Packing cube recommendations

[udivegirl]

Also, YouTube has great videos on packing with and without cubes.  You can decide for yourself.  They challenge people to pack as many items into their bags without using cubes vs. with cubes.  

 

Those who have never tried it, have no clue.

[Woody14]

I am also a fan of packing cubes for organization, not sure if it enables me to pack more or not but that really doesn't matter.  For me it is about the shape of the cube more than the brand.  Certain shapes fit better in my various suit cases and give me more flexibilty.

 

[slidergirl]

i'm a cube user.  Favorites now are my Eagle Creek Specter bags.  Extreme lightweight and not rigid at all. like some have said, i like them for ease of access and unpacking on a trip.  just put the cubes in the drawer and easy access.   This even after learning how to unpack/pack people as part of my St. Regis butler training.  

[Mum2Mercury]

I just watched a couple of the You Tube videos UDiveGirl recommends above.  Interesting.  Things I noted in the videos: 

 

- People who just plain packed were able to take advantage of nooks and crannies, whereas packing cubes can't squish into the uneven spaces at the bottom of the suitcase created by the handle.  

- Many people didn't necessarily use the packing cubes to their best advantage; that is, they went in only kinda-full.  Maybe this ties into tetris-packing ability?  

- I did learn a technique for putting individual shoes into plastic grocery store bags /tucking the bag tail into the shoe.  I'm definitely using that, as it leaves you space inside the shoe to tuck in undies or socks.  

- I am inclined to believe packing cubes are great for organization, but not so much for saving of space. 

 

Personally, I used to have a couple packing cubes, but I gave them to my daughter, who uses them to keep extra baby clothes and supplies in the trunk of her car.  My personal thoughts: 

 

- They're cool, but not all that useful in real life. 

- They'd be useful for a road trip in which you change hotels every couple days, but not so useful on a cruise, where you unpack only once.  

- I can't buy into the "quicker to unpack" concept.  Unpacking only takes 5-10 minutes tops anyway.  

- If I were to buy packing cubes again, I'd measure carefully and choose cubes that would max out the space in MY suitcases ... which might be a problem if I needed a new suitcase.  

- I think they'd be good for an overnight trip in which two people were sharing one suitcase ... it'd be easy to see at a glance whose stuff is whose.  Again, though, how much time /effort does that really save?  I don't have a hard time telling my underwear from my husband's boxers. 

Edited June 16, 2022 by Mum2Mercury

[navybankerteacher]

2 hours ago, udivegirl said:

 

 

Those who have never tried it, have no clue.

I have tried them - several times - having received a set as a gift from a friend who swore by them. They might save a bit of time when unpacking - but certainly nowhere near as much as they consume while packing.. 

Edited June 16, 2022 by navybankerteacher

[JDincalif]

19 hours ago, 2wheelin said:

What material do you think cubes are made of?

Our Flight 001 cubes, probably close to a decade old, are made of heavy duty nylon with quality zippers. The set weighs approximately 3 pounds per our luggage scale. They are of excellent quality and great, as crystalspin wrote, 

19 hours ago, crystalspin said:

For land-based "If this is Wednesday" trips

 

... but when luggage weight is an issue

 

19 hours ago, navybankerteacher said:

That pound of additional packing material can mean a pound less of usable clothes. 

 

J, having traveled frequently for business, is well versed in efficient packing techniques, but in retirement for pleasure travel enjoys having the option to pack a bit more expansively for spontaneous or unexpected adventures

 

Thank dog we all have freedom of choice in packing techniques: cube/roll/fold/plastic bags/any combination/none of the above😉 and hope that OP flamingos has found some useful information among all the responses. 🧳

Edited June 16, 2022 by JDincalif

[crystalspin]

12 hours ago, puppycanducruise said:

Packing cubes make cross packing easier. 

It's easy to put (at least) one complete outfit in a packing cube and put it in my husband's checked bag.  He puts one outfit in a packing cube in my checked bag.  If one of our bags gets lost one of us hasn't lost all our clothes. 

It's been so long since I've travelled (January 2020 to be exact), I had almost forgotten about cross-packing! For sure that is another optimal use for packing cubes. Even though we pack carry-on only, we still cross-pack because you never know when you might have to "surrender" a bag due to no room at the inn. 

[slidergirl]

not everything has to go into one of the cubes!  You can still fill those nooks and crannies with the miscellany you always have.  

