What is the Point of a Travel Brush?

[CRG]

Just as the post title reads, I'm curious to know the point of a travel brush. Although I've only been into wet shaving for a short period of time, whenever I've traveled I've simply taken the brush that I use at home. After all, I'm not at home to use it, so why not take it with me?

So, what's the point? To take something more compact? To avoid the chance of losing a prized or expensive brush? I apologize if the question is a dumb one

 

[Judge Dredd]

1. To sell you another brush
2. To give you a reason to BUY another brush
3. To give you an excuse to go travelling so you can USE the travel brush

Reality is it's probably easier for frequent travellers to have a dedicated brush for travel which they can keep in their kit and not have to worry about forgetting to pack the home brush.

Also, the travel brushes are (in many cases) specifically designed for travelling. They are more compact and have a dedicated case or turnback design for keeping it vented while travelling.

It's not essential - you could in theory travel with a normal brush with a DIY case or box...but that's just crazy talk.

 

[PMT]

I ordered the VDH premium set before I fount the luxury set locally, so I stuck the premium boar in my dop

 

[Krona Kruiser]

+1 on JudgeDred's comment. However, it's nice to have a decent brush to travel with; have luxury travel with you. A smaller brush is also ideal for packing in tight areas. I love my Simpson Case for travel but if I'm going to Mexico or a place with higher risk of theft, I just throw my Turkish #7 horsehair brush in my bag.

 

[CRG]

Thanks, guys. Sort of what I thought.

Also, as Judge Dredd mentioned, it's a perfect opportunity to buy a new brush!

 

[Useless shaver]

For me is a room matter: a smaller brush is easier to fit in, especially when flying.

 

[cfender]

For me it's mostly just a fun OCD thing. I like having a tidy and orderly travel kit that's packed and ready to go whenever I travel. I have a Omega Mighty Midget packed in a Simpson Case tube in my kit. Yes it's much smaller than the Omega Pro 49 I use on a daily basis, but if I traveled with the Pro 49 it would still fit fine in my travel kit. (I also keep a duplicate of my R41 razor in my kit so if I need to get to the airport early in the morning, I can pack my kit away in my suitcase the night before traveling and still use my favorite razor the morning of my flight without having to dig out my kit.)

 

[lt114]

My travel kit is composed of items that I wouldn't worry if I lost.

 

[oakeshott]

It's not a stupid question at all and is one I've been wondering about lately quite a bit. I break the question down like this:

Having a travel brush makes perfect sense if by "travel brush" you mean a brush dedicated to travel and nothing else. For those who go on the road regularly, we never actually unpack our toiletry bag because of the risk of forgetting something important. It's always packed and ready to go. My travel brush stays in there and never comes out so that I don't forget it.

What most people mean by "travel brush" though is not just a brush dedicated to travel, but a diminutive brush designed to take up very little room in your luggage. Lately, I've been wondering if that makes sense. The difference in size between my 16mm travel brush and a Bob Farvour Chubby style in (I think) 22mm is not enough to make a significant difference in my packing 99% of the time. Why, one wonders, do I take the smaller one when I prefer the larger one?

I haven't come up with a good answer for that yet, but I know that I enjoy the diminutive brush for travel. It just seems...appropriate. It's not as effective as the larger brush, but when I'm dealing with cramped counter space in a hotel room, it takes up very little space. Beyond that, I can't justify it. I don't travel with brushes I can afford to lose. I travel with brushes I enjoy because it ameliorates the loneliness of being on the road by having something familiar and valuable to me at hand. This is idiosyncratic, however, and wouldn't recommend this approach to others.

 

[Acmemfg]

Travel kit=whatever brush I want out of my quiver placed in a drilled out Rx bottle, whatever razor looks good, some kind of shave stick or a tub of Cella.

ADVANTAGES-Just like being at home. No additional expense for another brush to be used in a somewhat dedicated fashion.
Size isn't really an issue with MOST brushes. Compare your average turnback (the definitive "travel" brush) to say, a Simpson Colonel or even Emperor 2. Dimensions
are negligible. If you lose anything...you buy another. Whatta you going to do? Take the Chubby to the grave?

DISADVANTAGES=You don't get to buy any new cool stuff (unless you lose something).

 

[CRG]

Thanks for all of the responses. Many have mentioned frequent travel, which is something I don't really have to deal with at this point. I travel overseas once or twice a year and domestically a handful of times, so it's easy for me to pack and unpack my travel kit in between. Still, if a cool and compact brush comes along I may just have to pick it up as an excuse for "needing" a travel brush.

 

[ackvil]

For me it's not a question of size but a question of the ability to dry fast so the bristles don't get ruined.

 

[brindle]

For me its about taking one I could "afford" to lose. A little bit smaller doesn't hurt.

Also, just because it is your travel brush, doesn't mean you can't use it at home...

 

[vocalistbob]

My travel brush is whichever brush strikes my fancy while I'm packing. My question is whether you take a mixing bowl along or not and if not, what do you use as a substitute when you're staying in a hotel?

 

[Catfishmac]

I like to travel with a less expensive brush and keep the nicer ones at home. Plus just another reason to buy a brush.

 

[dpmtherrien]

I like the fact that after the trip, and its dried out, it is stored in its own holder and I can leave it in my dopp kit. That way I've always got a nice brush for when I travel.

 

[brucered]

My travel kit is composed of items that I wouldn't worry if I lost.

+1. what he said.

 

[celestino]

Space and no worries if lost.

 

[oakeshott]

My travel brush is whichever brush strikes my fancy while I'm packing. My question is whether you take a mixing bowl along or not and if not, what do you use as a substitute when you're staying in a hotel?

Do you bowl lather on the road, Bob? I would think that's strictly face lathering territory in which case one can use creams (which is what I do).

 

[Loganpass]

by "Travel Brush" you mean "I was traveling and I saw this cool brush I didnt have yet so I bought it" right?