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Stuart & Lau Review: The Dopp Kit and Redux Gym Bag

Published on November 23, 2022 by Brock McGoff · Product Reviews May contain affiliate links (what's this?)

Looking for a technical bag with a minimalist and professional aesthetic? Stuart & Lau might be the right brand for you.

Table of Contents

  • About Stuart & Lau
  • The Redux Gym Bag
  • The Dopp Kit
  • Stuart & Lau Pros
  • Stuart & Lau Cons
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Overall Impression
Stuart and Lau Review

Ready to upgrade from a more casual backpack to a bag worthy of an urban professional? Among the many brands out there with polished and professional carry options, Stuart & Lau stands out.

We’ve been testing both the Redux Gym Bag and Dopp Kit from Stuart & Lau for months now — plenty of time to assess the strengths and weaknesses of the bags themselves, as well as the brand overall.

That’s exactly what we’ll be sharing with you in this Stuart & Lau review, so let’s get right into it.

About Stuart & Lau

The Stuart & Lau brand is born out of the lifestyles of two great metropolitan hubs: New York City and Hong Kong, which the company’s founders call their respective homes.

Stuart and Lau Redux Gym Bag inside

With high-speed, constantly on-the-go professional lifestyles at the forefront of the founders’ minds, they went about designing a range of versatile urban carry bags to match.

The results have been excellent, with the brand creating some of the highest quality non-leather professional bags that you’ll find today.

With that in mind, let’s talk about the bags we’ve tested in depth.

The Redux Gym Bag

We’ve been using the Redux Gym Bag mainly as, well, a gym bag. So first let’s talk about how it performs in that regard.

It’s a compact bag (just 25 liters) that’s clearly designed with the urban professional in mind, and a lot of its features are geared towards being able to work out before or after going into the office. 

Stuart and Lau The Redux Gym Bag
The Redux Gym Bag

That includes some slots that we don’t necessarily have a use for; we wouldn’t really want to bring our laptops to the gym, for example. But if you’re squeezing in a workout around your office work, the Redux has everything you need.

Stuart and Lau Redux Gym Bag Compartments

We especially like that this bag has a separate shoe compartment. If you’ve never had a gym bag that separates your shoes from the rest of your gear, you’re really missing out.

Paired with the included laundry bag, the Redux really makes it easy to keep your clothes and gear minimally stinky.

Stuart and Lau The Redux Gym Bag Shoe Compartment
The Redux Gym Bag

Keep in mind, if you use the shoe compartment, there isn’t a ton of extra room inside. It’s plenty big for most fitness regimens (think yoga or any sort of group exercise class).

But if you have a lot of gear, like a weight belt, lifting shoes, half gallon water bottle, and knee sleeves, you should consider Stuart & Lau’s larger Regimen Gym Bag instead.

Both duffels make for great weekender bags, for quick day trips or overnight adventures too. 

Overall, the Redux is a versatile bag that’s aimed towards professional, urban-dwelling office workers — but it performs well outside of that niche, too.

The Dopp Kit

First things first: Compared to other Dopp kits we’ve used, the Stuart & Lau Dopp Kit has a lot going on. Is that a positive or a negative? That depends on how you plan to use it.

Stuart and Lau Dopp Kit
The Dopp Kit

The Dopp Kit is made with a unique double-sided layout, which leaves a lot of room for organizing your toiletries and essentials. In our opinion, there may be even a little bit too much going on — but if you’re an organization-loving guy, this little bag really does have a spot for everything.

Stuart and Lau Dopp Kit Compartments
The Dopp Kit

Overall, we think this bag would be great for people who travel a lot, especially for their jobs. It may be a little over-designed for general-purpose use, but if you’re of the mindset that it’s better to have too much than too little, it will be a great bag for you.

It’s also worth noting that the materials this Stuart & Lau Dopp kit is made out of, from the waterproof DuraLite fabric shell and silicon-coated interior, to the YKK AquaSeal zippers, are incredible.

