Best Clear Ultralight Toiletry Bags for Carry-On Travel

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Intro

In this post I want to share with you 5 ultralight clear toiletry bags for carry-on travel. My goal was to pick pouches that are large enough for minimalist travel toiletries, while also being small and extremely lightweight. The 5 bags that I have here are the Sea to Summit Sea Pouch, Osprey Ultralight Liquids Pouch, Think Tank Cable Management 10 V2.0, Tom Bihn 3D Clear Pouch, and the Nite-Ize 3-1-1 Pouch.

And then I think I would be remiss if I didn’t include a trusty quart sized zip-lock baggie for comparison. An extremely cost effective, usually waterproof, yet not as durable option for your toiletries.

Weight and Dimensions

Every toiletry bag I’ve been looking at over the last few months has been under 3 oz., or about 80g. These 5 pouches are all way under that limit, with the lightest being the See Pouch at just 1.0 oz., and the 3-1-1 pouch being the heaviest at 2.4 oz. As far as the dimensions go, the 3 rectangular Osprey, Think Tank, and See Pouch are all roughly the same size of about 8 x 4 x 2” or 20 x 10 x 5 cm. And the capacity is also similar at around 1.0 liter.

The Sea to Summit Sea Pouch is the smallest, with a slightly reduced capacity because it has a tapered top. While the Tom Bihn 3D Clear Pouch is the same capacity, but with slightly different dimensions. Being about an inch shorter in length, nut a little fatter in the depth than the rest.

And then finally the Nite-Ize 3-1-1 pouch, which has a completely different design. It’s longer at 9”, with tapered sides and top and a gusseted bottom so it will stand up on its own. Then I’ll throw the Ziplock bag in here for comparison. The See Pouch is 1.0 oz, while the Ziploc bag is a miniscule 0.2 oz, so obviously if weight is your only concern, this is an easy choice.

Materials and Durability

I chose all these brands because they’re from good companies that make high quality gear. However these two, the 3-1-1 pouch and the Tom Bihn 3D pouch are by far the best made. It’s hard to beat Tom Bihn for quality and you can just tell by looking at this bag that’s its extremely well made.

It has a large double YKK zipper, plastic loop hooks on the end, ripstop nylon, the plastic window is thick, and is noticeably softer and more pliable than these other bags. And then this is the only bag that bothers to include a middle hanging hook, which is a very helpful feature.

The 3-1-1 bag is also extremely durable and well made. It’s completely waterproof, made from thick TPU impregnated fabric, with welded seams and a thick slider zipper that does a great job at keeping water out.

And while being the best made, these two pouches are also the most expensive. Both being around $34-35. They’re also the heaviest options here, at 2.2 oz (Tom Bihn) and 2.4 oz for the 3-1-1.

These other 3 pouches however are by no means low quality. The Osprey and Think tank pouches use nylon, with thick plastic windows and YKK zippers. The See Pouch feels noticeably thinner because they use Sil-Cordura nylon, which is very lightweight but durable. They however use a tiny, off-brand zipper which seems to be the standard for them. However, I’ve used their hanging pouch for years which has the same zipper without an issue in quality.

And then finally the Ziplock again. Made from recyclable polyethylene plastic obviously this is going to be the lightest and cheapest option. Weighing 0.2 oz and costing about 15 cents each. These freezer bags are going to last much longer than regular Ziploc bags, but these may eventually break or rip, especially on the seam.

An easy and cheap fix for this is to reinforce the seams and corners. You can use packaging tape, or reinforced cloth tape. Lay out a strip, stick half down along an edge, fold over, and cut off the corners. It adds a slight bit of weight but will last much longer than the original baggie.

Cost and Value

If expense isn’t an issue, the Tom Bihn pouch is by far the best quality here, but also one of the most expensive at $34. However, it’s also the most customizable. The only other bag that has any color options is the See Pouch, which comes in 3 colors. While the 3D pouch comes in 3 fabric types and almost a dozen color options. You can also customize the bag with add-ons like a handle loop key strap, and shoulder strap.

