Packing cubes have taken over travel Instagram, and every influencer swears they’re life changing. Head to Amazon or Temu and you’ll see that the cubes are comically cheap, sometimes as low as $5-10 for a pack of 4 or 6. But are they actually worth the money, or just another gimmick that takes up space in your already cramped suitcase? As always, there’s a bit of nuance to this complex discussion but the short answer is: yes, in most cases, packing cubes are really worth it.
How To Actually Use Packing Cubes
Packing cubes won’t completely change your life but they’ll make traveling much easier. They’re another tool in your travel arsenal, not unlike having TSA PreCheck or a boarding pass on your phone. But what are these magical things that every influencer is obsessed with? Packing cubes are fabric containers with zippers that help you compartmentalize your suitcase. The strategy is simple: put similar items together.
For example, your pants would go into one cube. Your shirts would go in another cube, and so and so forth. There’s tons of different packing cube sizes as well. The ones for underwears and socks are typically the smallest ones. To minimize how much space your wares take up, you can roll your clothes instead of folding them to maximize space and minimize wrinkles.
Some people, especially those on Rick Steves’ Forum, swear by compression cubes, which have an extra zipper that squeezes out air to save even more space. Others say they create lumpy, awkward shapes that are harder to pack. Like all good things, these cubes come in different shapes and sizes, so you’ll have to see which product is actually worth it for you.
Are Packing Cubes Really Worth It?
Personally, packing cubes are totally worth the hype… if you value organization. They make unpacking at hotels way easier because you can just pull out the cubes instead of dumping your entire suitcase. And if you’re a solo traveler staying at a hostel, packing cubes are 100% worth it because you can manage your clothes without making a huge mess and irking your roommates.
Beyond that, packing cubes can help you separate dirty clothes from clean ones, especially on longer trips. If you’re on longer trips, we’d recommend packing cubes cause they’ll keep you sane and help you know where what is, especially if you’re buying clothes as you travel. But if you’re just going for a few days, you might not need them.
If you’re a minimalist packer who already rolls your clothes tight and wedges them into gaps, you might not find much value in them. That being said, packing cubes are pretty cheap, especially on Temu or Amazon, so they’re not the worst investment. Try them out and if they don’t make sense, hand ’em over to your cousin who plans on discovering themselves in Europe next summer.