As for the unpacking: I did a month-long business trip down to Hilton Head awhle back.  I still kept things in the cubes when I put them in the drawers.  i knew which things were 'clean" by what was in the cubes.  

 

it's not for everyone.  if i wanted to pack St. Regis style, i'd have to buy a pound of tissue paper for wrapping shoes, folding with shirts/dresses/pants, putting the undies in....  

[crystalspin]

I thought of another thing that was very useful about the cubes, even on a cruise where "you only unpack/repack once" -- we had an Inside with a window on the Observation Deck on the Holland America Zuiderdam. There were hardly any drawers (I'm thinking one or two per nightstand?) and the cubes were priceless in keeping things sorted on the shelves in the one closet.

[brillohead]

4 hours ago, slidergirl said:

not everything has to go into one of the cubes!  You can still fill those nooks and crannies with the miscellany you always have.

Exactly!

And you can still "smoosh" the cubes together to fill in the empty spaces, too.  They're not solid.

[brillohead]

12 hours ago, Mum2Mercury said:

- They'd be useful for a road trip in which you change hotels every couple days, but not so useful on a cruise, where you unpack only once.  

- I can't buy into the "quicker to unpack" concept.  Unpacking only takes 5-10 minutes tops anyway.  

Not everyone only packs/unpacks once when cruising, though.  I've started bundling cruises together to reduce my airfare costs, so I do a lot of S2S and B2B cruises.  And while it may only take ten minutes to unpack "normally", you need to also consider the time to repack (and then unpack and then repack and then unpack, etc.).

Packing cubes keep my clean and dirty clothes separated.  Packing cubes keep my items all together so each drawer/shelf is just a single trip from closet/vanity to bed (where the suitcase is opened up).  That single trip can be even less than a single trip, if I take all the cubes at once.  

Look, I get it -- packing cubes don't work for everyone's situation, just like not everyone gets the drinking package, the internet package, the dining package, etc.  Heck, I avoided them forever because everyone was talking about "space saving" and it didn't make sense for me from a space-saving perspective (still doesn't, unless you're using compression-style cubes).  But the organizational aspect is a game-changer for me.  

[ldubs]

I don't get it.  I put clothes in the suitcase.  That is a PITA with or without packing cubes.   When I get there I take them out of the suitcase and hang, stack, or stuff them in drawers.  All very organized.   When I return I put them back in the suitcase.   No big deal.   Packing cubes seem like an unnecessary complication.   Other than a more intense concern about organization, I just don't see the benefit of having small bags inside a bigger bag.   

[navybankerteacher]

1 hour ago, ldubs said:

I don't get it.  I put clothes in the suitcase.  That is a PITA with or without packing cubes.   When I get there I take them out of the suitcase and hang, stack, or stuff them in drawers.  All very organized.   When I return I put them back in the suitcase.   No big deal.   Packing cubes seem like an unnecessary complication.   Other than a more intense concern about organization, I just don't see the benefit of having small bags inside a bigger bag.   

Have you considered the possible benefit of having mini cubes (or possibly spheres) to place in the cubes to further sub-divide and classify your stuff?

[slidergirl]

on another thread, we were talking about using a backpack for travel.  Some could only imagine the "top load'  type of pack and not the ones that now zip up like a regular carryon suitcase.  packing in the 'top load' really is a PIA, as i have done it many times while actually backpacking.  Well, in my monthly Outside subscription box, there were 2 packing 'half rounds' to use in a backpack!!!  Gave me a little chuckle.  Would be great in a tent - just unpack the rounds and have easy access to your stuff.  

 

Cubes for rectangles, half rounds for packs.  What a wonderful world!

[shipgeeks]

The only similar product I've ever paid for was a couple of compression bags (not vacuumable, but stuff, sit on to force the air out) for our down jackets.  $1 each, as I recall.

For cubes, I sometimes use the clear square zipped bags that sheet sets come in.  One for undies, one for jerseys.

Dress shirts, dresses, trousers, etc. stay on their hangers when we pack, and go right into the closet once we unpack on the ship.

 

[Mum2Mercury]

On 6/17/2022 at 1:44 AM, brillohead said:

Not everyone only packs/unpacks once when cruising, though.  I've started bundling cruises together to reduce my airfare costs, so I do a lot of S2S and B2B cruises.  And while it may only take ten minutes to unpack "normally", you need to also consider the time to repack (and then unpack and then repack and then unpack, etc.).
 

Packing cubes keep my clean and dirty clothes separated.  

