Travel kits

Hi,
I'm new to the world of DE razors. I was wondering what people do while traveling? From what I've seen, it seems like theres a lot of equipment, between the razors, soaps, brushes, mugs, etc. A lot of this needs to be left out to dry after use too.

My question is, is there an easy way to travel with all this, or is travel time a good time to revert back to disposable/cartridge razors and canned shaving cream?

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! Go to the current Shave of the Day thread...this weeks theme is travel kits. Also search the site, you'll find a lot out there. Basically, a small brush and a soap stick is standard fair. Search "Pill bottle" and you'll land on some good info about carrying a brush.

At its most basic, all you need is a razor/blade, brush, soap and aftershave - all of which will essentially take up the same amount of room as a cart, shave foam and aftershave. Some people do like to take multiples, but I personally don't.

My previous travel kit was:

Razor: Merkur 33c 3 piece.
Blades: Any brand that comes in the plastic blade thing so you can pop your old ones in the back.
Brush: A $10 boar from a local barber that I carried in a toilet roll tube to protect it.
Soap: Arko stick for face lathering.
Aftershave: Proraso 100ml splash.

All that fit neatly into my roll-up dopp kit along with the rest of my toiletries and I used it on a month long trip to the Philippines, and for regular work trips.

I'm going to Micronesia later this year and the kit will be even smaller, as I am using a smaller bottle of aftershave.

If you are concerned about space, you absolutely do not need to worry. The only consideration is carrying razor blades when travelling on an airplane, but you just check your bag or buy some when you get to your destination.

God forbid, we go back to the awful shaving crap!

A Travel Tech, and a brushless cream will work great. It doesn't have the same "cushion" of the same creams when lathered with a brush, but they'll do. Heck, you can't cut yourself with a Travel Tech if you have any experience with DE shaving at all, so the same cushion isn't required IMO. Those same creams gain lubricity when slathered on with the hands so it isn't a complete loss.

I've done the brush travel routine, and the shaving goop routine when traveling. Never again. Travel Tech kit and Bigelow or KMF at this time. I make my own Bay Rum, so I'd take a 2oz bottle of that if I was flying (I don't).

Thank you all for the great input. Sorry, I didn't even see the Shave of the Day thread, that had some good stuff too. I guess the only other issue would be air travel, as I always try my hardest to avoid checking luggage. As bjh618 said though, I can just grab some when I get where I'm going, its not as if blades are very expensive

When I travel I always take along my Merkur travel DE's, my Dovo travel brush, and whatever soap I'll need for the time I'm gone. I also take along my Parker SRW straight and a supply of blades. Thats really all I need, and it doesn't take up much room at all.

I use Trumpers classic badger travel brush with case. Either a stick (Palmolive or Arko) or a smallish tube of cream, usually Lord or Kent. For the ironware the Merkur Bakelite super-light weight (only 14 grammes) or the excellent 4 piece Merkur open-comb travel razor in its black leather case. I tend to err on the side of caution whilst away from home and stick with a mild blade like the Derby or Persona and do an extra pass. I always take a styptic-pencil, either Boots own brand or the great value Nix.

peterno3 said:

Thank you all for the great input. Sorry, I didn't even see the Shave of the Day thread, that had some good stuff too. I guess the only other issue would be air travel, as I always try my hardest to avoid checking luggage. As bjh618 said though, I can just grab some when I get where I'm going, its not as if blades are very expensive

Click to expand...

If you are going to stay in one place for a while, you can mail yourself a package of blades to the hotel or place you will be staying. Then you don't have to deal with the unknown quality of locally available blades. I know a lot of people are shipping there luggage FedEx (send it 2 day or ground) to avoid the fees the airlines are charging, and you don't have to go to the baggage pickup, straight to the hotel and they have your baggage there already, and in the room if it is a nice place.

How does one transport these things? I'll take a 50ml bottle of aftershave, MWF soap in the ceramic thing, some spare blades, a ca late 1940s ball-end Tech with a live blade and the brush (Kent BK2) with a little plastic stand.

I suppose the easiest would be to put the soap and the aftershave each in a tight plastic bag, take the blade out of the razor and just through it all between the socks and shirts. I didn't see cases or pouches that would take care of the problem in a good way, ie saving space. (Then again, I didn't look very far yet, frankly.) Also, the nice case the Kent brush came in looks big.

I've always wondered; what are you supposed to do with the blades? What if you have to move around a lot? Do you use bring cheap blades that you can use twice or so without it being a waste?

I bought this bag from Ebags store on Enbay.com for $27.99 with free shipping:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=150605018820&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT

It's turned out to be a great bag. I've been using the new bag for several weeks now and have taken the bag on a long vacation to Tucson, and back and forth to the gym three times per week. In short, I love this bag! It holds tons of gear, yet folds up to a reasonably compact size, it's rugged and well made and it was affordably priced.

Here's the bag fully loaded and zipped up:


Here's the loaded bag hanging in the open position:


And best of all, here's what the bag comfortably holds, with plenty of room for more:


All in all, it was a good buy for $28 shipped

I have a very simple travel kit.

Simpson Case brush
Musgo Real cream in tube
Merkur 34c or Feather AS-D1
Small case for razor
Toothbrush & paste
Nail clipper
Small scissors

All the stuff EASILY fits into a small Tumi dopp kit

BTW, your brush can survive being damp for a few days.
It's only a problem if you leave it wet and sealed up for extended periods of time.

When I travel I limit myself to the minimum number of supplies, but the maximum quality I can muster.

My travel kit contains:

• Rooney 1-1 brush in super silvertip.
• Cella Shave Soap
• Muhle D89 Razor
• Feather Blades
• Home compounded after shave

Hopefully the photos will explain more completely.

To Complete the story:

Contents of tin:

Travelling with a wet shaving kit is very easy (and very cool, too! ). You just need a little bag containing a DE razor with some blades, a small brush, a shaving stick and an aftershave of your choice!

Contents of the tin assembled:

Other than the pill bottle , where does one get a metal tube for your favorite shave brush for travel ?