ChuckL88

Chuck, the ones from Big W are great. We’ve used them a few time and they don’t show any signs of giving up. For a family of 4 we have two sets of big w, two sets of Kmart and a couple of hand me down Kathmandu cubes from my mother-in-law.

I forgot to mention that, like AKAMum, we also use one cube to keep a set of travelling clothes for all four of us if we are overnighting somewhere pre-cruise. Saves rifling around in every cube before unpacking.

 

 

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Hi again Sonja

Thanks for the quick response, good to hear the Big W set are good, as they are my front runners at the moment. Might also try the Kmart set just for extras if I need them.

I love them. I carry a couple of days worth of clothes in my hand luggage in one (twice now I've made flights that my luggage hasn't, being without at least one change of undies etc is not a risk I'm willing to take.). I flat pack the rest of my stuff in the others in my suitcase. I have more expensive Kathmandu ones but found the best (and most light weight) were about $8 from wish.

Thanks for the reply MrPantsOz

Good to hear that the cheap price didn't mean cheap quality, I am thankful I don't have to worry about flights well at least for my first cruise at least.

Oops. In my haste I forgot to check seller's feedback. Fingers now crossed.

Hi Lyndarra

Sounds like you have some amazing travels ahead, new to packing cubes as well are you?

Your seller has 100% positive feedback so should go well, let me know how they work and hope you have a good time on both your travels :)

I’ve be using them for years. They were purchased from Kathmandu when they have 2 for the price of 3 sale. I also use them for travel adapters and other small items to keep them organised

 

 

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Thanks cruisine21

I am also thinking about packing things like electronics and other misc items in small ones.

Love them...got ours from Katmandu many years ago. Pricier than elsewhere but no one else sold them them. Once you work out your packing system they are great.

Thanks for the reply Maxx, the ones Katmandu sell do you look great. I will try the set I am eyeing at Big W first before going for higher priced ones.

When cruising I use the cubes for the clothes, nightwear, etc, I need for the day or two of travelling from home to the port. I pack everything else using the bundle method - https://www.onebag.com/pack.html - which looks complicated but once you've had a trial run is simple and keeps everything neat and tidy and wrinkle-free as clothes can't shift around. Everything is in one giant parcel so it doesn't work well for getting out one or two things at a time but for cruising where you only unpack once, it's brilliant...and hence the need for packing cubes for the travelling day/s.

Thanks for the reply AKAMum :)

Just bought some of Groupon $15 for 5, they are great.

Hey Ned

Have you received them yet?

What brand are they?

I only recently bought some for a 3 week tour of the Kimberley and loved them. So much so that I bought a 2nd set of 3 for my Majestic cruise in 2 days time ! I’ve always rolled clothes and continue to do so in the cubes. I got mine from a bag shop in a shopping centre.

 

 

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Thanks for the reply Thorpe

Sounds like the really helped, do you happen to remember the name of the bag shop?

I hope you enjoy your upcoming cruise.

Never found them any help.

Thanks for the response gut, good to have different opinions

I love my packing cubes. I got mine for Christmas one year but believe they came from Amazon. I also use one for each category of clothing. One for panties, bras, socks, swimsuits, one for skirts, dresses, one for pants, one for tops and one for pj's. When I get to my cabin I just take out the whole cube, (hang the dresses) leave the clothes in them, and put them in the drawer/shelf. So easy to unpack and pack and it helps me stay organized. When staying in a hotel, I just leave the clothes in the cubes in my suitcase. I generally roll the clothes before putting them in the cube, allows for more things to fit and less wrinkles.

Thanks for the reply

Sounds like it was a good Christmas gift, which brand are they?

I bought some on ebay that didnt last long at all. The zips were really bad.

Ive also bought 2 sets each for hubby and myself from Aldi. They have been used every trip for the last 3-4 years. We average 3 cruises a year plus other travel. Stilll as good as the day I bought them.

I pack like Sonja01 although I roll rather than pack flat. I have enough packing cubes that only large things eg shoes arent in cubes. All my clothes are non iron casual so roll easily. I just unpack the bigger items and hang when we board the ship. I also use cubes for short trips can easily manage the 7kg hand luggage when using the cubes for 1-2 weeks.

Thanks for the reply Tara :)

Yeah I am thinking about buying a set from Big W, didn't know Aldi stocked them might look there also. If I did buy any off of eBay or anywhere else online they would probably be an expensive well known brand.

I just started using cubes and they seem to help. I like the fact that everything is together. Swimsuits and covers together, dresses, underwear, I even used one for my power cords and electronic batteries and camera stuff. Created a lot of organization because of the compartments. I kept my stuff in them once in the cabin because it was easier to keep them in the cube and stack in the closet. I bought a mid range set from amazon and watched a ton of videos on you tube about packing in them. The first time , it didn’t cut down on amount of things I brought but I see where they are helpful and I will keep trying to fit everything in one carry on. We drive to the port so I can keep practicing until I perfect it. Although I got the shoe bags, I didn’t use them, instead I bought dollar store plastic shower caps and put my shoes in those to keep everything clean. I then used the shoe bags for other stuff. I had nothing loose in my suitcase and that seemed to help. When we returned, I mixed up my husbands and my stuff and my sons things and just put them in random cubes, then I could fit all of the stuff randomly in each of our suitcases. We also had laundry done on the cruise and those bags were tightly packed so I could just throw those in the suitcase too.

 

 

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Hi Quil

That is my intent to having everything organised and packed well, thanks for the reply.

Hopefully they keep being of use to you.

I've been using packing cubes for over 10 years.

