BAGSMART Blast 4.5L Hanging Toiletry Bag Review

There are a few schools of thought about what makes a great toiletry bag. You can have something small to carry just the essentials, something large enough to empty your entire medicine cabinet into, something with pockets for everything, something with simple open space and no organization, or even just a plastic zip-top bag.

However, in testing dozens and dozens of Dopp kits, toiletry bags, and 3-1-1 bags, we’ve learned a few things about what’s convenient to have and what features we could live without, as well as how much space we really need (Spoiler alert: We can’t tell you how much you need. It depends on the type of traveler you are). So where does the BAGSMART Blast 4.5L Hanging Toiletry Bag fall in the standings? We took it on a holiday weekend getaway to stay in a friend’s home to find out.

External Components

The BAGSMART Blast 4.5L Hanging Toiletry Bag looks a little like a lunch box and slightly like a toolbox. The soft sides are made with water-resistant nylon with a ripstop design for lightweight durability. It’s a square grid pattern on most of the bag, with diamond shapes on the front for a little style. However you feel about the look, it feels sturdy and does a nice job of repelling water when sitting on the counter next to the sink. The bottom of the bag feels sturdier and has a slightly grippy pattern, which works with padding all around the bag to give it some structure and help it stand nicely.

There is some branding on the bag, too: a Bagsmart logo on the bottom right corner of the front panel and a little tag next to the carry handle that says “BLAST” in a font that reminds us of 8-bit video games like the original Super Mario Bros. It’s a fun accent on the bag that doesn’t detract from its usefulness.

The colorway you choose doesn’t either, though it can brighten your day if you get your hands on one you like. We’ve got Pecan Brown, a reddish brown with a gray front pocket, gray liner, and a black bottom. You can also get Peyote (shades of gray and beige with an orange liner), Mossy (green with a gray pocket and an orange liner), or Rose Dawn (shades of pink with a gray liner) at the time of this review. Certain colorways sell out, though, so grab your favorite hue while it’s in stock if it matters to you.

Since we’re there, let’s talk about the carry handle. It’s a nice size and heft to handle a 4.5L toiletry bag, with just a little padding between the webbing. It’s definitely comfortable to hold and gives you something to grab when pulling it out of a travel backpack or carrying it to the bathroom.

There are also webbing strips on each side, creating short daisy chains of loops if you need to connect something else, although we never had to use them. There is a D-ring attached to the center loop on the right side so you can use a carabiner to hang the bag up while it’s closed if you want.

We couldn’t find a brand name on the zippers, which are coated for water resistance yet slide very well. The metal pulls have cords woven through them to make them easier to grasp, and we never had an issue opening any of the compartments.

Inside The Toiletry Bag

Most of the fun of this bag is inside, though, so let’s dive in.

We’ll start on the front with a pocket that’s 4.72 inches tall and 9.84 inches wide (12 x 25 cm). It opens with a dual-sided zipper for easy access and is a large, water-resistant space. That makes it perfect for storing bottles of liquids as its clear PVC over the gray liner should prevent spills from seeping out of the bag or into the main compartment. We had no issue fitting a half-dozen travel-size bottles of shampoo, conditioner, lotion, and hairspray inside. However, everything can slide around willy-nilly since there aren’t any pockets or elastic loops here to keep them standing up.

It’s such a large space that you’d be hard-pressed to fill it completely to keep things standing just by being scrunched up against each other, so you’ll have to accept that items will shift in transit and be prepared for anything when you open it up. Whether you can stand or must lay containers down also depends on your bottles; all of ours are travel-sized, but some fit standing up, and others are too tall and skinny, so they must lay down. We had no issue with leaks here, but that, too, will depend greatly on your bottles. If you do encounter spills, the PVC and water-resistant zippers should keep it contained, and it’s easy enough to wipe clean.

The main compartment also opens with a dual-sided zipper that runs around the top of the bag and flips up like a lid.

Centered in the top of the lid as you flip it up is a tiny pocket. It holds a tiny webbing strap and a large swivel hook. It allows you to hang the bag on a towel or shower bar, a hook on the back of a door, or anywhere else you’d like. The hook has a wide enough opening to fit around most bars, and the swivel means that it will always lay flat against the wall when you do. A hook-and-loop fastener holds the pocket closed when the hook is out.

Below the hook are two horizontal zippered PVC pockets spanning the width of the lid. They are water resistant, making them great spots for your toothbrush, razor, or any other potentially damp gear. The bottom one is slightly deeper than the top one, so it fits a wider razor blade head.

We love the inclusion, with one small caveat. When our tester was packing up to leave on the last day of her trip, she had just brushed her teeth. That meant her toothbrush was still quite damp and would remain so while traveling and until she unpacked. The solution, of course, is to partially unzip the pocket near the head of the toothbrush, which is what she did, but it’s something to remember if you won’t need to open your toiletry bag right away when you get home. Nasty things can start growing quickly in a moist environment, and it might mean you need a new toothbrush if you forget.

Below the lid is the remaining space and organization in the kit.

The back panel features three large elastic loops to hold gear in place, whether that’s an oddly-shaped bottle, a makeup palette, or bar of soap. They lie flat if you don’t use them, and then you’d just have extra space in the middle. Centered above the middle one is a Bagsmart patch with their motto printed upside down: “here or there/now or never.”

Around the other three sides of the bag are mesh pockets topped with elastic to hold various other gear. There are three pockets on the front and one on each side, and they’re all about the same size. Our tester has been using them for toothpaste, sunscreen, and deodorant, but they work well to keep several skinnier items—like makeup brushes, eyeliner, and mascara—standing up together, as well.

Along with keeping things organized as you travel, they also keep them on display and within easy reach if you flip open the lid while the bag is on the counter or as it hangs. It’s also a good way to let your toothbrush dry when you’re at your accommodations, as long as you don’t mind leaving the toiletry bag open while it airs out.

In the center, we toss a hairbrush, earplugs, and any other gear we need, although there’s not a lot left to stow with all the organization. You’ll have enough room if you use an electric razor or something else a little on the larger side, giving you a nice mix of capacity and organization we don’t find in every Dopp kit.

So, while the BAGSMART Blast 4.5L Hanging Toiletry Bag has a rather large footprint, both on the counter and in your suitcase, you might not mind, and it might be right for you if you bring a lot of grooming gear when you travel.