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Trail & Terminal

04 — Carry-On / Roundup

Best packing cubes

Packing cubes do not save space. They make the space you have usable, so you stop unpacking a whole bag to find one thing.

By Brijon M.Last updated How we pick
Packing cubes arranged inside an open carry-on suitcase

The short answer

The Eagle Creek Pack-It Reveal set is the best packing cube set for most travelers: durable fabric, mesh tops so you can see inside, and sizes that tessellate in a carry-on. Buy compression cubes only if you pack bulky knitwear, and buy them after the bag.

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Our picks at a glance

Best packing cubes -- ranked picks
#ProductBest forKey specPrice
1Eagle Creek Pack-It Reveal Cube SetDurable fabric, mesh tops you can see through, and sizes that actually fit a carry-on.most travelersMesh-top, 3-piece set
2Peak Design Packing CubesA two-way zipper that compresses and a dirty-clothes divider inside. The best compression design here.genuine compressionDual-zip compression
3Gonex Compression Packing CubesCompression zippers at a fraction of the premium price. Thinner fabric, and it works.compression on a budgetBudget compression set
4BAGSMART Packing CubesPlain organizing cubes for very little money. No compression, no frills, and they do the job.the cheapest workable setBudget organizer set
5Thule Compression Packing CubeHeavier fabric built for the stress compression puts on a cube. Fewer sizes, better made.durability under compressionReinforced compression cube
6Sea to Summit Ultra-Sil Dry SackNot a cube. A roll-top dry sack, lighter than any cube and waterproof.the lightest optionRoll-top, waterproof

Ranked by the criteria in how we pick. We hold no live prices, so every button goes straight to the current Amazon listing.

Every pick, in full

The picks

1

Best for most travelers

Eagle Creek Pack-It Reveal Cube Set

Durable fabric, mesh tops you can see through, and sizes that actually fit a carry-on.

The best-judged set here, and the mesh tops are the reason. The practical value of cubes is that you stop excavating a bag to find one thing, and that only works if you can tell what is in each cube without opening it. The sizes also tessellate properly, which matters more than it sounds: cubes that do not fit together leave gaps and waste more space than they organize. No compression here -- these are organizers, which is what most people actually want.

Specs

  • Recycled ripstop with mesh top panels
  • Set of three sizes designed to tessellate
  • Self-healing zippers
  • Eagle Creek's lifetime warranty

Good for

  • Mesh tops mean you can identify contents without opening anything
  • Sizes are designed to fill a carry-on without wasted gaps
  • The warranty is genuine, and zippers are the part that fails

Bad at

  • No compression -- these organize, they do not reduce volume
  • Mesh panels snag on zippers and rough fabrics
  • More expensive than generic cube sets
2

Best for genuine compression

Peak Design Packing Cubes

A two-way zipper that compresses and a dirty-clothes divider inside. The best compression design here.

If you want compression, this is the one to buy, and the internal divider is a genuinely good idea: worn clothes go on one side and the clean side stays clean, which is the thing people otherwise solve with a plastic bag. Understand what compression does and does not do -- it squeezes air out of soft knitwear and achieves nothing on shoes, toiletries or anything structured. The cube also weighs more than a plain one, so on a weight-limited flight the gain is smaller than it looks.

Specs

  • Two-stage zipper that compresses the cube
  • Internal divider separating clean and worn clothes
  • Weather-resistant recycled nylon
  • Available in several sizes

Good for

  • The compression genuinely reduces the volume of soft knitwear
  • The clean and dirty divider solves a real problem elegantly
  • Build quality is the best on this page

Bad at

  • Compression adds fabric and zippers, so the cube itself is heavier
  • Expensive -- the most costly option here per cube
  • Compressing hard items achieves nothing; it only works on soft fabrics
3

Best for compression on a budget

Gonex Compression Packing Cubes

Compression zippers at a fraction of the premium price. Thinner fabric, and it works.

Compression cubes are a category where the cheap version works, because the mechanism is simply a second zipper line. These do the job, and at this price a full set of several sizes is a low-risk purchase. The honest limit is the zipper: it is the component under load in a compression cube and the one owners report failing, usually from being forced when the cube is overfilled. Pack to compress rather than cramming, and they last.

