Dopp Kits w/KILLSPENCER

by Leather, May 18, 2012

Following on from the previous two posts about Dopp Kits (Dopp Kits 101 & a chat with Baxter of California), we thought it might be interesting to ask KILLSPENCER a few questions about their Dopp/Folio – which in our opinion they absolutely nailed.

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*When designing the Dopp/Folio, what were the main goals you wanted to achieve?

When I travel I have to be smart with the amount of “baggage” i take with me. Keeping things streamlined and organized makes every getaway so much sweeter. I’ve got my setup pretty-much figured out now. It consists of a Utility Backpack which mainly carries my 15″ MacBook Pro, cables and iPad, weekender 2.0 which carries my clothes, dopp/folio which carries all my toiletries, and 2 collapsed parachute bags, one for shoes and the other which fills up with dirty clothes and separates them from my clean clothes. What’s great about the Dopp/Folio is that when I leave my hotel and go out for the day and need to travel lightly, I empty the dopp kit, leave the toiletries at my hotel and transform the dopp kit into a dopp/folio (which folds flat) an pack it up with my iPad, business cards and sketchbook. Now I’m only carrying my essentials and am not weighed down with unnecessary stuff.

*When designing the dopp kit, what considerations do you have to take onboard? how did these affect your final design? Size? Materials? Organization pockets? Structure?

The most important thing when designing the dopp/folio was making sure it functioned perfectly as a dopp kit (box shape) and as a folio (flat shape).

The size and shape of it as a folio and as a dopp kit is perfect. Not too big or too small. It even carries upto an 11″ MacBook Air if needed. The interior small pocket is meant for business cards or smaller tools like a fingernail clipper, small swiss army knife etc while the main pocket fits all your toiletries. It fits standard Deodrant standing verically and easily fits extra shaving tools which tend to be a pain in the ass for small bags. The main feature in the dopp/kit configuration is that it has an “open-top” construction like our Weekender 2.0 which allows for the entire top of the bag to open up so you can access every nook and cranny without interference.

*What gave you the idea to combine the carrying nature of a Dopp Kit with a Folio? Will this idea of ‘two products in one’ evolve to other products?

The idea came when I went on a trip and realized that I was carrying too many bags. I needed to streamline and it was an obvious solution when you wish you didn’t take a big bag to a meeting where you only needed a small case.

*What do you carry in your Dopp Kit when traveling?

When I leave the house I carry all my toiletries- toothbrush, toothpaste, dental floss, Deodarant, cologne, Baxter Finley’s travel shampoo, body wash, shave-cream, face lotion, small Swiss army knife, pomade, mints, beard trimmer, and hand sanitizer. Forgetting any of that stuff sucks, so I keep my dopp kit always packed at my residence so losing stuff isn’t on my mind.