- When you open your bag, do you prefer a neatly organized system
that's easy to navigate or a jumbled mess of creased clothing? If you're the former, then
great, you're in the right place. Hey, I'm Nathan from Pack Hacker, where we use our expertise
and real world experience to provide practical resources and honest opinions guiding
you towards smarter travel. So if you're new here,
consider subscribing. There are hundreds of
different packing cubes in all different shapes and sizes with tons of different use cases. So without further ado, let's get into it. (energetic upbeat music) Just before we jump right in, we should mention that this
guide is also available in the written format
over on packhacker.com. So make sure to check that out and we'll link it down
in the description below. And while you're on Pack Hacker, why not check out all
of our other reviews, packing lists and guides as well. (energetic upbeat music) First and foremost, packing cubes are used to organize the contents of your bag. However, they can also
help with saving space as well as they can press
your clothes together. There are even specific
compression of packing cubes that take this a step further, but we'll get into them
a little bit later on. Now, if you haven't caught one by now a packing cube is simply a fabric pouch with a zippered opening. And using one is pretty straightforward. You simply unzip the opening
and put your clothes in. And that's exactly what
we're gonna do now. And it will also show you just how much stuff you can fit inside. Now as an example, this here
is an Eagle Creek specter cube. It's one of our highest
rated on packhacker.com and this is their small size. And believe it or not, it's actually gonna fit five t-shirts, two
pairs of boxers and two socks. We recommend rolling your
clothes as it's easier to organize them inside the
cube and fill up all the space plus they're less likely
to crease this way too. As you can see, we already have five pre rolled t-shirts here, so we're just gonna put them inside. Then because there's a
little bit of space on top, we're gonna throw the boxers in here too. And then the two pairs of socks as well. And then we're just gonna zip it up. And there we have it five t-shirts, two pairs of socks and two pairs of boxers in one small sized Eagle
Creek specter cube. Moving on a typical example
of how packing cubes can be used in the real world, as you can use a small or
an extra small cube here for your underwear and your socks. You can use a medium sized cube for stuff like your
t-shirts and your shorts. And then you can use a larger
cube for sweaters and pants. It can really be that simple. But you can also get as
creative as you'd like. For example, you can pack
climate specific clothes in individual cubes. So you could put all of your
cold weather gear into one cube and then all of your warm
weather gear into another. And in a similar style to that you could also put individual outfits
in separate cubes as well. Additionally, you can also pick
up different colored cubes, which will only go to help
further organize your pack and you quickly knowing what is where. And on that note, we
actually prefer packing cubes that are different color
to the inside of your pack. So if you've got a darker backpack inside picking up lighter colored cubes is good as you can quickly see what's going on. But if you've got a backpack with like a bright orange
interior or just a lighter color, then picking up darker packing cubes is really helpful on that note as well. Now this isn't essential,
but it's a little hack that we like to do here at Pack Hacker. Finally, before moving
into the different types of packing cubes you can buy, we have to talk about
the variety of sizes, and there is quite a few. It's important to remember that packing cube sizes aren't universal. So one brand's small, maybe
another brand's medium, so make sure to check all of the sizes of each cube before you buy them. And it's also important to consider just how much room you have
to fill inside your pack. The last thing you wanna do
is get a huge packing cube that's either wider or taller than the main compartment of your bag. Now a little tip that we have is to go for smaller packing cubes so you can stack them
on top of one another. put them side by side and
fill up your main compartment that way, as opposed to
getting like two large cubes we'd recommend going for the
medium and smaller size cubes and kind of doing it that way. We found that way helps
a lot and will minimize the amount of lost space
inside your main compartment. (energetic upbeat music) Apart from a few outliers, like padded and weather resistant packing cubes that we do go into great detail
on over at packhacker.com in our written version of this guide. The vast majority of packing cubes can be split up into three categories. We have an example of each here. And for the ultra light, we have the Osprey
ultralight packing cubes. For the compression, we have the peak design of packing cubes. And for budget, we have the
IKEA FORFINA packing cubes, and we'll be sure to link all of their reviews and product pages in the description
below for each of these. Starting with ultra light, these
are the lightest obviously, and most minimal cubes around. They're typically made from
30 or 40 D ripstop nylon, and they're great for when
you want to minimize weight as much as possible and
save space within your pack because of their minimal design. We have found that the
thinner fabrics used on these cubes can make them a bit slick. And while this helps
with pulling them out, it also increases the possibility they will slide around inside
your pack when in transit. Moving on to compression cubes, these things are for
people who want to save as much room in their pack as possible. Every packing cube will compress
items to a certain extent, but compression cubes
