Do you use packing cubes? What are the benefits?

[AngiTN]

What's the difference between the ones on amazon and eBags?

The number one difference is the zipper. The cheap ones have a cheap zipper. It keeps getting caught in things. They just aren't stitched together well. It's really obvious when you put them side by side.

 

[queenofthehive]

I have not tried the packing bags. I just use gallon zipper bags for socks, underwear, and swim suits. Those items always seem to get lost or end up in the depths of my suitcase.

 

[Babsy]

I just LOVE packing cubes! They organize everything for us and makes packing/unpacking and split stays a breeze.

I never travel without packing cubes anymore.

 

[klmall]

Another eBags packing cube user and will not travel without them! Haven't been able to convince DH and DS to use them yet but I use a set of 3 on short trips and two sets on longer trips. I can easily see what is still clean (keep dirty clothes in a popup net hamper). I also keep toiletries in the smallest bag and electronic cables, extension cords etc. in another.

As someone noted earlier I can easily reshuffle items to a different bag and I know that even if TSA inspects my bags the items stay organized. Since each bag has its own handle it makes it easy to just grab a bag and throw it into a drawer too.

 

[BabyFu18]

I'm not sold on packing cubes, I feel like they work well if you were a lot of knit fabrics that can be rolled easily and won't wrinkle, but if you wear a lot of linen or cotton that can wrinkle easily it'll be harder because your clothes need to be folded and not rolled. I don't know, I might try them but I'm just not sold on the idea of them yet. I usually live out of my suitcase and I don't find that hard at all, my clothing is all folded and I can easily stiff through items to get to what I want, I can't pack a whole outfit in bags or cubes because I never know what pieces I want to put together until I'm ready to get dressed!

I do think packing cubes are neat though and maybe once you try them you'll love them, I guess you have to leap and try it and see if it works for you, I have looked into the ebags brand and they do look nice.

 

[happymommy]

IKEA had some packing cubes a couple years ago that I bought and love them. Very good price and they have held up really good.

I bought them at Ikea also! We all use them now, and I like them so much more than the old bags I used to use (the ones that you squeeze the air out of).

I like that I can just put them in drawers and I'm unpacked in seconds. It keeps our clothes organized.

Ikea ones were very inexpensive, but have held up wonderfully!

One thing to note is, they aren't totally waterproof. One trip, heavy rain was in the forecast. I lined our suitcases with large trash bags first, then packed. Sometimes bags are unloaded from the airplane in such a way that they can get soaked. Our things stayed nice and dry, whereas I saw soaked Very Bradley bags on the carousel (not sure how the items inside were, but likely soaked). No, I don't use Vera Bradley bags - I have a good Eagle Creek suitcase that I love.

I won't travel without them now!

 

[Grace&Carolinesmom]

I'm not sold on packing cubes, I feel like they work well if you were a lot of knit fabrics that can be rolled easily and won't wrinkle, but if you wear a lot of linen or cotton that can wrinkle easily it'll be harder because your clothes need to be folded and not rolled. I don't know, I might try them but I'm just not sold on the idea of them yet. I usually live out of my suitcase and I don't find that hard at all, my clothing is all folded and I can easily stiff through items to get to what I want, I can't pack a whole outfit in bags or cubes because I never know what pieces I want to put together until I'm ready to get dressed!

I do think packing cubes are neat though and maybe once you try them you'll love them, I guess you have to leap and try it and see if it works for you, I have looked into the ebags brand and they do look nice.

That is where the packing envelopes come handy. They are rectangular and have envelope wings that fold open. There is a hard plastic folding plate that aids in getting a good fold that fits the envelope perfectly. You then stack each folded item alternately until full. Then the folding plate is placed on top of the pile to compress the garments and hold the shape while you refasten the velcro envelope wings over the neatly folded items.

FWIW, we place the folding envelopes in the bottom of our suitcases and then place the packing cubes on top. I also do as a previous poster and use extra packing cubes for small electronics, charge cords, accessories, as well as clothing items.