Specs

  • Two-stage compression zippers
  • Set of several sizes
  • Lightweight nylon with mesh panels
  • Double-stitched seams

Good for

  • A full compression set for a fraction of the premium price
  • Mesh panels for visibility and a little airflow
  • Multiple sizes in one purchase

Bad at

  • Thinner fabric and lighter zippers -- the zippers are the reported failure
  • No clean and dirty separation
  • Compression zippers are stiff, and forcing them is what breaks them
4

Best for the cheapest workable set

BAGSMART Packing Cubes

Plain organizing cubes for very little money. No compression, no frills, and they do the job.

If you have never used cubes and are not sure they are for you, start here. The organizing benefit is the same whatever you pay -- you can find one thing without unpacking the bag -- and the cheap version delivers it. What you give up is fabric durability and size matching. Generic sizes leave more gaps in a specific bag than a designed set does, which is a real efficiency loss, and the corners wear first.

Specs

  • Lightweight polyester with mesh tops
  • Set of several sizes plus a shoe bag
  • Single zipper, no compression
  • Carry handles on each cube

Good for

  • Cheap enough that cubes become an obvious purchase rather than a decision
  • Mesh tops for visibility
  • Includes a shoe bag, which is more useful than the cubes to some people

Bad at

  • Thin fabric that abrades at the corners over time
  • No compression at all
  • Sizing is generic, so they do not tessellate as neatly in a given bag
5

Best for durability under compression

Thule Compression Packing Cube

Heavier fabric built for the stress compression puts on a cube. Fewer sizes, better made.

Compression puts fabric and zippers under sustained load, and most cubes are not built for it -- which is why zipper failure is the standard complaint in the category. This one uses heavier fabric and reinforced corners and holds a flat shape when compressed rather than bulging into a pillow, which is what lets cubes stack properly. Being sold individually is the annoyance: building a set costs more than buying a bundle.

Specs

  • Heavier-weight nylon with reinforced corners
  • Two-stage compression zipper
  • Flat profile that stacks rather than bulging
  • Thule warranty

Good for

  • The fabric is genuinely heavier where compression loads it
  • Keeps a flat profile when compressed, so it stacks properly
  • Reinforced corners, which is where cubes abrade

Bad at

  • Sold individually rather than as a set, which costs more to build up
  • Heavier than the lightweight cubes
  • No clean and dirty separation
6

Best for the lightest option

Sea to Summit Ultra-Sil Dry Sack

Not a cube. A roll-top dry sack, lighter than any cube and waterproof.

Worth knowing about because it solves the same problem differently. A roll-top dry sack weighs less than a cube, compresses soft contents as you roll it closed, and is genuinely waterproof -- which a cube is not. The costs are shape and visibility: a cylinder packs less efficiently into a rectangular bag than a cube does, and you cannot see inside. The right tool if weight and water protection matter more than tidy stacking. See <a href="/carry-on/packing-cubes-vs-compression-bags">cubes versus compression bags</a>.

Specs

  • Siliconized ripstop nylon
  • Roll-top closure with a buckle
  • Very low weight
  • Available in several volumes

Good for

  • Lighter than any zippered cube, by a clear margin
  • Waterproof, which matters if the bag gets rained on or stowed outside
  • Roll-top compresses soft contents as you close it

Bad at

  • Opaque, so you cannot see the contents
  • Cylindrical when full, which packs less efficiently than a rectangular cube
  • Not an organizer in the way a cube is -- less convenient to open and close

01 — The honest account

What packing cubes actually do

Packing cubes are sold on space saving, and that is not what they do. It is worth being clear about it, because the real benefit is more useful than the claimed one.

Plain cubes save no space whatsoever. They add a layer of fabric and a zipper, so strictly they cost a little volume. Compression cubes save a modest amount by forcing air out of soft knitwear, and they add several ounces of fabric and zipper doing it. Neither is the reason to buy them.

What cubes actually give you is addressable storage. Without them, a carry-on is one large container, and finding one shirt means disturbing everything. With them, you lift out one cube. On a trip with multiple stops, that is the difference between repacking every morning and not.

