I Swore I’d Never Use Packing Cubes — Until I Tried This Set

As a self-described light traveler, I do anything in my power to not check my bags when boarding a flight. For the longest time I was a complete devotee to the method of packing where you rolled, rather than folded, all of your clothes. That was, until I decided to put popular packing methods to the test and discovered the power of packing cubes. I had never tried them before because I thought they were a gimmick, but I’m happy to report I was wrong. Now I’m a packing cube convert.

I tested my set of packing cubes for the first time over a three-week, six-city carry-on-only trip through southeast Asia. I have to say: They were up to the task. Of course, I knew that packing cubes are major space-savers; I just didn’t know how much space they actually saved until I tried them myself. Of three packing methods I tested — KonMari, rolling clothes (my former favorite method), and packing cubes — the cubes made the most extra space in my small, carry-on backpack. 

With the cubes, I was able to pack about nine days’ worth of clothing — multiple pairs of bottoms, swimsuits, underwear, socks, tops, button-ups, etc. — in my three packing cubes with room to spare for several pairs of shoes. There was still empty space in my bag, so throughout the trip I added souvenirs (from small trinkets to new clothing) along the way, and I was able to stuff my compression cubes even more fully.

In my case, I tested a specific set of compression packing cubes from BagSmart that have since been redesigned. My set came with three packing cubes, a laundry bag, and a roll-up hanger for clothing. The closest analog to what I tested is the Blast Packing Cubes, which comes in a range of color options and includes five different-sized packing cubes and a laundry bag for $59.99. 

I like that both sets — the one I tested, and the ones that they sell now — come with a laundry bag. For three weeks of travel and only nine days of clothes, I obviously had to do laundry services at hotels every few days or so, so the laundry bag of dirty clothes was a really nice “extra” to have in order to maintain the cleanliness of what I kept clean in the compression cubes. 

Plus, I like that both sets have breathable mesh in the bag design. Sometimes I’d rotate dirty clothes into some of the compression cubes to save packing room instead (I had to get creative, a few weeks in, to save space) and knowing that they were breathable was a nice way to ensure that my clothing didn’t ever get too musty. I also liked that both sets of cubes have handles on them, which makes it easy to pull them in and out of my suitcases with ease.

The zippers on these things are very, very strong. There are two: one that closes the cube and another that expands or compresses it. Sometimes, I’d sit on top of the compression cube to zip it closed because it was so overpacked — the zippers didn’t fray, buckle, or fail by any measure. All in all, the cubes held up for heavy-duty travel, and now I’ll never go anywhere without them. 

Buy: BagSmart Blast Packing Cubes, $49.99