kaitlyn2004

I've never used them before but also have a 5wk trip across 3 countries (longest yet) coming up and wonder if the packing cubes would be a good idea for me to add to my packing?

There are so many brands - what are the differences even? Don't they all just have a shape, zip up, and include some sort of viewing panel (plastic, mesh)?

Also - is it best to get fewer larger ones or more smaller ones?

Think I'm going to try to fit all my stuff into a 24" bag - I tend to be a bit of an overpacker but want to do differently this time around. Also a bit hard since the countries vary somewhat wildly in temperature

TheTakeOffRush

kaitlyn2004, this sounds like a decent trip to experiment and see if cubes suit your packing style. Here's my opinion:

Pros:
+good organization
+easy access w/o disrupting tidiness

Cons:
-add bulk slightly
-constrain you to pack in those shapes

I tend to use 1-2 small Eagle Creek ones for cables & odds/ends, and then just keep my other clothing/effects neatly in place. If I were one to rifle through my things more often, or not able to neatly organize w/o them, I think I'd use them much more.

Good luck, and enjoy your trip (and flights!).

PAX_fips

Esp. with that travel pattern you'll love cubes. E.g. if you dont need a certain "set" in one country but the other two you only unpack 1-2 cubes instead of all single items.

Good for (re)search at airport security, too, for about the same reason.

manneca

I use large ("jumbo") zip lock bags. I squash them to get all the air out. I can roll what I want to roll, fold what I want to fold. They are lighter and cheaper than packing cubes and from what I can tell serve the same purpose. I particularly like them if I'm packing a duffle where stuff gets shifted so easily. You can put almost any size clothing into the jumbo bags. If the bag's too large, just fold the bag to fit.

GrussGott

I'd say you have 3 options:

(1.) The bundle method for a roller bag - the video shows how to do 60 days of travel.
Pros:+free, +space efficient, +easy, +minimum wrinkles. Cons:-must unpack the bundle

(2.) Zip locks, purpose built or not. These Eagle Creek compression Sacs work great. Pros:+max space savers. Cons:-wrinkles, -must de-vac,re-vac a lot

(3.) Cubes. Pros:+breaks packing up into smaller pieces, +easy to organize, +easy to find things without unpacking other things. Cons: -not as much or no compression, -wastes space if cubes aren't a perfect fit, -can be expensive

Personally I've gone to a hybrid system. I use the bundle method to pack into one or two Eagle Creek Medium folders for pants, shirts, etc that I don't want wrinkled. Other things like undies, t-shirts go into EC spectre compression cubes.

Another thing I've done is not packing for more than 10 days unless it's rare special event. For normal longer travel I always just pack for a week or 10 days and plan on doing laundry. In those cases I bring the scruba and an bungee clothes line which is shocking easy and while traveling infinitely preferable to carrying a months worth of clothes.

On an tangential note, I've also ditched the wheels, frames, and handles and switched to all soft-sided carry-on. For your trip I'd use the Tom Bihn Aeronaut 45 and personal item (the Tom Bihn Pilot or Smart Alec). This is so much easier for me than having to wheel a bag over cobblestones, curbs, through airports, up escalators or stairs, etc. I just backpack the A45 and I'm ready to go through any crowd, over any surface, through any tight airplane aisle, around any obstacles and I can easily run to catch that plane, train, or bus.

ginoa724

I love my packing cubes for longer trips where I'm only taking my Tortuga backpack. I have some generic ones I got from work a while back (I used to work for a promotional items producer) and they're a solid 6/10. I think different packing cubes are more/less sturdy than others but overall all offer the same basic function.

Mine are in 3 different sizes and I have 2 sets to mix and match. I'd recommend you get at least 2 sizes, one for shirts/pants and one for socks/undergarments to start and see what you need from there.

