Does Rolling Clothes Help?
 

I always folded my clothes when I packed. After hearing so many positive comments about rolling I thought I would try it. Well I'm not a convert. I'll try it some more but I don't notice any difference in the amount of wrinkles. In fact my T-shirts seem to have more wrinkles. I still need to iron my dress shirts when I get to my hotel room. Is it possible I'm rolling them wrong? I've tried rolling them loose and tight but neither seemed different. What has been your experience?

Thanks,

-= Ken =-

I've not found it to be any better- that's why I always pack a travel-sized steamer- found that it does a better job on my clothes than the iron that's in the hotel and doesn't take up much room.

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There was a thread on this a while ago. A search should turn it up. I seem to recall losing several members as a result of duels between members of the fold and roll camps. ;)

It has not helped me. The Eagle Creek pack it system is the second best thing I've found to prevent wrinkles. The first is a hanging garment type bag.

I loved my garment bag until I developed back problems. Now I use a rolling 20" carry-on. I picked up some packing cubes from Ebags so I'll try rolling my clothes in them. If that doesn't work then I'll try folding my clothes in them.

There are some great videos on youtube that address packing issues and the best way to fold, roll etc.

Rolling is good for a nice, casual trip where you want to stick with a carry-on and fit in a bunch of compact things like t-shirts and underwear. I had no problem doing 2 weeks in Santorini with just a 22" roller doing this, and I refuse to do sink laundry.

On the other hand, the only good way to travel with suits and other clothes that you don't want wrinkled is to do bundle folding.

it's all about minimizing the volume of the items and making the various shapes fit in the available space of the suitcase.

heavy things go in the bottom and strapped down on their own and the clothes all "float" inside the case, albeit packed tightly so they don't all slide around.

i roll underwear, socks, shorts, jeans, tshirts and polo shirts. i fold button-down shirts, dress pants and suits. stuff things into the shoes (usually socks).

shifting contributes to wrinkles so if you have extra room; get a smaller suitcase or pack more stuff. ;)

one thing that can help is to use the plastic hanger wraps the dry-cleaner uses to wrap clean clothes. They're slippy and you can layer items with them to keep bunching to a minimum. Suits can tolerate wrinkling better because you can steam them in the lav ~ hot shower and close the door.

It all depends on the kind of items and the kind of bag you are using. There is good info on that in the stickies in this forum.

Things like knits (t's, underwear, socks) can be rolled quickly and easily without risking wrinkles. They can then be stored in a packing cube, where they are easy to retrieve and don't clutter the suitcase. The packing cube should be packed so tightly that it compresses the items. Otherwise it will add only organization but at the expense of weight and space. The idea behind a packing cube is to help with organization AND volume. This is best done when it is packed in a way that the items are compressed. For compressing the items rolling them is good.

Rolling pants and shirts on the other hand is counterproductive. They will rather take up more volume and be more creased.

Till

I've come to the same conclusion as Spiffster and tfar. Rolling seems to work for underwear and socks but I fold everything else. I usually still need to iron a few things when I get to my destination but at least I don't need to iron everything like I did when I tried rolling all my clothes. The packing cubes from eBags helps a lot with keeping everything organized and preventing the clothes from shifting around. I like them a lot.

I have always stuffed things in my shoes or sneakers – usually things I don't want crushed like a hair brush and razor in one. The other I usually roll up a belt and throw in small loose items so they stay together. Of course I put each shoe into a plastic grocery bag to keep everything else clean.

My Costco 22" roll-aboard finally died. The pull-up handle doesn't pull-up any more. I was able to return it and get my money back even though it was around 5 years old. I don't like the new design of the current Costco luggage so I went to eBags and bought the eBags Mother Lode TLS Mini 21". It's smaller than my old Costco roll-aboard but I haven't had a problem fitting everything inside. I've only had to expand it once so far. It's also nice that it fits wheels-out in the overhead on the AB side of MD-80s.

I've had infinite success rolling my clothes when I pack. I've yet needed to iron or steam anything. It takes a little prep work but saves me time when I get to my destination.

I just fold and deal with it when I unpack at the hotel. I do roll dress pants and ties.

Are you trying to use rolling to reduce amount of wrinkles? I actually roll my clothes to save space. Works wonderful.

Steaming suits can lead to horrible results, particularly expensive tailored ones. I'd exercise caution there.

For shirts nothing beats the Eagle Creek Folders. I also tend to bring wrinkle free clothes when travelling.

Suits I found the packing method referred to in the sticky of this forum the best. Has been using this method for 2+yrs and just hang up the suit before a hot shower in the bathroom, next morning it is ready to go.