Packing is one of those tasks we both love and loath. We love it ’cause it has a direct relationship with the excitement of an upcoming trip, yet we hate having to ‘tetris’ our clothes and belongings into our backpacks, only to remove and repack at every stop.
Well, loath no more! I recently got to test out Eagle Creek’s packing cubes, and they were a godsend. Here’s why…
I got to test two different versions of their packing cubes. The first was the Eagle Creek ‘Pack-it’ Specter Compression Cube Set (as shown on the left), and the second was the regular Eagle Creek ‘Pack-it’ Specter Set (as shown on the right).
The only real difference between the two was that the compression set contained a medium and large cube, each of which had an additional zipper that allowed the cube to be expanded (see image below). The regular set contained a small, medium, and large cube. The small cube proved to be the perfect size to fit all my toiletries.
One of my pet peeves is having to find specific items at a moment's notice in my backpack, especially when I am away on an extended trip. The huge benefit of packing cubes is segregation. You can separate your underwear in one cube, your t-shirts in the other, and toiletries in another. This makes finding things a whole lot easier and provides a barrier should something spill in your pack.
By rolling your clothes and compressing them in the cube, you end up making more space in your pack. It’s a little like those vacuum-sealed bags (without the vacuuming).
Both types of cubes are made with a very durable, lightweight nylon. You really don’t want any additional weight when packing and I definitely didn’t feel any difference by using the cubes.
Silnylon Ripstop
3 liters to 13.5 liters (expanded)
45 grams to 63 grams
14 x 10 x 4cm to 36 x 25 x 10cm
There are not a lot of areas to go wrong with a product like this but one feature I would like to see changed is the zipper. As you can see in the photo (right), the zipper stops on one side.
This is most certainly not a deal-breaker, but it would be quite a lot easier to load items if the zipper opened the whole way.
While the nylon material used seems strong, I did catch it in the zipper on a couple of occasions which could potentially result in a small tear.
While a little on the expensive side, these packing cubes are quality and worth the investment if you are looking to travel and with a limited lifetime warranty you can’t go wrong.
Grab yours on Amazon
