Eagle Creek Pack-It Reveal Hanging Toiletry Kit Review

Hanging toiletry bags are quite neat to travel with because they’re so easy to set up. Just open them up, hang them in your hotel bathroom, and presto! You have all the toiletries you could ever need on your trip—provided you remembered to pack everything on your list, of course. If you did, then it’s much more convenient than just grabbing them by the handful from a pocket in your travel bag and dumping them on top of a toilet tank.

Eagle Creek has a lot of toiletry bags, but the one we’re reviewing here is the Pack-it Reveal Hanging Toiletry Kit. Far from being extraordinary, it’s a toiletry bag based on the proven hanging toiletry bag design, with just the right balance of space and organization. However, you’ll have to apply some packing strategies to maximize both, as the internal layout can make the items inside clash.

External Features

It’s not uncommon for toiletry bags to have one or two secondary pockets. You might find one in front where you can put frequently used items like wet wipes and hand sanitizer. There might also be a slim pocket at the back where you can stash a toothbrush and packets of toothpaste. On the other hand, Eagle Creek didn’t include secondary pockets for the Pack-it Reveal Hanging Toiletry Kit. All of the magic (functionality) happens in the main compartment, so we’re left to discuss materials and other features.

The main fabric is a 100% recycled 300-denier polyester. It’s not the most dense-feeling fabric out there, but that’s par for the course for toiletry bags. These will most likely live inside another bag 80% of the time and hang out in a bathroom for the other 20%. Those aren’t very demanding environments, so 300-denier polyester will do just fine. We’re more interested in how it deals with stains, and so far, we can wipe most water and lotion spills fairly easily.

Apart from the tastefully placed corner logo, the other prominent feature at the front is the hook. There seems to be nothing special about this hook when you first look at it. In our view, though, this hook stands out because it’s on the outside. We’ve tested toiletry bags with internal hooks, like the L.L.Bean Personal Organizer and the Sea to Summit Hanging Toiletry Bag. The problem with those is that you can’t use the hooks unless the toiletry bag is open, and sometimes they don’t have a dedicated slot/pocket where you can put them.

Is it a small difference? In the grand scheme of things, probably. However, this does let you hook the Pack-it Reveal Hanging Toiletry Kit regardless of whether it’s open or closed, which makes a ton of sense. We don’t necessarily want a toiletry bag left open in case of creepy crawlies lurking around the hotel bathroom, for example. Plus, it also saves internal space and won’t interfere with any of your toiletries, some of which might be fragile. To be clear, Eagle Creek isn’t the only brand to have a toiletry bag with an externally mounted hook. Peak Design’s Wash Pouch and Small Wash Pouch have one, too.

Eagle Creek goes a step further. By mounting the hook on a latch that goes over the top, it now also doubles as a way to lock the bag. Again, it’s a small detail, but we dig how they’re maximizing the amount of functionality in the hardware they use.

Other external features include dual Zoom zippers with paracord pulls and the top grab handle. Both are simple and straightforward to use, so there’s not much to complain about. What’s strange is that Eagle Creek keenly points out that the paracord pulls are “climbing rope inspired.” While we get that they look like miniaturized climbing ropes, we think Eagle Creek’s reaching a bit with the marketing in this instance.

Inside The Toiletry Bag

Now that we’ve talked about the hook at length, you can probably guess how the Pack-it Reveal Hanging Toiletry Kit opens. If you thought clamshell-style, go treat yourself to a nice cookie. A lot of hanging toiletry bags go with this style because it makes for an excellent portable medicine cabinet layout. The Pack-it Reveal Hanging Toiletry Kit has a wedge-shaped split to go with this clamshell opening to set itself apart.

Once opened, it divides into two wedge-shaped halves (you can check by looking at it from the side). This split wedge design allows each half to have wide floors without increasing the toiletry bag’s overall thickness. After all, each half’s roof doesn’t have to be as wide as their respective floor. The upper section contains most of your organization options, while the lower area is a more general dump pocket. The seven-liter volume is split fairly evenly between the two halves.

This lower section is entirely occupied by one pocket and covered with a zippered mesh. In our opinion, this feels like overkill in terms of volume, but it’s really great for those who carry a ton of makeup. By the way, the zippers don’t go all the way down, so you don’t have to worry about your powders and brushes falling out. On the other hand, there’s nothing holding items in place inside, so they just tumble around freely.

The top section is more varied with its pockets. From front to back, there’s a shallow zippered pocket (also with mesh), an open space where you can dump loose gear behind it, and three elasticated liner pockets in the far back. See the issue yet? Yep, all three of those are layered together front to back, so it’s relatively easy to overpack.

As always, strategizing the way you pack is required to maximize the available space. We put chunky toiletries, like a stick of deodorant and a small bottle of foot powder, in the elasticated liner pockets. Next, we fill the space in front with GoToob containers, packing them in the gaps between the elasticated liner pockets to avoid clashing. As for the shallow zippered pocket, there’s not much we can do to prevent the gear inside from bulging. However, if you don’t use much of the space in the lower section, there’s some leftover space for it to occupy once we close the entire toiletry bag.

Overall, the Pack-it Reveal Hanging Toiletry Kit seems to have a ton of space and organization, although you really can’t use all of it without having gear clash. You have to pack smartly and leave some open space available for it to close cleanly. Fortunately, it comes in a square shape that’s fairly easy to stow alongside packing cubes, so while it’s not the most space-efficient internal design, it’s not too difficult to pack alongside other gear.