The best toiletry bags

The kit is usually smaller, which makes a compact bag the right call rather than a compromise. A flat case or a medium dopp kit holds a realistic male routine - shampoo or a solid bar, body wash, deodorant, dental, shaving.

The shaving question is the only genuinely different one. Safety razor blades and straight razors are restricted in carry-on baggage; disposable and cartridge razors are generally fine. An electric shaver sidesteps the issue entirely and is not a liquid. If you use a safety razor, check the current rules before you pack the blades, or plan to buy them at your destination.

Usually a larger kit and more items that count as liquids - which is where the 3-1-1 bag gets tight. The useful structure is two bags: a clear quart pouch holding only what the rule covers, and a larger kit for everything else.

The items people forget count as liquids: mascara, liquid foundation, cream blush, lip gloss and any serum. Powder and pressed products are not liquids and can be packed loose at any size, which is the easiest way to free up quart-bag space without changing your routine. Travel essentials for women covers the wider kit.

Two things change. Hotel bathrooms outside the US are frequently smaller with little or no counter, which raises the value of a hanging bag considerably. And liquid rules vary by departure airport, which matters on the return leg - some European and Asian airports have relaxed the limit with newer scanners and then reinstated it.

The reliable approach is to pack to the strict version of the rule in both directions and treat any relaxation as a bonus. That costs nothing and avoids a repack at an unfamiliar checkpoint. TSA liquid rules covers the US position and what to expect abroad.

Cruise cabin bathrooms are small, and a hanging bag is close to essential - there is often genuinely nowhere to put a flat kit. Most cabins have a hook or a rail that will take one.

The other cruise-specific note: you are flying to the ship, so the 3-1-1 rule still applies to your flight even though the cruise line does not care. Pack as you would for any flight, and note that many lines restrict what you can bring aboard separately - check their list, which is usually about alcohol and irons rather than toiletries.

Lining first. Toiletries leak, and a bag that cannot be wiped out becomes unusable after one burst bottle. Then whether it hangs, which is the one genuine format decision. Then whether the liquids can be separated into a clear pouch that lifts out at security. Then weight and packed size, since this is packing overhead.

We do not run a testing lab and have not used these across a year of trips - our methodology sets out what that means for how much weight to give this.

• Unlined leather cases. Beautiful, and a single leak ruins them permanently. Leather and toiletries are a bad pairing however good it looks.
• Single-compartment bags with no internal sections. A leak reaches everything, which is the exact scenario the bag exists to prevent.
• Rigid cases. They protect contents that do not need protecting and take far more space than the same capacity in fabric.
• Bags with no separate clear pouch option. If the liquids cannot come out on their own, you unpack the whole kit at a security bin.

1. Decide hanging or flat based on where you actually stay. Small hotels and cruises favor hanging; a normal vanity does not need it.
2. Insist on a wipe-clean lining. This is the one non-negotiable.
3. Get a separate clear quart pouch regardless of what your main bag looks like.
4. Size it to your real routine, not to an idealized minimal one you will not stick to.
5. Reduce the liquids first. Solid toiletries shrink the problem more than any bag design can.