Travel Products Review: Packing Cubes

I recently got the opportunity to acquire a handy travel accessory that I would not have purchased under normal circumstances. That product is a set of the infamous packing cubes, advertised to increase packing efficiency and available space in your luggage. The product always seemed like a bit of a wash to me, as it sounds somewhat unreasonable that a zippered cube of appreciable size and bulk could somehow increase available space to my bag. Prior to receiving them, they were not something that I would ever want to spend $30 per set for. That is why when CSNStores contacted me regarding getting some travel gear for review, I was all about trying out the packing cubes and putting them to the test. What I found after testing them out made me pleasantly surprised.

One thing about packing cubes that is alluring to me is the ability to compartmentalize clothing as you see fit.  My least favorite thing when it comes to living out of a backpack for more than a few days at a time is having to rummage for a pair of socks or a clean t-shirt, because they always seem to make their way to the most inaccessible corner of my bag.  Not only that, clothes somehow seem to expand in volume over time when packed in a bag - even more so after they've been worn a few times without washing.  As weird as it is, I've never once been able to pack a bag nearly as tight as I did prior to leaving home, and packing cubes may be a solution to this bizarre problem.  The set I acquired came with four different sized packing cubes to allow for any number of combination of clothing arrangements, making finding the right article of clothing much quick and easier, and was apparent immediately after seeing the cubes.  But one question still lingered, do they save any space?

To put them to the test, I devised a challenge to myself.  Having documented my packing list for my recent 3 week trip to Egypt and Jordan, I recreated my packing load as closely as possible in two scenarios:  without packing cubes and with packing cubes.  The usual methods of space saving were employed, with my favorite being rolling of shirts to maximize space.

Items Included in the Challenge

8 T-Shirts, 4 Button Up Shirts, 3 Shorts, 2 Long Pants, 1 Track Pants, 3 Boxer Shorts, 8 Socks, 1 Zip-Up Jacket, and 1 Swimsuit

Large Packing Cube #1

The first large packing cube was able to fit all 8 t-shirt plus the 3 boxer shorts in an even layer without being significantly over filled.  An extra layer of light clothing could likely have been spread over the top for the ultimate pack rat, but I opted to only fill the cube with complete sets of items where ever possible. 

Large Packing Cube #2 

The second large packing cube was able to fit both long pair of pants and the 3 pair of shorts.  In this case layering was done in order to fit more items in vertically since heavy pants cannot be rolled as easily as shirts can.  The zipper on the cube plays a great role in compressing the thick clothes down to fit into the confined space of the cube, as is apparent in the pictures above.  The only difficulties with this method of over packing is repacking and removing items on a daily basis may be difficult to achieve the same level of conformity time and time again.

Small Packing Cubes

Only one small packing cube was used for the purposes of clothing, as I will likely use the smaller ones for electronics packing and other non-clothing item.  In this case I was able to fit all 8 pair of socks in one tiny packing cube with only minor overflow and compression required.

The $64,000 Question - Do They Work in a Bag?

After playing around with the packing cubes, there is definitely a benefit when it comes to organization and isolating clothing in neat little compartments.  Whether that translates into space savings while packed in a bag is a different story.  As I was unable to fit all items of clothing in the packing cubes I have, the rest of the items were packed on one side of the bag and left the same for both situations shown in the pictures above.  The left hand picture shows the three packing cubes stacked on top of each other next to the remaining clothes.   The clothes were then removed from the packing cubes and packed tightly into the bag, shown in the picture on the right.  From visual inspection of the two packing scenarios, it does appear that packing cubes do yield slightly more space while inside a bag compared to standard packing of clothing, although not by much.

The real benefit of packing cubes comes down to the compression ability of the zippered housing.  The magical expansion effect of clothing over time while on the road is easily addressed by one little piece of plastic.  Sure, the bags will add more total weight to a bag, and yes, I am not entirely sold on whether or not they're worth plopping down a days worth of traveling money for, but the idea of a headache from horrible repacking being a thing of the past more than makes up for the difference.  Whether or not these items are recommended for purchase is debatable to your own packing issues, but one thing is for certain: they will be coming with me on my RTW trip.