 

[Chrelaine]

We use ebags also. I got each person their own color set. I find that we use the space in the suitcase so much better when clothes are rolled and put in the bags. DH's pants I usually leave out and some of his shirts (rolling a 3XLT shirt can just get ugly). His socks, underwear and tshirts, My clothes and those for DD6 fit just fine. We unpack when we get to our destination, though. Leaving things in the cubes would be too much like living out of a suitcase for me. I never travel without them now. The efficiency of space when packing is unbelievable.

 

[AngiTN]

I'm not sold on packing cubes, I feel like they work well if you were a lot of knit fabrics that can be rolled easily and won't wrinkle, but if you wear a lot of linen or cotton that can wrinkle easily it'll be harder because your clothes need to be folded and not rolled. I don't know, I might try them but I'm just not sold on the idea of them yet. I usually live out of my suitcase and I don't find that hard at all, my clothing is all folded and I can easily stiff through items to get to what I want, I can't pack a whole outfit in bags or cubes because I never know what pieces I want to put together until I'm ready to get dressed!

I do think packing cubes are neat though and maybe once you try them you'll love them, I guess you have to leap and try it and see if it works for you, I have looked into the ebags brand and they do look nice.

Nothing says you have to roll clothes in a packing cube. They can be folded if that's your preferred method. I can't fathom how folded clothes loose in a suitcase will stay folded and neat over the course of a week long trip. Not without a bit of refolding here or there. Or if TSA gets their hands on it.
I don't pack outfits in cubes, I pack bottoms and tops. The only one that gets packed by outfit is DGD

 

[fairytalelover]

We just ordered packing cubes from amazon. Was much cheaper than eBags and eagle creek and it had fantastic reviews. This will be our first time using this for our upcoming trip to aulani and Disneyland so we will see how it goes

 

[BabyFu18]

That is where the packing envelopes come handy. They are rectangular and have envelope wings that fold open. There is a hard plastic folding plate that aids in getting a good fold that fits the envelope perfectly. You then stack each folded item alternately until full. Then the folding plate is placed on top of the pile to compress the garments and hold the shape while you refasten the velcro envelope wings over the neatly folded items.

FWIW, we place the folding envelopes in the bottom of our suitcases and then place the packing cubes on top. I also do as a previous poster and use extra packing cubes for small electronics, charge cords, accessories, as well as clothing items.

I'll have to look into the envelope style, I've never seen that before.

 

[BabyFu18]

Nothing says you have to roll clothes in a packing cube. They can be folded if that's your preferred method. I can't fathom how folded clothes loose in a suitcase will stay folded and neat over the course of a week long trip. Not without a bit of refolding here or there. Or if TSA gets their hands on it.
I don't pack outfits in cubes, I pack bottoms and tops. The only one that gets packed by outfit is DGD

I don't know I never have an issue with my folded clothes getting messed up in my suitcase, I just pull stacks of folded pants, tops, skirts, dresses, etc, out if I'm looking for something on the bottom and then put them back in they never seem to get messed up for me. I'm a huge overpacker though, I take just about every piece of clothing I think I might possibly want on vacation, so if I buy packing cubes I'll probably need a ton of them.

I've seen some in stores like tjmaxx and they seem so small, one day I might order some from Ebags since those look like they might be larger and it's nice that they offer varying sizes and combos. I'm going to give it a try one day I'm sure, I think they'd be great if I was forced to pack lightly for a long trip.

I think it's just one of those types of items that you don't really know how it's going to work for you until you put it to the test.

 

[nkereina]

I'm also pro-packing cube and also use the ones from eBags. They sell them in several different colors, so you can organize them how it works best for you - shirts go in red pants in blue, or DH goes in red and I go in blue. Whatever works best for you. I also like how you can simply pluck them out of your suitcase and drop them in a drawer to unpack. On the way home, you can keep all your dirty clothes in one cube too. I have smaller cubes for underwear, socks, bathing suits. They stack nicely side by side in my suitcase as well.

I personally roll the clothes to fit more in each cube, and because it helps me to see everything I have when I unzipper my cube. I'm not a good roller so my clothes are never wrinkle-free, but they definitely do not shift and slide around. However I stack them in the cube is exactly how they are when I arrive!

