Best way to carry toiletries?

If you are packing light, are you doing carry on only? If so, then the answer is.....your toiletries will go in a zip lock bag.

I travel with my 3oz containers in a zip lock, and then take an Eagle Creek zipped bag (might be that EC packing sac you mention) to carry my other stuff like tooth brush, comb, dental floss...those things you need for daily care of body.

Bottom line, if you plan to carry on, you have to use the zip lock bag for your liquids/gels, then another bag of any kind for all the other things you need to bring with. If you check you bags...then take one toiletry bag that works with the products you personally use.

I actually have the small RS toiletries kit and I love it. It holds ALOT! It also hangs up very conveniently. I would use one like that, whatever brand you prefer, because they do hang. In those small European bathrooms you need it! eBags also has some that are their house brand that look great. There are more color choices there. Hope this helped.
Stella

Skip.....OK. no need to purchase some fancy toilet kit. In reality, you only need a "bag" to carry the other items you need for travel...and usually, these are travel size too - right? Some fancy toilet kit just takes up room/weighs more. As you mentioned, you could use an Eagle Creek packing cube, or one of their waterproof zipped bags (that is what works for me)

You could even just use a gallon size zip lock bag and save those $$ you'd spend on a kit and buy yourself a nice glass of wine in Europe!

I agree, ditch the kit! After many years of traveling, I realized that these toiletries kit just are too bulky and take up valuable space in your bag.
Zip-locks are fabulous but by the trip home, I find myself just stashing things in small corners or throwing them out!

I liked a toiletries kit that could hang. It didn;t take up anymore room in my bag than a packing cube would. And it did come in handy to hang it in the many tiny washrooms we stayed in!

I agree with Kate. I do like the hanging bag because many hotel bathrooms don't give you any space. You can hang the kit on the bathroom door or towel rack. The down side is it does take up space in the suitcase.

Skip: As others posted, liquids in a quart sized zip lock, non-liquids in another bag or use the kit.

I pack light and take them with me in the airplane.
I pack them in a plastic zip bag that came from a cosmetic kit. The bag is made of a harder plastic and is transparent. I put my liquids in a qt bag per TSA regulations.
I didn't buy a toiletry kit, I made my own from different items I got over the years.

You can do anything you want with the liquids once you are by the departure gate.

Skip. You said a traveler could move the liquids into a toiletries kit when the traveler is at the destination. I think that is a good idea. The Rick Steves' (or other brand) of small hanging toiletries bag could be partly empty when it is in the primary travel bag. Thus, the toiletries bag would not occupy much space in the bag. I used the Rick Steves' compact Travelin Toiletries bag in my recent trip to Europe. That bag has a metal hook, for hanging the bag on a towel rack in a bath room. That is convenient and sanitary. Many bath rooms in hotels and B & Bs in Europe do not have a shelf or counter to put a bag on. If a traveler walks out of his room to a toilet room or shower room, having the personal hygene and grooming supplies in one bag is desirable. In Copenhagen I was in a good B & B, but there was no sink or mirror in my room. I had to carry my hygene and grooming supplies to another floor in that building. I hooked the toiletries bag on a towel rack in the bath room.

If a traveler's carry-on bag is the primary bag, carried in an airplane, some items can not be in that bag : scizzors, finger nail file, finger nail clipper, hair brush, tooth brush, shaving gel, liquid mouth wash, glass mirror, any bottle, spoon, fork, knife, ..., .... Having those restrictions makes packing a small bag easier.

Actually, Ron - all those things you mentioned ARE allowed in the carry-on, according to TSA's current regulations. (Though the knife must be plastic or round-tipped and the scissors small-bladed or round-tipped). I've carried most of those things aboard without problems.

Janet, all of the items that I mentioned were prohibited in a carry-on bag, in an airplane of Allegiant Air, in March of 2008.

Ron...was it TSA or Allegient Air who prohibited those items? (Nowhere on Allegient Air's website do they mention prohibited items different than what TSA doesn't allow.)

If it was TSA, you should have asked for a supervisor because every one of those items is permitted on board. (Most people won't speak up because they think TSA has power to send them to Guantanamo if you question them. They don't.)

Were they all in one bag where you mixed liquid/gels with non-liquid/gel items? Were the liquid/gels in containers larger than 3 oz? Even then, only those items should have been removed not the toothbrush and hair brush.

When you travel to Europe, do you travel light or do you always check a bag? If you don't check, have you ever been stopped with those items. I hardly ever check and these items never get a second look.

I hate to say it, but you were wronged.

And to asnwer Skip's question......I used to use a toiltetry kit, but have switched to ziploc bags. It's easier for TSA to check if they need to and surprisingly takes up less room. I am trying to find a clear ziploc type bag with a hook to hang it up or a clear toiletry bag.

Hi Skip- if I am going on a short trip or have a really small bag (tote bag, etc.), I generally just use a plastic bag for toiletries and toothbrush is separate. If I am going to be somewhere for awhile I do like to have a travel kit/bag, something to keep everything together in and put the toiletries in that until I fly again. This keeps things more organized and I can hang the kit if I need to. Also, if you just keep using the plastic bag, it will wear out. So, do whatever works for you.