take it to the next level. This is done by adding
an additional zipper around the outside that can be zipped up to minimize the space inside, kind of like how a vacuum sealer works. And it's remarkable at how much
a difference they can make. It is important to note though, that there are a few cons that can come with this compression. Unfortunately, even if you
roll your clothes super neat, it's more than likely they will crease a little inside this cube. And because of how they compress, the sides can become a bit rounded, meaning that they can be hard to stack on top of one another. Finally, we have budget cubes. Here at Pack Hacker we tend
to focus on high quality, good looking and
extremely functional gear. But there are instances where
going budget just makes sense. Perhaps you're only traveling for a month and don't need something
that will last a lifetime. Maybe you're working on a limited budget and packing cubes are less of a priority than other more expensive
gear you have to buy. Or maybe you're simply just not interested in all the bells and whistles
of other packing cubes. Now it will come as no surprise that budget packing cubes are
heralded for their durability. However, this doesn't
mean that they will break within one week of your
round the world trip. In fact, we've tested a set
of Amazon basics packing cubes for over a year of perpetual travel, and they're still going strong. While we can't guarantee that
every budget packing cube will survive a year of
everyday use, it is possible. On the other hand, they
will take up more space inside your pack than
compression packing cubes, and they will be heavier than
ultra light packing cubes. Unfortunately, this is the
trade off for cheaper cubes, and it's a decision you'll have to make depending on your situation. If you're looking to save
as much money as possible, then budget packing cubes
may be the way to go. But if you're looking to save as much space in your pack
as possible and weight, then ultra light packing cubes or compression packing cubes
may be a better option. (energetic upbeat music) So we've talked about
how to use packing cubes and the different types to choose from. However, there are still a
few important considerations we have to talk about. First, the zippers and
you're gonna wanna make sure that you get good zippers
on your packing cube. Because there are a few things
worse than a broken zipper. If you can find YKK zippers then great, just like this Osprey
ultralight packing cube has, as we've always had positive
experiences with them. However, they won't always be
available on cheaper cubes. So if you're on a budget, that's something you're gonna have to weigh out. A cheaper zipper doesn't
always mean it's bad, but there is a greater risk of
it breaking in the long run. Something else to consider
when choosing packing cubes is just where the zipper is located and how the packing cube opens up. Generally, there are two options, a four clamshell style
that opens up all the way just like this Eagle
Creek specter tech cube and a half opening, which kind
of comes down three quarters of the cube like this Osprey
ultra light packing cube. A clamshell style packing cube
will give you direct access to the entire cube and enables you to place and position everything neatly. But we have found that it
can be tricky to zip up if you're filling it to the brim. In contrast, a half opening
style cube is a lot easier to cram a load of stuff into and zip up. But if you want to pull something out, you will likely have to take
everything else out too. Both styles have their merits however, we think that the clamshell opening as long as it has two zippers
just about wins this one as you can position the zippers to act like a half opening anyway. Next up handles. Now handle is by no
means a vital component on a packing cube,
considering they're designed to be placed inside of a bag, but most manufacturers do include them. If they're done well it's a nice feature that can add some useful benefits. But if not, they kind of get in the way and they're just a pain. pointing out the obvious
a handle is helpful when grabbing hold of a packing cube. However, we've often found
that most of the time, it's easier just to grab the
whole cube with your hands. That being said, we have
found a handle can be useful when you're lifting a cube out of a top loading backpack specifically, so if you're rocking one
of those, you may want to make sure that you're
packing cube has a handle. In testing, we found
handles that sit close to the packing cube to be the best as they don't get in
the way when not in use. But just remember that
handle isn't essential, and certainly don't discount cubes that have opted to not include one. And the final consideration
is destination, the world is a big place and choosing the right packing cubes will depend on where you're
going and what you're doing. Most packing cubes will be
fine for most destinations. However, there are some locations where certain styles of
packing cubes will be better. If you plan on spending most of your time wandering along sandy beaches, then you may want to give
mesh packing cubes a miss as sand really can get everywhere. And the last thing you want is sand all between your neatly packed clothes in a packing cube inside of your bag and if you're traveling
to a humid location like Southeast Asia, breathable packing cubes
are highly recommended. There are some high tech
materials available now. But simple mesh cubes
will do the job as well as these will help keep your
clothes fresher for longer. So there we have it,
our guide on how to use and choose the best
packing cubes for travel. And as always, we'd love
to hear your thoughts in the comments section below, and any questions you may have. Thanks for keeping it here at Pack Hacker, your guide to smarter travel. We'll see you on the next one.