Okay, so ten minutes per cruise to unpack ... that totals twenty minutes over the course of probably two weeks.  I don't see that as a big time savings. 

 

I do see the point in separating clean and dirty clothes. 

Edited June 18, 2022 by Mum2Mercury

[brillohead]

12 minutes ago, Mum2Mercury said:

Okay, so ten minutes per cruise to unpack ... that totals twenty minutes over the course of probably two weeks.  I don't see that as a big time savings. 

 

I do see the point in separating clean and dirty clothes. 

Personally, I have groupings of 5-8 cruises.  That's a bit of unpacking and repacking and unpacking and repacking.  

Like I've said before, they work for some people and don't for others.  To each their own.

[ldubs]

4 hours ago, navybankerteacher said:

Have you considered the possible benefit of having mini cubes (or possibly spheres) to place in the cubes to further sub-divide and classify your stuff?

 

Let's call them packing pouches.  They would add significant organization to the cubes!😀

[ldubs]

1 hour ago, brillohead said:

Personally, I have groupings of 5-8 cruises.  That's a bit of unpacking and repacking and unpacking and repacking.  

Like I've said before, they work for some people and don't for others.  To each their own.

 

5 - 8 cruise grouping!  That is a B2B2B2B2B2B2B2B, or as more commonly referred, a B8B.  😀

[cruisemom42]

6 hours ago, navybankerteacher said:

Have you considered the possible benefit of having mini cubes (or possibly spheres) to place in the cubes to further sub-divide and classify your stuff?

 

Good idea but why not go all in?  Micro-cubes!!!  It's the wave of the future. 

[brillohead]

3 hours ago, ldubs said:

5 - 8 cruise grouping!  That is a B2B2B2B2B2B2B2B, or as more commonly referred, a B8B.  😀

Combinations of same ship and different ship, so there are S2Ss mixed in amongst the B2Bs.

My travel agent just rolls his eyes when he sees another email from me.... I have a bit of a sickness when it comes to cruises!

[lissie]

9 hours ago, slidergirl said:

on another thread, we were talking about using a backpack for travel.  Some could only imagine the "top load'  type of pack and not the ones that now zip up like a regular carryon suitcase.  packing in the 'top load' really is a PIA, as i have done it many times while actually backpacking.  Well, in my monthly Outside subscription box, there were 2 packing 'half rounds' to use in a backpack!!!  Gave me a little chuckle.  Would be great in a tent - just unpack the rounds and have easy access to your stuff.  

 

Cubes for rectangles, half rounds for packs.  What a wonderful world!

I've only just replaced my 20 yo travel pack which didn't open all the way up - only 3/4 with one that does the full suitcase style open up. I've never needed packing cubes with the old pack - items were held tight and secure in the bottom- my shoes and clothes. - and nearer the top I used  a toietries bag, a bag for underwear, a bag for electronics etc. 

 

With the lack of structure that the fully-opening bag I can see the use of a couple of cubes in my future-  but I wouldn't fill the bag with them- as they are inefficient - leaving gaps between them 

[navybankerteacher]

14 hours ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

Good idea but why not go all in?  Micro-cubes!!!  It's the wave of the future. 

Starting to sound like putting each item in its own little container - how about socks: by pairs, or individually?

[slidergirl]

16 hours ago, lissie said:

I've only just replaced my 20 yo travel pack which didn't open all the way up - only 3/4 with one that does the full suitcase style open up. I've never needed packing cubes with the old pack - items were held tight and secure in the bottom- my shoes and clothes. - and nearer the top I used  a toietries bag, a bag for underwear, a bag for electronics etc. 

 

With the lack of structure that the fully-opening bag I can see the use of a couple of cubes in my future-  but I wouldn't fill the bag with them- as they are inefficient - leaving gaps between them 

Remember - you can fill any gaps with stuff - it doesn't all have to go in a cube.  

With my backpack - i just hated diving through the bag to find something and then tidying it back up so it would close.  I could have just pulled out those rounds, got what I wanted, and put them back.  Would make for a neater tent!

[2wheelin]

On 6/18/2022 at 3:59 PM, brillohead said:

Personally, I have groupings of 5-8 cruises.  That's a bit of unpacking and repacking and unpacking and repacking.  

Like I've said before, they work for some people and don't for others.  To each their own.

They work for the people who have conquered the “difficulties of learning” how to use them. Major tongue in cheek. 
They don’t work for those who haven’t learned. To each his own.