# Is a Dopp kit a thing to you **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 20, 2021, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-dopp-kit-a-thing-to-you/944668 "2021-06-20T03:28:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2021, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-dopp-kit-a-thing-to-you/944668/41 "2021-06-21T00:22:09Z")
My father called it a Dopp kit when I was growing up, so that’s what I always called it. The airlines used to be decent enough to give you a basic toiletries kit (toothbrush, toothpaste, comb, sewing kit, etc.) when they lost your luggage, so I accumulated several of them when I traveled. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2021, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-dopp-kit-a-thing-to-you/944668/42 "2021-06-21T00:34:44Z")
We called it a “drop kit.” I used to use it when traveling for my toothbrush and razor, etc. Nowadays I just use a baggie, especially since I don’t shave. ---
**Author:** ![MrAtoz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MrAtoz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrAtoz)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2021, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-dopp-kit-a-thing-to-you/944668/43 "2021-06-21T00:37:28Z")
I still have one. I call it by that name because that’s what my parents called it. I’d never seen it written down, and always assumed that it was spelled (and pronounced) “dob kit.” ---
**Author:** ![swampspruce](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/swampspruce/32/261_2.png) [@swampspruce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/swampspruce)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2021, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-dopp-kit-a-thing-to-you/944668/44 "2021-06-21T00:46:43Z")
I know the term and have seen it used more and more but I primarily called it a shaving bag or toiletry bag. The one I’m using was given to me by my parents when I joined the military 30 years ago and I have always had it packed and ready to go for deployments. At some point I may go all fancy and buy one of these. > **[Premium Buffalo Leather Unisex Toiletry Bag Travel Dopp Kit Shaving kit...](https://www.amazon.ca/KOMALC-Genuine-Buffalo-Leather-Toiletry/dp/B01LK3VAGI)** > > Premium Buffalo Leather Unisex Toiletry Bag Travel Dopp Kit Shaving kit (Distressed Tan) : Amazon.ca: Beauty & Personal Care ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2021, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-dopp-kit-a-thing-to-you/944668/45 "2021-06-21T12:37:33Z")
> [@carnut](#): > > Now, I find myself having to pack the bag before each trip due to the need to have certain pills, prescription creams, etc., I keep duplicates in the overnight kit. I have a packed pill minder in it, and when I’m nearly done with a tube of something, it goes in the overnight kit, and i start the new tube for daily use. I used to travel enough that the pills and stuff were always fresh enough, but it’s been sitting for more than a year, now, and I should probably toss some and refresh them. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2021, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-dopp-kit-a-thing-to-you/944668/46 "2021-06-21T12:48:17Z")
I have no word or phrase in my lexicon with which to describe this collection of things. Between half-remembered camping trips as a child and vacations as an adult, it strikes me as perfectly natural that one would put their “bathroom needs” - razor, soap, shampoo, antiperspirant, pills, toothbrush, assorted ointments, etc. - in a ziploc bag to keep them separate from the rest of one’s luggage and therefore easy to find, but I have never been aware of a particular term to describe that container. I’d probably call it a bathroom bag if I had to think of anything to call it. ---
**Author:** ![LurkMeister](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3da27b/32.png) [@LurkMeister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LurkMeister)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2021, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-dopp-kit-a-thing-to-you/944668/47 "2021-06-21T20:12:17Z")
I don’t remember when I first heard the term, but that’s what I’ve always called it. I keep basic toiletries and a supply of OTC medications (which I trade out as necessary) in it. When packing for a trip I put the daily medication holders I’ll need for the duration of the trip in it. When I get to the hotel, it’s convenient to just put the whole kit in the bathroom rather than have to move a bunch of small bags and bottles. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2021, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-dopp-kit-a-thing-to-you/944668/48 "2021-06-21T20:46:00Z")
Count me as another one whose dad used the term. Me, I usually just call it “bag with my personal stuff”, although I usually wrap/tie it up in an extra large bandana when I travel. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2021, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-dopp-kit-a-thing-to-you/944668/49 "2021-06-22T18:28:34Z")
My dad (who had been born in 1923) always called it a Dopp kit and I think he gave me one when I was a teenager. Later I discovered that there were much better ways to pack your stuff than to throw them in a bag with one big compartment. ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2021, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-dopp-kit-a-thing-to-you/944668/50 "2021-06-22T20:23:55Z")
