Best Travel Wash and Toiletry Bags

We have tested and reviewed toiletry wash bags for car camping and other traveling items, from the lightweight and personal use travel wash bags, to the huge, family sized that everyone can share when off on a car camping holiday.

My partner and I like to travel light, when we can and we have our toiletries and bathroom essentials wittled down to just a few small items, items that we can share too, which is very important when it comes to a toiletry bag. If you are travelling as a family, why have 2, 3 or even 4 toothpastes or body washes and shampoos, when you can share the same one?

That way, you have less to buy, less to carry and everyone is still covered. Our essential list is as follows:

  • Shampoo soap bars are amazing, we can’t recommend them enough and you get a soap bar and shampoo covered in one natural and organic block, no plastic, no chemicals and they always do a great job for us.
  • Bamboo toothbrushes have been in our wash bag for a few years now and we’ll never go back to plastic
  • We use a normal toothpaste tube, we usually just take our main one with us and roll it up to save sace
  • Our deodorant situation is simple, small and that of a little lush tub, it comes in a paste form and keeps us smelling good and most importantly it’s tiny.
  • We have a safety razor that we couldn’t be without, no plastic involved and we switch blades when we share it. The great thing about the shampoo soap we use, is that it can be used to lather us up for when we have a shave.
  • We also pack pain killers and a chapstick for our lips

Thats it, we try and keep it simple, my partner wears minimal make-up and what we use in the home, we take with us.

This way, we can get away with the smallest wash bags, wherever we are in the world, traveling by car or by bicycle and we have everything we need.

Hopefully we have given you some tips to what is needed from what we take with us, now on to the travel wash bags that we have reviewed below.

The best travel wash bag we had the pleasure of reviewing is the Osprey Ultralight Zip Up Organizer. It’s advertised as a multi functional travel bag, and all those we reviewed are, but this beats the others because it is perfect for us and the amount of toiletries we carry with us travelling.

Why is it so good? As mentioned above, it’s small, robust, light and carries our toiletries perfectly, with space for more. It costs a little more than the others, but if you are going to bung this in your backpack or car glove box, it’s perfect.

It only weighs 120grams and has a separate transparent pouch so you can access things separately, put identification or other items that you want to access quickly, as you can see, it’s more than just a wash bag.

In 2nd we have put the Colleer multi functional travel wash bag. It’s big, bold, waterproof and perfect for big family holidays away. You can literally shove  everything you want in to it, and it will fit. This is such a great toiletry bag for longer car camping trips away too. We believe that you could potentially get a family of 6 and their toiletries in to this bag, without leaving anything behind.

Of course it will struggle with larger bottles, 1L shampoo or shower gel, but for everything else, it should suffice. You can even take in multiple items of the same thing, if people don’t want to share anything, which, with 4+ of you would be harder to do than just the two of us. You can hold this travel bag up using its hook when you open it up to hang. It’s even big enough to fit some first aid essentials in it as well if you would like to combine thing in to one travel bag.

If you are just a single traveler, it may be too big for you, unless you are away for some time and don’t pack lightly.

We have also reviewed a North Face Travel Canister and a Dopobo travel wash bag. Both are waterproof but have different design elements. The North Face is the 2nd largest of those reviewed but it looks a lot smaller in it’s pictures.

The Dopobo Travel Wash Bag is the simplest of all the toiletry bags and is designed as a normal wash bag would be. With space to fit a few bottles inside a zipped netted area and your other usual toiletries. With this design you get two or three big areas to pack toiletries, but you don’t get the convenience of packing things separately like you do with the other bag designs and compartment layouts.

Although we have ranked the Dopobo as third best, it’s a fantastic little bag, no unique design elements or features but it’s cheap and does the job of carrying your toiletries superbly. If you’re after something that doesn’t cost too much, is waterproof so still good for camping, this could be perfect for you.

RankBuyTitleRatingPrice
1Check price @ AmazonReview of Osprey Ultralight Zip Wash Bag4.4/5££££
2Check price @ AmazonReview of Colleer Travel Toiletry Bag4.6/5££
3Check price @ AmazonReview of Dopobo Travel Wash Bag3.8/5£
4Check price @ AmazonReview of The North Face BC Travel Canister4.4/5£££

Review of Osprey Ultralight Zip Wash Bag

A review of the Osprey Ultralight Travel Zip Wash Bag.

