt when zipped up. I always pack a tide pen (for those tedious little stains). I also pack a travel version of cologne and gold bond. Rolaids are always handy too. Good post.
I have added 1 K-BAR meal set (folding knive/fork/spoon) and 1 multi-purpose tool (Victorinox) to my kit.
My Dad’s kit (which he called a ditty bag), always had a travel cup that some how sunk into it’s self in ring fashion and two clean and pressed handkerchiefs.
@Carol-
Did your dad have opportunities to use his cup? For reasons I can’t quite explain, I’ve always been drawn to packing a collapsible cup. But I’m not sure I would ever need to use it.
Awesome article, I forward these emails to my friends quite often.
Also, I must inform you of a formatting error in your emails. The full
horizontal length of your articles are cut off almost every time - there’s
no way for me to scrolI to the right to read the remainder of your
sentences.
I use Yahoo! mail, but only Microsoft Outlook and a few other mail
services allow the user to scroll horizontally to read outside of the
margins. I suggest keeping your articles within a normal margin so that
the sentences aren’t cutoff.
Thanks!!
God Bless,
- Jonathan H
Well, I added all the stuff that everyone has suggested putting in the dopp kit and now I have a suitcase size kit. This is a little like building a weapon for the military. The original intent was to build a slingshot, by the time a committee got done with it, it looked like the DeathStar from Star Wars.
Good post. For years I strived for the perfect Dopp kit - spare glasses, bandaids, extra cuff links and collar stays, swiss army knife, etc. But since the airlines have instituted the ridiculous liquids in a plastic bag policy, it means that part of the Dopp kit contents are in the kit and the rest are in a ziploc. It makes the whole concept of having everything in one place impossible. But at least having liquids in a plastic bag is better than taking one’s shoes off!
Thanks for the history behind the name of the Dopp kit.
I always pick up travel size or sample size products and keep the packs to re-use.
I also carry this little lot (deep breath!)
Fuzzy Brushes
Avid Razor
Ultra Shave Cream 50ml (also perfect to use on board in-flight)
Roll-on Deodorant
Shampoo/Shower Gel
Q-Tips
Sewing Kit (most hotels have these complimentary in the room)
Nail Brush and Clippers
Floss + Toothpicks
Tube of antiseptic hand cleaner
Diamond Nail File
Swipes spectacle cleaners (by Scunci.com but not easy to find, I believe Denman Brushes distribute them though)
Shoe Care Kit (again, a lot of hotels supply these)
Cufflinks & Collar Stays
Mini Mag-Lite
Silk socks
Nylon net bags
Copies of any important documents (on a USB flash key)
Fuzzy Brushes are handy to use anywhere and you don’t need to rely on water.
Avid razor blade cartridges are stored in the handle to protect you and the edges.
Ultra Shave is also great for using in-flight to combat the drying effect of cabin pressure.
Silk socks (apart from feeling good) stay looking respectable even if you have to wear them for more than one day. Silk also self-cleans, is cool when it’s warm and warm when it’s cool.
Of all the responses, I cannot find any instance of including TWEEZERS in the Dopp kit. I find them absolutely essential. Having logged over 1,000,000 miles in 40 years of travelling, my kit always includes
Moustache repair kit (scissors, small comb, small brush)
Disposable razors (3 - 4)
Small shave cream - available at Wal-Mart (put in ziplock bag)
Tweezers
Nail Clippers
Hair Brush (not very usefull anymore without hair)
Hair comb
Hand cleaners (handi wipes)
Soap
Deodorant
Q tips
Floss, toothbrush, paste
Glycerin glasses cleaning spray and towelette
(contact supplies if used)
Small Change - although US change isn’t much use overseas
Band-aids
Antiseptic cream
Great web site…. should be essential reading for all young men
Ken
In a few months I am getting married and have been in a quandary as to what to get my groomsman/best-man as gifts. True I could buy the typical monogrammed flask, but I wanted something that they could use for a long time. I finally settled on creating dopp kits for them as they both tend to travel, and too few men these days seem to grasp the value of a good travel kit.
