Best Men’s Travel Deodorant
My experimentation results to find what works best for me.
Best Men’s Travel Deodorant Introduction
You stink. No really, you do. So do I. Well, at least after a full day of activities or traveling. Pretty much we all do. That’s where deodorant and antiperspirant comes in. Most of us have been living with it since we’ve been Tweens. Today, I’m going to discuss my multi-year journey to find the best men’s deodorant for travel (and frankly my everyday life). I’ll give you a brief history, a list of the ones that never made the cut, and finally the group I’ve settled on in terms of being the most effective.
I do want to caveat this with some things. One, there is no chance anyone tries them all. Let’s get that out of the way. Two, while I have mostly focused on natural deodorants these years - there is ZERO real and peer reviewed/repeatable evidence traditional deodorants are harmful. There isn’t. And frankly, that’s how the scientific law works - repeatable and reviewed. There are however heaps stating they are fine (take those for what they are worth, up to you). Much of this natural industry started on this whisper and blew up over the trend. Does it mean it’s a bad trend? No - I tend to think more natural equals better in most cases. But it doesn’t always mean as effective.
Also keep in mind deodorants are very different from antiperspirants and there is no such thing as a natural antiperspirant. That’s kind of the point of going natural. You will sweat, but their goal is to make you not smell.
Lastly - this is an extremely personal journey for everyone. No one’s chemistry is going to be the same so it ends up being a trial and error process. Ideally, my goal here is to give you some input on some brands that you’ve no doubt seen out there, and why they did or did not work for me. And, of course, why they are good or not for travel.
So, this is my story and where I netted out in the end (ie - what I’m using today). With the dizzying amount on offer for both kinds - we all need to start somewhere.
As always for full transparency, every deodorant or antiperspirant here was bought with my own money. This is not a sponsored article and I’ve had no interactions with any of these brands. You will find some affiliate links here - but these just help to support the site and result in no additional cost to you. Thanks for stopping by!
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The Journey To Find The Best Men’s Deodorant For Travel:
Ok so as I mentioned, I went through a ton of deodorants to get here. Natural and standard. For most of my life, I was an Old Spice High Endurance person. Pure Sport to be exact. And I mean, it worked. Then, I got caught up in the natural deodorant trend.
So, I dove in.
My first attempt was actually a pretty good one: Each and Every. I loved the scents and the texture. From what I could tell in my day to day, it worked well to keep me from stinking for most of the day. Never really into the night however. That said, this was also during COVID in NY, so I was not going into the office for a full day of stressful calls.
Oars and Alps was another I tried. Scents smelled like cheap soap or cologne and I did not enjoy the feel on my skin. Huron was another - it was too strong. Now both of these could have worked on their scents since then, and I had no quality issues. They are a pretty common “internet brand” each, and much of that price comes from marketing costs.
These three fell victim to one of the biggest issue with deodorant for travel - we often use multi-wear shirts with performance material (merino or Patagonia Capilene Cool for instance). Well, a scented deodorant can be as bad as you smelling when it comes to clothes. They tend to mix with your body chemistry and stick to the shirts. Tech shirts can’t “recharge” from that. So, they just won’t work.
Next, I went “premium” and tried Salt and Stone. The scent I picked just was overpowering and heavy - so of course wouldn’t work on travel fabrics, never mind my day to day. Doesn’t mean their other scents aren’t good but this was heavy handed - bad for travel.
Then, I went with Bravo Sierra. I will say, the scent was subtle here (and they actually made a good utility bar for the shower, too, at a nice price I might add). Their slightly woody smell was not bad, and I think this one was fairly effective at keeping stink at bay. Occasionally I kind of felt like my arm pits were a bit tacky in feeling though. Wasn’t sure if it was a reaction to humidity or if I had applied too much of the product. So, I moved on.
Back to Each and Every. While I liked this one, I was alarmed one day to see a side effect of one of it’s ingredients. An ingredient used HEAVILY in natural deodorants. Coconut oil. This stuff is NO BUENO for tech clothing. It soaks into it on hot days and stains it. My BELIEF (I’ve no proof) is due to the wicking nature of the fabrics. I ruined a Capilene Cool shirt and if you know - you know those are not cheap. Also, a Bluffworks tee. So this meant I was no longer going to try any naturals with coconut oil in it.
Another I was trying was byHuman Kind. They weren’t bad either and use a super eco friendly and non-plastic applicator. It was pretty innovative at the time but has since been replicated everywhere. This deodorant actually was pretty good and performed some of the best out of the options here. But, it was pretty hard/dry in terms of texture and it wasn’t fun to apply. It suffered from the same kind of thing many naturals do - lacking longevity. So, I kept moving.