 

Ebags has a great assortment of sizes. The brand I started out with I still have, but I have added more sizes.

 

I roll some things, bundle some, and fold some.

 

Everything in me luggage is in packing cubes.

Thanks SPacificbound,

sounds like mixing packing techniques sounds like the way to go

I have several that are semi-permanent for use from cruise to cruise.

One for electronics - chargers, extension cord, flash light, battery chargers for camera

One first aid kit - bandaids, antiseptic, cold pills, Advil, suntan lotion, aloe Vera

One for cosmetics for me; one for hubby's shaving stuff

 

They sit on the shelf between cruises. I usually replenish them at the end of a cruise so that they are ready to go the next time.

Thanks for the response panorama

Compression bags are the best to eliminate wrinkles. Pack suit, shirts, dresses all in one bag. The trick is to not fold anything separately. Lay them all out flat on. Top of each other and fold one at a time over a soft core item like lingerie. Hard to explain but works like a charm. Packed all our cruise clothes that way and left them in a packed bag the whole time we did a 10 day land tour in Alaska before the cruise. Not a wrinkle!

My problem with the cubes is that now I don’t have small items like socks to fill shoes and odd spots with. :D

Thanks for the reply 2wheelin

quite frankly the Hefty Jumbo zip/lock bags work better than anything I've tried over about 25 cruises and I'm a wrinkle ****. About 3-4 T-Shirts and 2-3 polo shirt per bag-don't over stuff. Smaller bags can be used for just about every thing else including socks, underwear, ties, belts, toiletries and its so much easier to unpack because everything is organized and visible. I've tried a bunch of the more expensive options that everybody raves about and I get better results from the Hefty bags

Thanks for your frank response stallion

25 cruises wish I was at number one already

I bought them and used them once, not a fan. IMO they take up too much room even when they are light weight. I went back to using 2.5 gallon ziplock bags.....

Thanks for the reply Librat

It is good to get all perspectives.

Bought Compression Packing Cubes last week from Amazon. It's our first time trying any cubes and I got the compression ones to try to cut down on the number of suitcases we take on our cruises.

 

I don't know that I would pack anything that might be subject to too much wrinkling, but used them for underwear, jammies, bathing suits, etc. and they compress to take up about half the normal space.

Hi florings

The compression cubes do sound amazing, might splurge on them after trying a regular lot out first.

Let me know how they worked for you.

Big suitcase, 75% full. the cubes keep everything together, and wrinkle free. We roll our clothes, and organize our clothes. Example, two night hotel pre cruise, everything goes into the pre cruise cube. It is just organized, and keeps the clothes tight and wrinkle free.

Thanks for the reply having fun

75% full that is an accomplishment congrats :)

I didn’t understand the big fuss until I tried them, now I am also a believer. I use a small cube for a sundress, sandals, and undies in my carryon for the first night (just in case luggage is late), bathing suits/coverups/sarongs in a medium, and lingerie/sleepwear in another medium. I put dresses and shorts outfits in a large cube so I can take the cube to the closet and stand there to put everything on hangers to avoid tripping over my SO by walking back and forth. I gather all unused clothing into one cube for the trip home. I use the plastic bags that newspapers are delivered in for my shoes, storing them on the narrow shelf at the top of the closet and always putting the last pair I wore back into the bag when I take out a different pair, so they are extremely easy to pack. The individual bags also fit into a cube.

Thanks for the reply Zoey

I love hearing from packing cube converts like yourself

I have been using them for about 10 years. I roll my clothes in them, less wrinkles.

I got mine in various places....Marshall’s, TJ Maxx, and I got a 3 pack on closeout at Lands end. Sierra Trading Post is another good place to try.

 

I will use the larger and medium ones for shirts, shorts, etc. and the small one in the top zip compartment of my carryon bag to hold my flight medication, keys for suitcases, cash, iPod, and passport/boarding pass for airplane.

I don’t put sweatshirts in the cube, too bulky.

 

 

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Hey Jen :)

A decade of use now that's an endorsement, unfortunately I don't live in the US so will have to shop around a bit here in Australia.

After reading this thread and a review from a cruiser that used packing cubes I decided to buy some. I purchased these from Amazon.

7 Set Waterproof Packing Cube - 3 Travel Cubes + 3 Pouches + 1 Shoe Bag (Deep Blue) in 2 colours. $16.99 each

 

https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B074R81R3R/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Happy that my thread helped you in someway hockeyluver, I am definitely making a purchase as well.

I ordered the Amazon Basics packing cubes and they are fantastic. I started with Rick Steves' (a couple of free ones when I bought a suitcase from his Travel Store) but they are pricier.

 

 

 

For the large, flat "cube," I pack clothing flat. For other shapes, I roll (since I believe rolling is the most space-saving).

 

 

 

My offspring don't yet understand the value in packing cubes.

Thanks for the recommendation Out of Iowa, who is this Rick Steves I keep reading about?

A mix of techniques sounds like the trick to packing them, going to have to convert these offspring :)

I couldn't understand the hype about packing cubes years ago, and then I got a sample pack of 3 cubes from a freebie from eBags. So I tried the 3 out. LOVED THEM! I was thrilled that the next platinum gift we got from Carnival was packing cubes. I pack everything but shoes in them. My suitcase looks so neat--for the outbound trip anyway. I like the ones that have a little handle on the top.

Thanks for the glowing endorsement from a packing cube convert miz, you lucky platinum you can't wait to become a cruise regular :)

Purchased the ones I have from target and love them. It saves a lot of space

 

 

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Good to hear comoceva, in what country did you purchase yours from Target?