My father bought one of these when he travelled to Brazil in 1990 and eventually passed it down to me when I went away to school in 1997(That’s SEVEN years!). I used it until about 2000 but had to let it go when the leather started cracking.
This brings back a lot of memories and the dopp kit is definitely a man item. I’d only buy a leather one though.
@Tony-Thanks for sharing your list. Are Fuzzy Brushes the brushes you use to get the fuzz off your suits?
@Ken-Thank you for your list as well. What kinds of things do you use your tweezers for? I don’t seem to use them very much,
@Matt-Congrats on your upcoming nuptials. I love your idea of giving dopp kits for a groomsmen gift. We have actually been brainstorming for a post on groomsmen gift ideas, and we’ll certainly add that to the list. Flasks are a common choice, but kind of a strange one. There are not many occasions when a man needs to carry his liquor on his person.
Great article. If you’re looking for more information, I published a similar article back in January on the same topic.
http://jarjac.com/2008/01/physical-self/essentials-the-dopp-kit/
only a poofter would be interested in something like that
Brett - No these Fuzzy Brushes are little chewable toothbrushes.
If you mean a clothes brush which I believe K-Tel bought out (remember K-Tel?) sellotape will do that job on the move.
I have a d.fuzz.it which is a sweater and fabric comb - maybe that’s what you meant?
Tony-
I have to admit I had never heard of a chewable toothbrush. So I googled it. They look really interesting. We don’t have Fuzzy Brushes in the US, unfortunately. So when I heard fuzzy brush I was thinking of a lint brush.
Ditto on the Q-Tips.
I like to put anything liquid in a zip-lock sandwich bag, and my toothbrush in another. Even on road trips, it’s a cheap insurance against a lid coming lose.
I got mine from my uncle way back in the 80’s. I think it was new then, and I’ve had to repair the inside linging once. I’ve had it so long, now it’s a friend I can’t part with!
Brett,
Chewable toothbrushes are horrible and don’t work. They used to sell them in a vending machine at a nightclub I used to frequent. Disgusting!
Brett - They are available in the US (I admit not everywhere). I believe the plan is for them to become available at airports. If you forget your toothbrush or need something to freshen breath they are handy. They were invented by a dentist, are handy to have when you go out. As you no doubt know, it’s recommended to brush within 20 minutes of eating and who carries a toothbrush to a restaurant!!
Ian - If they didn’t work they wouldn’t be so popular
There are new flavours on the way. They’re also handy for those with disabilities. Each to their own.
Interesting responses…….Teeth whiting strips? How more metrosexual can you get?
This was brilliant — and needed. I must say though, I’ve never know this kit actually had a name. Live and learn, I guess.
Some of the stuff you included… I mean… do we really need all that stuff?
What are we? Women?
A miniature shampoo? You already have soap.
A shaving brush? Can’t you just use your hands?
And then some of you added more stuff.
Won’t they have some of this stuff where you’re going?
I always pack a couple black tea bags and a couple herbal. They can be very soothing and my wife appreciates them too.
Emergen-c to keep my immune system up.
I like to keep two of everything like razors, toothbrushes, etc. One for home and one just for the kit. That way I’m always ready to go and never have to worry about switching or forgetting anything.
Most of this stuff is completely uneeded.
All you need:
- Bar soap (hair, face, body and shaving cream)
- Comb
- Razor
- Toothstuffs
- Deodorant
- Meds
Most everything else can be done with hands.
As noted previously, q-tips are quite the necessity. But how do you enjoy that “q-tip feeling” away from home?
I purchased the travel-size Johnson & Johnson cotton swabs from Wal-Mart (~$1.00). They come in a nice plastic dispenser of sorts, which when empty, I’ll then refill from my family-size pack of Q-tips
Re: your dopp kit posting from March (sorry I just discovered your blog)
1) For contact lens wearers, there is saline solution and maybe a cleaning agent for them;
2) I would add immodium and some type of antacid. I find stomach trouble far more often in a traveling situation.
3) Soap and shampoo are hardly necessary these days as almost all hotels provide same.