If you’ve ever searched for packing tips, it’s very likely you’ve come across the idea of using packing cubes for travel, and the benefits they bring. It’s become a sort of love/hate thing I think – some travellers swear by them for organisation and to save packing pace, and some don’t feel like they make any difference at all.
So, do packing cubes really save space? And are they helpful in keeping your suitcase organised? Are packing cubes worth using?
What Are Packing Cubes?
First of all, let’s quickly go over what packing cubes are. They’re basically smaller zipped bags that go inside your suitcase. Packing cubes are available in a range of sizes, shapes, colours and patterns. You will often buy a set that has a number of cubes in a few different sizes so you can pick and choose which ones are suitable for your packing.
Are Packing Cubes Worth Using?
To put it simply – yes, I think packing cubes are worth it when packing for travelling. Here’s why I think they are more useful than not.
Keeping Your Suitcase Organised
One of the biggest benefits of packing cubes for me is that they keep your belongings organised in your case. It means your suitcase isn’t just one big muddle of clothing, toiletries, shoes, electronics and whatever else you might have packed in there.
If you’re travelling hand luggage only it also means that if you have to open your suitcase at security, you’re not at risk of flinging items everywhere whilst getting your electricals out. Your clothing won’t fall out of place and your underwear is safely hidden away!
For Separating Different Clothing
My method changes depending on the type of travel I’m doing, and whether I’m travelling with hand luggage only or using a checked-hold suitcase.
When travelling with just hand luggage, I will generally use one big cube for all clothing. These are rolled neatly and tucked into the cube together. I’ll then use a smaller cube for all underwear, bikinis and sports kit depending on what’s needed.
When travelling with checked luggage, I may use two bigger cubes to separate out tops from bottoms and dresses, and then also have a separate underwear cube too. This helps when you’re away because you know exactly where to look to get the item you want, rather than rummaging through a whole case. (In case you don’t have the option of hanging clothes up!)
Not only are they useful for organisation whilst packing to go on holiday, they’re useful for coming home too when it comes to dirty laundry. Most times I travel I will have clean clothing that I haven’t worn (still working on minimising that!), and so I will put my clean clothing into a smaller cube. All dirty clothing can then go into one big cube and when it comes to doing the post-holiday washing, everything is in one place! You can go one step further and organise dirty laundry by colour, so the wash is even quicker.
Read more: Must-Have Travel Accessories for Hand Luggage
Types of Packing Cubes
Regular Packing Cubes
These a regular zipped bags, often coming in sets of different sizes and styles. You can get them in a range of sizes with sets often having a few different sizes of cubes, some laundry bags, some tech/electricals bags, and sometimes shoe bags. Pricing ranges vastly for packing cubes, so it’s worth just finding a pattern you like, checking the types of bag included and decide on that.
Compression Packing Cubes
Compression packing cubes have an extra zip so that once you’ve filled it, you can squeeze some air out and compress it even further. These are generally the most expensive out of these three types mentioned, but they do help you to pack more into your suitcases.
Travel Vacuum Bags
Travel vacuum bags are useful because you can fill them and then roll to push the air out. They flatten out the most, so save the most room. The downside to vacuum bags is that, because of this, it’s very easy to overpack and add too much weight to your case, and due to the very tight compression, clothes tend to be very crumpled when you unpack.
Where to Buy Packing Cubes:
When to Use Packing Cubes
As well as being useful for travelling with suitcases, packing cubes are useful for backpacking too. Even using just one could help to organise your bag better, so clothes are kept together and other items are easier to locate.
Whilst it’s clear that packing cubes are useful for travel, they can be utilised for everyday use too. For example, say you want to go to the gym before/after work, you can stick your gym kit into a cube and put it in your backpack. Or you could use one to separate out electronics or other bits and bobs in your bag.
What’s your stance on them? Are packing cubes worth it?