Mikity

When I first got myself a set of (Eagle Creek and eBags) packing cubes, I used them all the time. Then it all started becoming a bit too much work - it required an extra layer of abstraction, that didn't fit in with my usual last-minute packing style. So now, similar to what TheTakeOffRush said, I just use a few of the smaller ones for electronics/cables or food or camera accessories. For clothes I find packing cubes a little too constraining.

billykidd

I bought EC cubes and I quickly decided that they are really silly for anything other than loose stuff u want to keep together. And ziplocks are better I think for that because you can see through them.

WilcoRoger

For cables, toiletries, etc just use the amenity bags they hand out in business and first class (if you happen to travel in the front) My old Bally (!) amenity bags (from Swiss first) have served for close to a decade now.

84fiero

I got two sets of eBags packing cubes in two different colors so we each have a set. It didn't seem to me that there was a whole lot of difference among the brands but I admittedly didn't do in-depth comparison, just grabbed these on Amazon Prime.

I've ended up liking them a lot, though I wasn't sure when I first tried. Especially when traveling with my wife, the organization aspect of it is very helpful - she tends to be disorganized so it seems to help as a forcing mechanism with her.

But they also keep things together so we're not digging around in a suitcase trying to find odds and ends. This is especially helpful when we're moving locations more frequently and don't necessarily unpack. Or when the room doesn't have much (or any!) storage space the cubes serve in place of dresser drawers. We also will grab one if we're just stopping somewhere for the night and put a change of clothes and essentials for the night.

We do use large & small Ziploc bags for certain things as well. And I have a cord organizer to keep all of the charger cords, USB cables, etc. organized and handy.

Now if you're in need of compressing things in order to pack it all in, as noted above using the cubes do preclude maximum compression. I found that when we tried using compression we tended to pack more than we needed since it frees up so much space - and made the bags much heavier than necessary. But that's not the fault of the compression, just us!

Agree that if the cubes don't fit well in your particular bag then it can waste space, luckily ours have fit well but it is something to be mindful of when buying.

TPACjv

I like cubes for duffel bags and home organization. I used to use packing folders but now I just use the folding boards when packing my luggage.

PFSHero

I have used cubes before and I found them more reliable compared to ziplocks. I think they can be very suitable if you have gadgets, tools, personal kits, or toiletries to bring especially on a trip. ^

Dianne47

I use both ebags and Eagle Creek cubes. I like being able to put items in hotel drawers or shelves inside the cubes, keeps my items clean. One cube for underwear, one for scarves, one for socks. I use smaller cubes, rather than large ones. I also use Eagle Creek Spectre cubes for toiletries and ebags padded pouches for jewelry, cables, etc.

Cubes are especially nice to keep things organized if you're packing and unpacking all the time, 1-3 nights per city visited. I wouldn't travel without cubes now.

critterchick

I've tried all three methods. Having to unpack the bundle is a major con for me - unless we're going straight to a cruise ship and unpacking once, it's a PITA. And packing a couple of smaller bundles never worked out for me - I'd always put something in the wrong one.

I use Eagle Creek compression bags for underwear, socks, gym clothes, stuff I don't care about wrinkling. I use the Ebags ultralight packing cubes for outer clothing. My go-to bag is their Motherlode 22" wheeled duffel, and I can pack a layer of "stuff" (shoes, hair styler, the Scrubba, this & that) at the bottom, then pack two layers of one large and two small cubes (or a compression bag) on top of that. I try never to pack for more than 5 days and the Scrubba gets a workout if I'm on a longer trip.

ElmhurstNick

I use an Eagle Creek 18" packing folder for shirts and dress pants, because it fits perfectly in all four of my bags (in descending size)
- center compartment of my RedOxx Beanos 5.5 (7+ nights)
- outside pocket of my Kirkland 22" roller (3-6 nights)
- in the back compartment of my Tom Bihn Brain Bag (1-2 nights)
- down the center of my RedOxx CPA (quick overnight)

I tend to use drawstring stuff bags more than packing cubes.