Lastly, I was using Taos Aer for a while. No, not the bag maker. Their scents were AMAZING and so was the texture. Problem was with the essential oils there tended to be a color to the deodorant itself, and I found over time this transferred to my clothes, too. Shame, as I found it fairly effective.
Ultimately for all of these, I would still recommend someone try Bravo Sierra based on my results. And perhaps the most important takeaway here is that if the natural ingredients are going to be damaging to your technical fabrics or hold their scent into those fabrics after one wear, then you just can’t do it. That’s not smart wandering.
For plain drug store brands I also tried Arm and Hammer natural and Ban Natural. Both deodorants. Didn’t hack it.
The Best Men’s Deodorant For Travel: The Winners
So where did I balance out in the good odor fight? I settled on a combo of stronger stuff for heavier days, and then, get ready for it - Crystal Deodorant. No kidding.
I’ll be the first to admit that I used to think Crystal folks were crazy. For one, because half of them DID stink no matter what they told you. The proof was in the pudding…or our noses for that matter.
But at the end of the day I found that for normal, around town and non-stressful work stuff, Crystal really did work for me personally (Spouse smell test approved). And further, it had two really big properties that made it great for travel. (I should also mention that it lasts FOREVER in terms of when you’d need to re-purchase.)
One, it was completely solid. It’s a rock. No, not dependable - an actual rock. You didn’t need to take it out at security and it could be part of the effort to go liquidless when you travel. Nice.
Second, is that it is odorless. It does nothing to your fabrics and leaves no residual smell mixed with the day of body sweat. Also nice.
Next, I mixed in 3 different kinds of stronger stuff. Mando - which is a men’s line from the makers of Lume. Mitchum Unscented gel (antiperspirant). And now, a Ban unscented roll-on (antiperspirant). That’s right, I went back to over the counter and an antiperspirant because frankly for heavier work/days - the natural stuff just can’t keep up. Especially not heavy physical stuff or lets say a conference with a suit jacket and 11 hrs on the clock. After I began writing, I decided to try two additional: Mitchum Clinical Solid and Dry Idea Unscented. Both of these final pieces seem to be working better than Ban.
For travel, I will wear the workhorse one for things like long flights, long train days, etc. Basically the “en route” stuff or maybe if we have a day trip vs staying in town for the day. I’ll use the crystal for everything else. For the workhorse, I will most likely end up traveling with the Mitchum since it’s a solid, rather than a gel or liquid. “Damn you, Heathrow!!!” shakes fist in the air
I will say Mando is pretty solid for a natural one, but I couldn’t get the length of time out of it. Mitchum gel was pretty good too, but weirdly, even though it was unscented it still had fragrance in it.
Final pair that I settled on: Crystal deodorant and Dry Idea, and Mitchum Solid. Ban worked well, but I found Dry Idea to work better. Just remember it’s an antiperspirant, not a deodorant. Because Dry Idea and Mitchum Solid are working even better, Ban’s run was short-lived. But I find all three acceptable for the “work horse”. Another knock on the Ban that I purchased was that it was a roll on - that means it’s pure liquid (bad for going through security when traveling), and I also had a hard time finding a balance of “enough” and “too much” in terms of the application of it.
Things To Consider When Trying To Find Your Best Deodorant For Travel:
We already covered most of these above in one comment or another, but here is a bit of a summary of what to consider when trying to find the best travel deodorant for you.
Find something that has ingredients that won’t damage your shirts, and I would recommend the unscented ones because that scent can mix with your natural body smell, stick to the fabric, and make it so you need to wash it sooner than normal if it’s something like merino.
Then, stick to solids if you can. If Crystal works for you, I would use that because it lasts forever and you don’t need to take it out at security.
Ultimately, I would say give Crystal a try and see if it works for your chemistry. It’s cheap. It’s about as natural as it gets. It lasts forever, and you won’t need to take it out with liquids.
Final Thoughts On The Best Men’s Deodorant For Travel
I think that’s pretty much all I can say about deodorant for travel. It was a lot of trial and error for me, as I think it is for anyone.
The truth is, there is now an overwhelming amount of choices for natural deodorants and you’ll see tons of online advertising for new brands all the time. I’m in no position to comment on all of them, but I’ve tried enough regular and natural ones to know what does and doesn’t work for me in a big sample set. Actual results for natural deodorants are kind of all over the place if you read people’s stories and reviews. It’s the Wild West.
It’s important to note that I enjoyed quite a few aspects of the brands I tried, and I will say ALL were very high quality. In fact, they better be for the price you pay for some of them.
For me though, the hard days just couldn’t be treated with the natural stuff. I found I needed to go back to an antiperspirant, but I stuck with unscented.
With deodorants and antiperspirants, I have to say the golden rule is: use what works for you. Even if we need some help in terms of where to start. Experiment.
Hopefully, this gave you some ideas.
Good luck on your own journey!
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