The specific packing cube benefit that the reviews don’t give you: it is not that packing cubes compress your clothes (they compress some, minimally). It is that the cube system gives your bag a filing structure that survives the 3am hotel room search for the clean underwear without waking your travel partner, the customs inspection that requires the bag to be reopened, and the 14-day trip where the clean clothes and the worn clothes need to occupy the same bag without the clothes touching. This guide tests the four systems that frequent travellers actually use and names the one that the BGGD team uses on every trip.
Reading time: 7 minutes | Last updated: 2026
What Packing Cubes Actually Do
What they do: Organise the bag into zones (the cube for the tops, the cube for the bottoms, the cube for the underwear and socks, the cube for the tech accessories) that survive the bag being upended and re-packed 14 times. The cube stays intact; the specific clothes remain in the specific cube; the bag search for any item takes 10 seconds rather than 90.
What they don’t do: Significantly compress clothing volume. The compression cube (the cube with the one-way zipper that forces air from the garment) provides 10-15% volume reduction in testing. The standard packing cube provides organisation without compression. Both are worth having; neither is a substitute for packing fewer clothes.
The system logic: A 40-litre backpack organised with 4 packing cubes gives: Cube 1 (tops — 4 T-shirts, 2 shirts), Cube 2 (bottoms — 2 trousers, 1 shorts), Cube 3 (underwear + socks — 7 days), Cube 4 (tech — cables, adapter, power bank). The bag is now a filing cabinet. Any item is findable without removing the bag’s contents.
The Tested Systems
1. Eagle Creek Pack-It Reveal — The BGGD Recommendation
What it is: The Eagle Creek Pack-It Reveal cube (the cube with the mesh top panel — the contents visible through the mesh without opening the cube, the specific advantage that the opaque cube does not give).
The visible-contents advantage: The airport security tray contents check (the agent can see the cube’s contents through the mesh without unzipping it), the hotel room morning pack (the T-shirt visible in the cube without opening), and the customs inspection (the mesh allows the contents to be checked visually).
The sizing: Available in XS, S, M, L, XL. The M cube (28cm × 20cm × 8cm, 75g) fits 3-4 folded T-shirts or 1 folded pair of trousers. The system recommendation: 1 × L for tops, 1 × M for bottoms, 1 × S for underwear/socks, 1 × XS for the miscellaneous.
The durability: Eagle Creek offers the “No Matter What” lifetime guarantee — the cube that tears, frays, or breaks is replaced without charge regardless of cause. The Eagle Creek cube purchased in 2018 that is still in daily use (by the BGGD team) is the durability evidence.
Price: £15-25 per cube, £40-70 for the 4-cube set.
BGGD verdict: The correct packing cube for the traveller who values the visible-contents mesh and the lifetime guarantee.
2. Osprey Ultralight Packing Cube — The Weight Saver
What it is: The Osprey ultralight cube (the ripstop nylon construction, the weight reduced to 40g for the medium cube — the lightest quality packing cube available).
The weight advantage: The 4-cube set (M, M, S, XS) weighs 170g total — 80g lighter than the Eagle Creek equivalent set. For the ultralight traveller whose total pack weight is the primary variable, the weight saving matters.
The trade-off: The ultralight fabric is thinner and less structured than the Eagle Creek. The Osprey cube does not hold its shape as well when partially filled — the cube collapses around the contents rather than maintaining the filing structure. For the cube that is always full, this is irrelevant. For the cube that varies in fill level during the trip, the Eagle Creek’s structure is preferable.
Price: £14-20 per cube, £35-60 for the 4-cube set.
BGGD verdict: The correct choice for the ultralight backpacker whose pack weight is the primary concern and who keeps the cubes consistently full.
3. Compression Cubes — The Overpacker’s Tool
The category: The compression cube (the Gonex, the Shacke Pak, the Eagle Creek Specter Compression) — the cube with the secondary zipper that compresses the contents after packing.
The actual compression: Testing with 5 rolled T-shirts: the uncompressed packing cube gives 20cm × 14cm × 8cm. The same 5 T-shirts in the compressed cube: 20cm × 14cm × 5cm. The volume reduction: approximately 37% — the most significant volume saving available from any packing organisation system.
The honest limitation: The compression works on compressible items (the cotton and synthetic T-shirts, the underwear, the socks). It does not compress the jeans (the denim is non-compressible), the belt (rigid), or the shoes (ineligible for a cube). The traveller who packs primarily compressible items (the beach trip wardrobe, the lightweight hiking wardrobe) gains the most from compression. The traveller who packs denim gains the least.
Price: £12-20 per compression cube.
BGGD verdict: The correct addition for the traveller who packs more clothes than their bag technically accommodates without compression. Not a substitute for the standard packing cube — use both in the same bag (the compression cube for the compressible items, the standard cube for the tech and the accessories).
4. Tortuga Packing Cubes — The Budget-Conscious Quality
What it is: The Tortuga packing cube system (the brand whose Setout travel backpack is among the most recommended carry-on backpacks for the frequent traveller) — the cube designed specifically for the Tortuga bag dimensions but works in any bag.
The sizing: Available in S, M, L. The dimensions are designed for the specific Tortuga backpack interior (the 46cm × 32cm main compartment) but the cubes work in any bag with the comparable internal dimensions.
The price point: £10-16 per cube — the most affordable quality packing cube on this list.
The durability: The Tortuga cube is rated for daily use over 2-3 years in user reports. Not the Eagle Creek lifetime guarantee but acceptable for the traveller who replaces gear every 3-4 years.
BGGD verdict: The correct choice for the traveller who wants the packing cube system without the premium pricing.
The System in Practice
The 4-cube carry-on system (the BGGD configuration):
| Cube | Size | Contents | Cube type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tops cube | L | 5 × T-shirt, 2 × shirt, 1 × light jumper | Eagle Creek Reveal (mesh) |
| Bottoms cube | M | 2 × trousers, 1 × shorts | Eagle Creek Reveal (mesh) |
| Underwear + socks | S | 7 × underwear, 7 × sock pairs | Eagle Creek Reveal |
| Tech cube | XS | Cables, adapter, power bank, earphones | Eagle Creek Specter (water resistant) |
The dirty clothes system:
The compression cube (the Gonex compression cube in the same size as the tops cube) serves as the dirty clothes bag — the worn clothes go into the compression cube, the clean clothes remain in the standard cube, the two cubes never touch. By Day 7, the compression cube is full and the clean cube is empty. The compressed dirty clothes take 37% less space than uncompressed, giving the bag room for souvenirs.