Check price @ Amazon

osprey ultralight zip wash bag

Technical DetailsPortableYesAirline ApprovedYesWaterproofNoStretchyYesRating4.4/5Price££££Hand heldYesWarrantyNoMaterialnylonBrandOspreyNumber of seats1 seatsDimensions3 x 6 x 9inchWeight120 gWashableNoNext Day DeliveryYesStar rating

This is a review of the Osprey Ultralight Zip Up Toiletry Bag which comes with 6 pocketable areas inside for you to pack your toiletries away in.

We emphasise that this is ultra-light and also small. There are pros and cons to it’s sizing but overall, for us, who like to travel with less, means that this is more of a positive than a negative.

It comes in many different colours, which we like and its dimensions are 6″ x 3″ x 9″, we said it was small. You are only going to fit items no longer than 9″ long, the position of the pockets means that items smaller than this will fit fine.

On the back it has two straps which you can utilise and attach it on to another bag of yours. It’s 6 sections inside are made up of 4 zipper pockets and 2 slide in half size pockets. On the outside is a single zipper pocket, great for items that you may use regularly, like chap stick or deodorant, we really like this feature. If you keep the toiletry bag accessible in a larger bag or part of your car whilst traveling, you know something is you’ll need throughout the day is accessible.

It has a hook so that you can hold it up when you are at your destination and make the items inside easier to access. This is a common and required feature of toilet bags.

The outer zipper wraps all the way around its thin nylon material. You can also think of this as a great pencil case or mini-tool kit case too.

The bottom section is see through which and detachable, another great little feature, here you can put important items or things that you want to be able to see and access quickly.

Weighing just 120grams, it’s a lightweight option compared to other travel toiletry bags.

When using it, even with its 6 pockets and compartments, it is a very small toiletry bag. We managed to fit in to it the following items:

  • Small bar of soap shampoo in container
  • 2 bamboo toothbrushes
  • 1 toothpaste folded in half
  • Pain killers
  • Small tub of deodorant
  • Chapstick for lips

There was room for other small items, like a razor, but we like to keep it simple and this suits us fine. For others who may use larger products, this isn’t the toiletry bag for you.

We recommend adding a mini head torch in one of the pockets, so wherever you are, whatever you need, you can grab this out and easily get what you need done.osprey ultra light toiletry zip up wash bag

Another neat little feature of this zip up travel toiletry bag by Osprey is the see through compartment which you can see above. It is detachable so you can carry it separately if you desire and put things in it that you want to see. Great for loads of little items as you can see what you are grabbing.

The nylon feels nice and keeps the bag light in hand and the zips feel great, we like the extra pull cord feel on the larger zips and overall enjoyed testing this out on recent small trips.Pros

  • Lightweight
  • Good design, can be used in many ways storing many different things, not just toiletries
  • Nice colors to choose from
  • Feels good in the hand and all zippers worked nicely
  • An Osprey product, so you know some time and thought has gone in to it
  • We feel like it should last you a good few years use

Cons

  • Not the cheapest, especially compared to other toiletry bags which are bigger, waterproof and cheaper

Verdict

A fantastic little product, we loved this little Osprey Toiletry Zip Up Bag and it suited us perfectly, especially because we like to keep the products we take with us down to a minimum. We could put everything we needed for two people in to this, no matter where we travel, it helps we have hardly any bathroom products as it is and even more so that we don’t use plastic bottled toiletries.

We highly recommend it as a multi-use zip up organiser bag as you could put ID or other items of need in to the see through, transparent pouch that comes with it too.

Review of Colleer Travel Toiletry Bag

This is a review of the Colleer Travel Toiletries Bag.

Check price @ Amazon

colleer travel toiletry bag

Technical DetailsPortableYesWaterproofYesRating4.6/5Price££WarrantyNoBrandColleerCategorywaterproofNumber of seats1 seatsDimensions24 x 21 x11 cmWeight255 gWashableNoNext Day DeliveryNoStar rating

If you want a large toiletry bag to take camping with you, maybe something for the whole family, we have you covered.

The colleer multi-function toiletries bag can fit everything and the kitchen sink in it. It’s not the prettiest, not aimed for backpackers, but is definitely aimed at those who won’t be carrying it around, it’s perfect for car camping as it will be packed, placed in the car, then on-hand when it is needed when the whole family are on their camping holiday.