I think the Osprey Liquids Pouch is the best value for the money of these bags. It’s well made, good quality ripstop fabric and a YKK zipper. Osprey also has a lifetime guarantee on all their gear for only $10.

Capacity Comparison

Now I’ll do a quick packing comparison so you can see how much you can fit in these bags. Even though they are all roughly the same size, about a quart, or close to a liter, the way they pack is slightly different. I’ll start with these two, the Osprey and the Think Tank, since they are nearly identical in size and shape.

Moving on to the Tom Bihn pouch. It’s the same size, but slightly shorter and fatter. It holds the same amount of stuff, the only problem I have here is the pouch just barely fits a full-sized toothbrush. So, if you carry one of these, you kind of have to cram it in here.

The Nite-Ize 3-1-1 pouch has tapered sides and top, wo while the volume is the same, the packing style is a little different. Putt thinner items near the sides or you could potentially lose some capacity, or it will be hard to zip closed.

The See Pouch is slightly smaller than the rest of these pouches. The amount of gear I have in here still fits but the zipper was hard to close and the gear is putting pressure on the bag. I would recommend taking a few of these items out or you could risk damaging the zipper.

Then the trusty Ziploc. Also 1 quart, easy to pack and see your stuff. It’s waterproof until you tear the bag, which can easily happen if you don’t reinforce the bag. I have it crammed pretty full, so you may also want to reduce the capacity by a few items or you risk splitting a seam.

Functionality

Now as far as functionality goes, I think Tom Bihn and Nite-Ize 3-1-1 are the clear (pun intended) winners. The 3D clear Pouch here is fat and easy to pack, but the real advantage is the middle loop hook which lets you hang this bag almost anywhere.

The 3-1-1 Pouch doesn’t have a middle loop, but it does give you more options for hanging the bag. Two fabric loops on the ends as well as belt loops on the back which make it easy to attach a piece of string if you need to hang the bag

These other 3 don’t have great hanging options. The See Pouch and Think Tank both at least have two loops on the top corners for attaching something nut they’re not really big enough to hang the bag from. The Osprey pouch only has one fabric loop which is barely large enough to hang the bag from a bathroom hook, but not much else.

Waterproofness

Waterproof comparison the only one of these bags that I would consider truly waterproof is the 3-1-1 pouch. It’s basically a mini dry bag, with thick TPU plastic and a sealing sliding zipper. I had it fill up with water on my paddle board last weekend, but I didn’t have the zipper closed all the way if you make sure the seal is good you can fill this bag with water, and it won’t leak.

The Ziploc is technically waterproof however, this will only work until you get a tear in a seam. Taping the corners greatly improves the durability and it will be waterproof in the short term but can’t really trust this bag to keep out water after months of use.

Summary

In summary, I don’t think you can go wrong with any of these toiletry bags. They’re all high quality, from good companies, but they have different features for different preferences.

If you’re looking for the most waterproof option to prevent spills, and bag can double as a dry bag the Nite-Ize 3-1-1 is the winner here. The lightest bag by far is the Sea to Summit See Pouch. It gives you the same functionality as the other pouches while just being slightly smaller, weighting in at just 1.0 oz and still being under $20.

Osprey makes the best budget option without cutting quality. It’s made from nylon ripstop, thick plastic TPU clear window and YKK zipper, and it’s a great deal for only $10.

The Think Tank pouch is a good middle of the road option. I like the look of this bag, it’s well made, with good materials, but there isn’t much that makes it stand out. It’s not the cheapest, lightest, or highest quality option. I think if I was looking at this bag, I would choose either the Osprey Liquids Pouch, because it’s similar quality but way cheaper, or I would choose the See Pouch, because it’s much lighter.

If you want the absolute best quality and don’t mind paying a little more, the Tom Bihn 3D Pouch is the clear winner. You can just feel the clear window is much softer, the ripstop, zipper, and stitching are noticeably better quality, and it has the largest YKK zipper. And added benefit of a center hanging hook, which I think is a nice tough.

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I run One Bag Travels as an independent website, I am not directly associated with, nor do I take payments from any of the companies featured on this site. My opinions are based on my personal experience with these products, as well as years of experience as an independent traveler.

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