Premium Compression Packing Cubes

I looked at these with a high level of skepticism when they arrived. I had used plenty of packing cubes over the years and generally found that the limited benefits were not worth adding another layer to the packing process. These changed my mind, particularly when it comes to traveling with our kids.

The familiar benefits are all here. The cubes keep a suitcase organized, separate different types of clothing, and use a secondary wrap-around zipper to compress their contents. Soft, bulky clothing benefits most from the compression. Jeans and other dense items have less air to remove, so the amount of space saved depends heavily on what you pack.

Their real value for our family does not become apparent until we reach our destination. Whether we are staying in a hotel, someone’s house, or our camper, each cube becomes a portable clothing drawer. We do not need to find dresser space, leave folded clothes in precarious piles, or dig through an entire suitcase every time one of our kids needs a clean shirt.

The mesh tops make it easy to identify what is inside each cube without opening it. When space is tight, as it often is in the camper, we pull out the appropriate cube, grab the clothing we need, zip it closed, and put it back in the suitcase. In a hotel or house, the cubes can be stacked, spread across the floor, or placed directly into drawers.

The six-piece set includes two large, two medium, and two small cubes, which makes it easy to divide clothing by type.

We have owned these for several years and now have a set for every member of the family. The range of colors and patterns makes it easy to assign each person a recognizable set, which prevents four people’s clothing from becoming mixed together. At this point, we do not travel without them.

At $54.99, these cost considerably more than basic packing cubes. They also cannot reduce the weight of what you pack, and aggressively filling and compressing them can leave you with a very dense suitcase. Their value comes less from performing packing magic and more from keeping an entire trip organized from departure through the return home.