My daughter and I each have the medium and love them. To my mind this is the best toiletry bag I have ever seen, and I have travelled a lot!
My mom was sure she wanted the small, so I got it for her next trip. The layout is the same as in the medium, but some of the pockets shrank drastically from my medium. I could really use a small for my gym bag, but a few full size bottles will fill this thing up.
To my surprise, there is a huge difference between this and the medium. The medium probably holds three times as much as the small.
For many people, and most guys I would guess, the small is enough. But be advised it is pretty small.
I was a Goldilocks purchasing small & family size personal organizer toiletry bags. The family size just didn't do it: collapses, hard to find stuff, etc. The small was too small.
I recently ordered the large size: it is perfect! My dryer brush, flat iron, etc. all fit great. This will give me much needed space in my luggage.
It would be great if LL Bean included a shoulder strap. I was able to remove the one from the family size and put on this one. Now it's perfect!
I ordered a large toiletry bag after seeing how well the smaller one has lasted after I got it for my son for college. He has had his for over 7 years and it still looks new. The large is a terrific size for my husband and me - it holds plenty and even has a Velcro pouch that can be hung in the shower. It's great to have something to hang on the back of the hotel bathroom door and leave the counter clutter free.
I've always trusted LL Bean's quality and I disregarded the other reviews about the quality changes in these bags prior to purchasing. However, I was very disappointed by the quality of materials in this travel bag and when I added my items inside and hung it up, the bag is hanging open so much so that the items may spill out. The bag is only 1/2 full. It really needs some kind of supportive base to keep its shape and not allow the whole bag to droop forward. The reviews mention that this bag used to have a rigid base, but this does not. Definitely not what I was expecting.
*Side note: The items shown in the bag (pic) are almost completely empty so the weight inside is minimal. I can't imagine what it would be like if there was a full shampoo, toothpaste, etc. inside.