Two further real benefits: clothes stay folded rather than migrating into a heap, and a cube that comes out of a bag intact means you can live out of the bag without unpacking at all. For a multi-city trip that is a genuine time saving every day.

02 — Order of purchase

Buy the bag first, then the cubes

This is the most practical piece of advice in the category and it is routinely done backwards.

Cubes only deliver their efficiency if they fill the bag's interior with minimal gaps. A set of cubes that leaves two inches of dead space along one side wastes more volume than the organizing benefit recovers. So measure the interior of your actual bag and buy cubes that tessellate in it, rather than buying a set and hoping.

The practical method: measure your bag's internal length, width and depth. Then pick cube sizes whose combined dimensions fill it -- commonly two medium cubes side by side across the width, with a small cube and a shoe bag filling the remainder. See carry-on luggage and travel backpacks for the bag first.

03 — The decision

Compression or not?

Buy plain cubes unless you pack bulky soft items. Compression genuinely helps with sweaters, fleece and puffy jackets, and does nothing at all for shirts, pants, shoes or toiletries. On a flight with a strict weight limit rather than a size limit, compression actively works against you, since the cube itself weighs more and the contents weigh the same.

Plain cubesCompression cubes
Space savedNoneModest, on soft knitwear only
Added weightA littleSeveral ounces per set
Organizing benefitFullFull
Works onEverythingSoft fabrics only -- not shoes or toiletries
Failure pointCorner abrasionThe compression zipper
WrinklingLessMore, since clothes are squeezed
Right forMost travelersBulky knitwear, cold-weather packing

04 — Method

How to pack cubes well

  1. 01Sort by category, not by day. One cube for tops, one for bottoms and underwear, one for layers. Packing by outfit means every cube has to be opened every day.
  2. 02Roll knits, fold structured items. Rolling suits t-shirts and underwear and resists creasing; folding flat is better for shirts and pants, which go in a single flat layer at the top of the bag.
  3. 03Leave one cube empty for worn clothes. This is the single most useful habit, and it keeps the clean side of the bag clean. A cube with a built-in divider does it in one.
  4. 04Fill cubes properly but do not cram. An underfilled cube loses its shape and wastes space; an overfilled compression cube is how the zipper breaks.
  5. 05Put shoes in a separate bag, and pack small items inside them. Socks, chargers and small bottles. The interior of a shoe is the most commonly wasted space in a carry-on.

05 — Criteria

How we ranked these cubes

Whether you can identify contents without opening, then how well the sizes tessellate in a carry-on, then fabric and zipper durability, then whether compression is implemented in a way that survives it. Full method on how we pick.

We have not packed with these sets. Materials, dimensions and warranty terms come from each manufacturer's published information. The durability notes come from consistent long-run owner reports, which in this category point very specifically at compression zipper failure and corner abrasion.

Questions

Frequently asked

Do packing cubes actually save space?
Plain cubes save none -- they add fabric and a zipper. Compression cubes save a modest amount by squeezing air out of soft knitwear, and add several ounces doing it. What cubes genuinely give you is addressable storage, so you can find one thing without unpacking the whole bag.
Are compression packing cubes worth it?
Only if you pack bulky soft items -- sweaters, fleece, puffy jackets. Compression achieves nothing on shirts, pants, shoes or toiletries. On a flight with a weight limit rather than a size limit it actively works against you, since the cube itself is heavier.
What size packing cubes should I buy?
Measure your bag's interior first, then buy cubes that fill it with minimal gaps. A set that leaves dead space along one side wastes more volume than the organizing gain recovers. Commonly two mediums side by side across the width, plus a small and a shoe bag.
How many packing cubes do I need?
Three or four for a carry-on: one for tops, one for bottoms and underwear, one for layers, and one left empty for worn clothes. Sort by category rather than by day -- packing by outfit means opening every cube every morning.
Do packing cubes wrinkle clothes?
Plain cubes reduce wrinkling, because clothes stay folded instead of shifting into a heap. Compression cubes increase it, since the contents are squeezed. Fold structured items flat in a single layer at the top of the bag rather than putting them in a compressed cube.

References

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This page sits in Carry-On -- flight kit that fits the bin and the personal-item slot.

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