 

[DisneyWitch]

Another packing cube fan - got mine from ebags years ago and they're awesome. Like others said, they're especially great to just plop them in your resort's drawers and work out of them. Never know who was there before you, and might help for those with little ones who have allergies. I mean, you don't know if the last person stored a PB&J in the drawer!

They are especially useful for TSA, too. This is why I initially got them. Apparently TSA has no qualms with tossing your clothes like a drunken sailor and shoving them back into your suitcase with a note saying "Hi! We were here". Then I get to my destination and it looks like a herd of elephants trampled through my bags. The cubes allow TSA to rifle through...er...look at your stuff without making too much of a mess. We always bring an extra cube so that we can transfer dirty thingies in there and not contaminate washed items.

 

[tsme]

I bought them at Ikea also! We all use them now, and I like them so much more than the old bags I used to use (the ones that you squeeze the air out of).

Do you find you can pack as much in the cubes as you did in the bags? I use the bags & can pack a lot of clothes in them, but I have always wondered about the cubes. And do you know if men's cargo shorts & jeans (they take so much room) fit easily in the cubes?

 

[AngiTN]

Do you find you can pack as much in the cubes as you did in the bags? I use the bags & can pack a lot of clothes in them, but I have always wondered about the cubes. And do you know if men's cargo shorts & jeans (they take so much room) fit easily in the cubes?

Yes, easily.

 

[tsme]

Yes, easily.

Thx

 

[BarbieGal457]

YES! I am obsessed. I use eBags and have 3 medium, 3 small, and the shoe bag. They are AMAZING.

Everything stays neatly folded and wrinkle-free, and I love that I can just take them, throw them in the drawer unzipped, and then zip them back up to leave. In October it took me under 5 minutes to repack my suitcase to travel home. I've always been a good packer but these have made me even more organized. I also like that I feel more delicate fabrics are better protected from other items in my bag, such as zippers on toiletry cases. My father worked for the airlines for decades and has seen his fair share of exploding zippers on suitcases, and these give me a bit more comfort knowing if my suitcase zippers fail, my items will still be neatly contained inside the eBags and not launched all over! When not in use I simply store them inside each other, inside my suitcase so they are always ready. They also fold down flat and are machine washable. The eBags website is constantly having nice promotions, and I found the eBags shoe bag on Amazon for less than retail (it had disappeared from the official website last time I looked).

They are also deceptively roomy! I was pleasantly surprised. Reading the reviews really helped me decide on the right ones for me, however I think I will go and purchase a large cube for thicker bottoms like jeans and items like sweaters. I fit a thin pair of long jeans in the medium with all of my other pants (thinner materials) however I don't think anything more than a thin sweater would fit nicely in a medium, so I suggest sizing up.

ETA: I do the rolling method when packing and always have, and stuck with it for my cubes. I found I fit a TON in each - shirts in one medium, pants in another, and the third medium had 3 long-sleeve shirts I brought but was not full. My clothes do tend to be of thinner materials as I just cannot tolerate thicker fabrics most times, so YMMV, especially during different times of the year. I ended up using that least-packed medium as a "laundry hamper" of sorts and when I came home I knew exactly what had to be washed. In my small ones, I sort bathing suits, socks and undergarments, and actually electronics chargers!! Even the small ones are large. I've heard of people using a small one in the color red as an "emergency" kit as well since the red is bright and easily identifiable.

 

[maxiesmom]

I'll have to look into the envelope style, I've never seen that before.

I've got one, and I love it! I can fit a lot into that sucker, all neatly folded. I have one big envelope and a bunch of different sized cubes. Tops and some shorts/pants go into the envelope. Underwear, socks and stuff go in the cubes. I've taken to putting all of my electronic cords and chargers into one too for my carry on bag.

 

[IrishNYC]

I think you've all convinced me I need packing cubes. DH won't want them, and DD's clothes still fit in gallon ziplocks, which I've always done for long trips because it makes it so much easier to just tell her to grab a bag and get dressed, instead of arguing.