I"ve never heard the term Dopp kit for what I’d call a night case. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2021, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-dopp-kit-a-thing-to-you/944668/51 "2021-06-22T22:44:01Z")
> [@CookingWithGas](#): > > Later I discovered that there were much better ways to pack your stuff than to throw them in a bag with one big compartment. After years and years of travel I discovered the exact opposite. I used to use a very nice LL Bean hanging travel kit, with netting and compartments for everything. Grew to hate it. Was hard to pack, hard to hang in a usual hotel bathroom and overall inferior to the nice leather Dopp my wife got me from Duluth Trading. It packs easier, fits anywhere on a counter and holds a ton. ---
**Author:** ![mtnmatt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a3d4f5/32.png) [@mtnmatt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mtnmatt)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2021, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-dopp-kit-a-thing-to-you/944668/52 "2021-06-22T22:56:37Z")
I’m 57 and have always called it a Dopp kit, because that’s what Dad and Grandpa called it. It’s the place you keep your styptic pencils (I had to look up if these were still a thing). I have a very nice leather one that I had got because I had a gift certificate to some fancy store and that was the only practical thing they had. Of course, my Dopp kit is now a gallon-sized ziplock bag, which is also much easier to flatten out to fit into the carry-on bag. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2021, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-dopp-kit-a-thing-to-you/944668/53 "2021-06-22T22:59:34Z")
> [@mtnmatt](#): > > It’s the place you keep your styptic pencils (I had to look up if these were still a thing). I still have a couple of styptic pencils but I can’t remember the last time I used one. Since the introduction of the Trac II I find that I almost never get nicked enough to need treatment. Before that, using a “safety razor” was a different story. When I was a kid I remember my dad getting a nick and sticking bits of toilet paper on his face. ---
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2021, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-dopp-kit-a-thing-to-you/944668/54 "2021-06-22T23:03:56Z")
> [@mtnmatt](#): > > It’s the place you keep your styptic pencils (I had to look up if these were still a thing). That’s another good old one I hadn’t thought about in a while. Was never much of a shaver, but always kept a few styptic pencils around for when a dog got a bit squirmy at toenail clipping time. 😬 ---
**Author:** ![carnut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnut/32/3531_2.png) [@carnut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnut)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2021, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-dopp-kit-a-thing-to-you/944668/55 "2021-06-23T02:01:40Z")
> [@mtnmatt](#): > > styptic pencils Handy for so many small bleeds. I looked for one online a few years ago and all I could find was powder. Imma look again. ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2021, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-dopp-kit-a-thing-to-you/944668/56 "2021-06-23T02:28:58Z")
I wonder if “Dopp kit” was a regionalism? I say “was” because it sounds like a term belonging to a time gone by. Anyway, the term is unknown in the New Orleans area excepting maybe folks who learned it in the military or grew up in another part of the country. ---
**Author:** ![Projammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/projammer/32/559_2.png) [@Projammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Projammer)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2021, 10:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-dopp-kit-a-thing-to-you/944668/57 "2021-06-23T10:52:10Z")
Literally never heard the term until I read the thread title. I do have a shaving kit though considering the amount I’m currently traveling. Posting live from Korea at the moment. ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2021, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-dopp-kit-a-thing-to-you/944668/58 "2021-06-23T14:16:25Z")
> [@Projammer](#): > > Literally never heard the term until I read the thread title. Same here. Then I read the term in a Stephen King book (Later) this morning. So, I’m assuming I must have heard it a bunch of times and it never stuck. ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2021, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-dopp-kit-a-thing-to-you/944668/59 "2021-06-23T14:28:15Z")
Never heard the term. We usually refer to them as a Sundry Kit. ---
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2021, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-dopp-kit-a-thing-to-you/944668/60 "2021-06-23T14:35:24Z")
I’ve never heard the term “Dopp kit” before. (I grew up in Ohio.) If I had to guess, it’d be the small equipment package you install in a car to detect police radar transmitters. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-dopp-kit-a-thing-to-you/944668.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-dopp-kit-a-thing-to-you/944668.md?page=4)