As with the image above, you can easily fit up to 8 toothbrushes in this side alone, as long as they aren’t full length. Or some lipsticks, make-ups or other items in a stick or tube shape. In the mesh net also in this side section you can pack a number of things, it really is ready to be crammed full of your whole families toiletries.Pros

  • Large family size capacity
  • Saves taking up space in the car by having multiple individual toiletry bags
  • Water proof strong material
  • Many small compartments
  • It can be hung up in the bathroom, tent or car
  • Separate compartments mean less accidental spillages
  • Helps keep everything in one place
  • Could be used as a first aid kit or organiser for outdoor hobbies
  • 5 colour choices

Cons

  • The bag is too big if you only carry a few essentials
  • The zips over time become a little difficult to close
  • The bag will need careful cleaning to prevent the zips from getting rusty.

Verdict

The Colleer Toiletries Bag is a family size travel essential for those who want to use the space in their car wisely and keep it well organised.

Review of Dopobo Travel Wash Bag

This is a review of the Dopobo Travel Wash Bay

Check price @ Amazon

Dopobo Travel Wash Bag

Technical DetailsPortableYesFits 3 DoorYesFits 5 DoorYesWaterproofYesRating3.8/5Price£WarrantyNoVehiclecarsuvtruckvanBrandDopoboNumber of seats1 seatsDimensions17 cm x 24 cm x 10cmWeight159 gWashableNoNext Day DeliveryNoStar rating

The Dopobo travelling wash bag is 17 cm x 24 cm x 10cm in dimensions, this is small little wash bag but it its packed with features.

At a first glance it is smart, stylish and I feel unisex in its design. It is made from a strong oxford fabric that makes the outer layer waterproof which is handy especially at night with accidental spillages of items from your wash bag. It is a durable and tear resistant material making it ideal for squishing into your bag in a rush.

When unzipped, straight away you’ll be quite surprised as to all the compartments included. Firstly you will neat to fold out two main compartments and then underneath you will find an inner hidden hook that you can pull out to use to hang the wash bag up on the back of the bathroom door, shower, car or tent. This hook has attached to it a very tiny mesh compartment suitable for a tablets. The second compartment down is the base of the wash bag and allows you to pop in longer items such as toothbrushes, razors, lip gloss, toothpicks.

The next two larger compartments are designed with enough space for more chunky items such as deodrants, shower gel, shampoo, soap. Ones that are more likely to spill can go into the compartment that has a clear window rather than mesh to keep it contained, the clear window is a great feature to easily see what you have inside your bag.

This is a small wash bag but with all the features there is no need to have anything loose inside it.Pros

  • Built in hook
  • Hand grip to the side
  • Portable and compact
  • Waterproof
  • Retractable pockets, numerous compartments
  • Visible clear window compartment
  • Available next day delivery with Amazon Prime

Cons

  • Quite small
  • Not ideal for longer stays

Verdict

The Dopobo travelling wash bag is perfect for when on the go. It is compact, keeps your toiletries neat and tidy, allows you to hang it up and its not going to cost you to much to buy.

Review of The North Face BC Travel Canister

This is a review of the North Face BC Travel Canister

Check price @ Amazon

north face travel canister

Technical DetailsPortableYesWaterproofYesRating4.4/5Price£££Hand heldYesWarrantyNoVehiclecarsuvtruckvanBrandNorth FaceNumber of seats1 seatsDimensions28 x 15.2 x 15.2 cmWeight286 gWashableNoNext Day DeliveryNoStar rating

The North Face BC Travel Cannister is made from a heavy duty nylon construction. The canister measures 28cm x 15.2cm x 15.2 cm. The information provided is a little misleading and the bag style in a picture looks like it could be much bigger but don’t be deceived this is a toiletries bag but one that provides more than enough space for your toiletries.

The zips to the main compartment is large and sturdy, so no flimsy zip closure.There is an internal clip that once unzipped allows you to hang your cannister up behind the back of the door or on a suit hook in your car.

The cannister had a further zipped mesh pocket on the inside lid of the canister. There are also several nylon folds to the outside which allow you to store your tooth brush conveniently upright.

Its ability to store equipment in the main compartment as well as split them up into the mesh section means the bag could suit alternative uses for first aid, a clinicians tool bag or specialist small equipment.Pros

  • Internal clip allows you to hang canister with a velcro strap
  • Heavy duty bag
  • Large storage bag for travel and expedition
  • Nylon construction making it durable and easy to care for
  • Internal mesh pocket to keep smaller items
  • Available for next day delivery with Amazon Prime
  • Comes in different colours

Cons

  • Be aware of the size before buying this is not a duffle bag
  • Quite pricey
  • Not waterproof or tear resistant

Verdict

The North Face Travel Canister is a little expensive but is great little wash bag, that handles, that stores and is functional.

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