The bag may look fancy, but it can take a beating. It also handles moisture really well — everything from splashes of water to toothpaste smudges or moisturizer spills.

If you don’t like to baby your travel gear, this Dopp kit may be the right choice for you.

Stuart & Lau Pros

So speaking of the brand as a whole, we can say that their bags are of premium quality. They’re about as nice as you can get for non-leather bags, and they’re definitely a buy-it-for-life quality investment.

Probably the biggest draw to Stuart & Lau’s bags is their understated, sophisticated styling — and how they pair that with lots of storage options inside, even though the bags appear low profile.

If you’re looking for a sleek professional bag that doesn’t lack storage and organization options, Stuart & Lau is the brand for you.

Stuart & Lau Cons

One of the same things that make Stuart & Lau an attractive option for busy business people — the copious internal storage and organization options on all their bags — could be a downside for the more minimally-minded guy.

There’s a lot going on in each of their bags, and if you’re used to single-pocket style bags, they may feel somewhat overdesigned.

Other than that, the only real “con” for Stuart & Lau’s bags is that they don’t come cheap. The quality is there, but you should be prepared to make a substantial investment in their bags.

Frequently Asked Questions

And before we wrap this review up, we’d like to answer a few questions we’ve heard about Stuart & Lau from around the web.

What Is Stuart & Lau?

Stuart & Lau is a company specializing in bags and briefcases for urban professionals.

Where Is Stuart & Lau Made?

Stuart & Lau does not provide details for their manufacturing location on their website.

Overall Impression

So how do these bags measure up in comparison to other brands we’ve used and tested?

Overall, Stuart & Lau’s bags are all super high quality. They’re very durable across the board, easy to clean, and probably the best non-leather bags we’ve tested.

Stuart & Lau is definitely The Modest Man approved, but they’re clearly targeted towards a certain sort of urban professional. If you’re looking for a technical bag with a minimalist aesthetic and lots of organization options, definitely check out everything the brand has to offer.

Questions? Comments? Leave them below!

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About Brock McGoff

The Modest Man founder, Brock is an aspiring minimalist who enjoys working out, spending time with his family, discovering new brands and creating great content.

Background: Brock McGoff has a bachelor's degree in psychology and a professional background in digital marketing. He believes that men's fashion is just one facet of self-improvement, and he started The Modest Man to help regular guys feel more confident by improving their appearance.

An east coast native, Brock currently lives in Arizona with his wife and daughter. When he's not working, he spends time with family, training BJJ, reading/listening to books and podcasts, and unsuccessfully trying to decide which movie to stream.

Expertise: Brock has built a men's lifestyle YouTube channel with over 400k subscribers. He's also worked as the creative marketing manager in a men's apparel startup. Brock has been quoted in, mentioned by or featured in publications like Esquire, Huff Post, Men's Health, WWD and Forbes.

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Reader Interactions

Comments

    Ask Me Anything Cancel reply

    Got questions? Want to share your opinion? Comment below!

  1. M. P. says

    November 30, 2022 at 9:54 pm

    I urge you to reconsider recommending Stuart and Lau products until their customer service team gets their act together. I purchased a Cary briefcase and the zipper broke. I’ve emailed them 7 or 8 times in the past month and have gotten no reply whatsoever. The mid phone number also does not work and directs you to their email, which they do not answer.

    Reply
    • Brock says

      December 1, 2022 at 10:45 am

      Yours is the first bad experience I’ve heard of, so I can’t really comment on their overall customer service. But of course, I’ll leave your comment here for other people to read. Thanks for sharing!

      Reply
    • Stuart & Lau says

      December 13, 2022 at 4:00 pm

      Hi Michael,

      Brock was kind enough to bring this to our attention. We’re glad we were able to connect last week and get things sorted for you. And for the broader audience here, just a quick friendly heads up — please do not attach large files or photos to emails when reaching out to us. For security reasons, those will be blocked until our team marks the sender as safe. We are sorry that can creates an extra step sometimes, but unfortunately its just a necessary precaution in today’s world. Thanks!

      Reply

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