Packing cubes...ebags?
 

I know they've been mentioned before - Tully I'm pretty sure you have some of the packing cubes from ebags. And it seems I remember comments from some others who have them. I've looked at them, but I'm not sure about the sizes. When I travel I have a large rolling, lightweight duffel bag, so the packing cubes would be great - but I just can't tell from the pictures how big they are or how many I would need. Right now my clothes all start out nice and stacked up and by the time I'm done they're a messed up mix of dirty and clean mess. Especially for a trip like CR where we usually go to several locations - I don't tend to unpack in each location - I live out of the suitcase.

So - do you use the more cube size? Or the flatter size? The small or large? Do you use them for your clothes or more for accessories? Which set do you have and how many do you usually pack and how much can fit in each one?

Sorry for so many questions - I'm trying to figure out how many I'd need to get to do the job.

Thanks!!

I have long used Ziplock 2 gallon bags for packing. They work great and are a lot less costly than the packing cubes. Ziplock also makes a line called "big bags" for just this purpose. I've always found the 2 gallon ones at Target. I pack them, zip nearly closed, and then sit on the bag to squeeze out the air while zipping the last little bit. Works like a charm. Our duffels stuffed this way have been round the world, in the rain, on sailing adventures -- all kinds of wet and humid climates. I love that it lets me easily rummage through the bags, I never bother to unpack the ziplocks in humid climates. It also keeps everything tidy if the TSA decide to have a peak. I bag anything that might leak and all my clothes sorted into types -- shirts, pants, undies, etc. I sort the light color from the dark so its easy to find whatever I need. You can also make notes on the outside of the ziplock bags so that you know you haven't left anything behind when repacking to head home.

www.ziploc.com

shell these are the ones I love - http://www.ebags.com/ebags/packing_c...?modelid=13032

I'm always amazed how much give they have - I always look at my pile and the cube and think no way but in the end everything fits. I usually roll things up if that matters. To be particular, cause I'm always trying to cram in as much as I can and stay within the weight limits, the small held 10 pr of underwear, 7 pr of socks, 3 bathings suits, the middle sized one held 7 pr of shorts, 1 pr of capris and my sarong, and the largest held 10 shirts, 2 bandanas and my pj's. I love them cause they help me stay organized, especially with a duffle bag. Like also I can take them out of my bag but still keep the bags zipped to keep out any unwanted tag alongs. I don't know how I ever got by before these, I love them that much! :)

Love love love the eBags packing cubes. We used them on our most recent trip to Mexico, every member of the family had a different color three bag set (but my husband needs an extra large one so he will have four). They kept our clothes organized on the ubiquitous shelves they had for storing clothes, and it was so easy to repack at the end. Even the girls (ages six and eight) got into the spirit of the cubes and could get their clothes in and out. I will never be without them again!

Oh, and one thing that's great about the eBags cubes is that they're well vented, a must if you're traveling to a humid climate as I hate to think of the smell of putting very slightly damp clothes into ziplocks.

We've traveled in many, many hot and humid climates and lived aboard sailing vessels for weeks at a time with nary a wiff of unpleasant odor from our ziplocks. The key is -- I don't put damp clothes into the bags with our fresh clothing. I think this holds true for any bag. I wouldn't put damp clothes into packing cubes either -- vents or no. Having said that -- one only needs to leave a tiny bit of the zip closure open for venting whilst still keeping all the bits and pieces organized nicely. I have nothing against the packing cubes, the zips simply serve the same function at a much nicer price. The beauty of ziplocks is that I have plenty of extras along to pack up the odd wet swimsuit or dirty shoes if we are moving from one place to another. I also use smaller ones to protect delicate objects, such as a silk scarf from being snagged if crammed in with all the other holiday clothing, cosmetics if I think they might leak or even our books to keep them dry if the duffels are caught in the rain. I couldn't do all that with only 3 packing cubes.

TC - I think the ziplocs are a great idea too - I already use them for all my cosmetic and liquids in the suitcases but never really thought about it for clothing or to use the big sizes. Actually, my daughter is leaving on Sunday for sleepaway girl scout camp and I just packed her clothes in individual days in a ziploc bag for each outfit. Made sense for her so it would be simple for an 8 year old! But I never thought about it for our family trips!! I think I may try a combo of the packing cubes and ziplocs for our upcoming Belize trip!

I like both. Ziploc bags are good for keeping dampness OUT, but definitely not good for putting damp things in...smelly. The cubes are better for keeping things tidy and organized.

yeah, we reuse clothes that aren't too dirty so being able to put clothes back in the bags was key. We needed them more to keep things tidy while traveling than anything else.

<i>"but definitely not good for putting damp things in...smelly"</i>

One doesn't put damp things in and <u>leave them!</u> They would indeed get smelly. However, I don't want damp things rattling around in the duffel with all my clean things, so better to contain them for a bit until they can be properly washed and hung out to dry.

TC, we found if we even took something out of the luggage it got too damp to put into plastic. And we did wear things more than once, so if they weren't totally dry they couldn't go into a ziplock. The eBags packing cubes are ideal for this, organizing your stuff as you travel. If something was really dirty we put it into one of the grocery bags we brought to take to a lavenderia later.

No doubt TC. Things can get smelly in a day.