Travel Tips - How/What to pack & stay organized.

[Michellynn]

A powerbank to charge my gadgets when there's no outlet available.

Oh yeah...that is a great one! Amazing how handy those can be...and they come in such compact sizes these days.

 

[Meredisney]

After reading all of these comments, I am intrigued by the packing cubes & compression bags. I have a family of four: DH, myself, and two little boys (3yrs & 18 months). I'd like to give these a try. My question is which is better the clear plastic bags or the fabric cubes? I want something durable but I don't want to have to pack a vacuum cleaner in order to use the bags. Ideally, it would be nice to have four bags, one for each person, but I haven't seen any multi-colored sets or sets of four. Finally, I've read reviews on amazon that says the plastic bags break and the zippers fall off. I'd love to hear some reviews and suggestions. Thanks!!

 

[Michellynn]

After reading all of these comments, I am intrigued by the packing cubes & compression bags. I have a family of four: DH, myself, and two little boys (3yrs & 18 months). I'd like to give these a try. My question is which is better the clear plastic bags or the fabric cubes? I want something durable but I don't want to have to pack a vacuum cleaner in order to use the bags. Ideally, it would be nice to have four bags, one for each person, but I haven't seen any multi-colored sets or sets of four. Finally, I've read reviews on amazon that says the plastic bags break and the zippers fall off. I'd love to hear some reviews and suggestions. Thanks!!

I have both...the plastic kind (several different brands) and the fabric ones.

First off...the plastic ones will be cheaper, but yes, they will not come in different colors. However, they are easy to write on with a marker (I labeled one specifically for dirty laundry) or put colored electrical tape on them if you are looking for an easy way to distinguish between different traveler's clothes. As for durability...I've had mine for years...taken them on trips many, many times (I travel for work) and they have lasted just fine. Sometimes the sealing "zipper clip" that helps close the end of the bag (it's the same concept as a ziploc bag) falls off. The zipper clip fits over the ridges that need to be pressed together to close. However, you can still close the end just fine without it....just takes a little more dexterity. BUT, if you have not lost the zipper clip, it is also just as easy to slide right back on (with most versions of these bags). The versions I have also do not need a vacuum. You simply roll or press out the air (I throw mine on the bed and just lay on it to push out the air..LOL). I've picked mine up at Target (the Embark brand) as well as from Amazon (the Eagle Creek brand) and both have been just fine.

The downside of the plastic ones are that they are less convenient to get clothes in and out of (for me anyway). You sort of have to fold a pile of clothes and slide them in together (if you are trying to prevent excess wrinkles)...and taking one out at time can mess up the pile a bit. So I usually only pack what I am going pull out as a group and put in drawers or hang up. Packing to go home I will slide one in at a time (once I know I don't need something for the rest of the trip)..since I don't care about wrinkles going home.

For my items that I think I will be in and out of the bag a lot for, or don't want to pull out as a group and drop in a drawer (like intimates, socks, whatever)..I use the fabric cubes and just put the whole cube in a drawer. Makes unpacking faster and simpler. But, as I said, these are more expensive, so I don't pack everything in those. As for the zippers on those, I haven't had any problems with them either (I have some from Kiva, as well as Baggalini)

Hope that helps!