Earlier this year I discovered a new product that now accompanies me on all of my travels. It helped me step up my shoddy packing game and become more organized, so I wanted to share it with you. Because everything cool comes in a numbered list these days, here are 8 Great Reasons to Love Compass Rose Packing Cubes.
Aside from my most recent trip to Europe and North Africa where I took complete leave of my senses and packed like I had to take my entire closet along, normally I rep Team Carry-On. Whether for a weekend or a few weeks, I try to shove all I can into the confines of a roll aboard, and a well loved backpack so I can skip the hassle of check in lines and baggage claim.
Also I prefer having all of my belongings within reach inside the plane just in case I need them. The other day I spilled something on my shirt in the airport lounge (I’m sure it couldn’t have been a glass of wine) and it would have been really nice to have a change of shirt handy. Instead it was somewhere in transit to the plane and I had to do with awkwardly crossing my arms to obscure the stain.
One thing that has definitely helped me get my packing life together is the Compass Rose Packing Cubes which I picked up at Wanderful’s Women in Travel Summit in Quebec earlier this year. When I first saw the packing cubes I thought, cute…but way too small to be effective. There was no way I could get more than a few t-shirts and or yoga pants in there. I was totally wrong about that which is one of the many reasons you need to get a set of these if you’re at all interested in becoming a better, more organized packer.
8 Reasons to Love Compass Rose Packing Cubes
1. Looks Can be Deceiving
As I mentioned, on first glance the four packing cubes that come in the set look too small to hold more than a few non-bulky pieces of clothes. They are definitely smaller in size (I will get to that in point number 2), but their construction allows you to stuff them silly and they will not lose their shape.
Warning: Random Story Time.
Many years ago when I traveled in Nairobi, I read somewhere that the public kombi vans that take people around the city are never full. Even when they pull up and every seat is taken, three people are hanging out the side door and people are standing shoulder to shoulder in the center aisle…there is still room for more people (and their bus fare).
That’s how I look at these Compass Rose Packing Cubes. They may look totally full, but start to zip the cover half way and try again. You’ll be able to “magically” fit another piece of clothing in there.
2. Smaller by Design
So why do these packing cubes look smaller than other brands you may have seen? It is because Compass Rose Packing Cubes are the only ones designed to fit luggage that meets International carry-on standards.
If you fly overseas regularly, you know that the standards for carry-ons in the US are slightly larger than they are for airlines for other countries. That means the luggage you packed to carry on to your American Airlines flight may have to be checked if you take another flight on Air France.
Many luggage companies have two different sizes of carry-on luggage – one for Domestic airlines and a slightly smaller one for International airlines. So while many packing cubes will fit the US carry-on luggage size, they may not properly fit into those smaller international carry-ons.
Compass Rose Packing Cubes are designed with that smaller carry-on luggage size in mind. Being an exact fit means no extra material to take up the valuable packing real estate.
3. Great Colors for the Aesthetically-Minded traveler
The set of four Compass Rose Packing Cubes comes in two different colors: grey and red. That helps you to organize your clothes (e.g. Party clothes go in the red ones and business clothes in the grey ones) and they look great inside your luggage.
4. Six Different Ways to Organize
Not only do these packing cubes help you pack more into less space, they also help organize your packing. Rumor is they also make you smarter and more attractive, but the research is still out on that one.
As mentioned above the packing cubes are color-coded. They also have numbers to help you organize your bag. Use the colors and numbers to help organize your items in the following ways:
- If you’re packing for more than one person, you can use a different number for each person in your family
- Assign your outfits by number for each day
- Color code for mixed weather trips (when you visit me in Los Angeles and want to hit the slopes and the sea, slopes can go in grey and sea in red)
- Use numbers to organize clothes by activity type (when I pack them, my Capoeira work out gear is always in packing cube #1).
- Pack for two destinations by cube color (Paris in grey and Monaco in red)
- Separate types of clothes by numbered cube (e.g. shirts in #1, trousers in #2, dresses in #3, undies in #4)
5. They are Not Just Like All the Others
You will have no trouble finding packing cubes on offer in all shape, sizes, colors and quality. So aside from me gushing about them what makes Compass Rose different from other similar packing cubes? For one, they are the only ones sized for international carry-on luggage. Second, the materials used to construct the Compass Rose cubes allow you to pack a generous amount of clothes without losing their shape. Even totally full, they will still lie flat allowing you to fit more things in your luggage.
Another key differentiator is in the soft mesh (say what??). When compared to a product like the Amazon Basics cube, Compass Rose has less soft mesh on the surface. The mesh is not as strong as the nylon fabric on the rest of the cube. This means bags with more mesh will not hold their shape. They become bulky and will not compress as well as bags with less mesh. The Compass Rose Packing Cubes have less mesh, so less chance of them losing their shape when packed full.
6. The Details are in the Design-er
The wonderful woman behind these bags, Alexandra Jimenez, is a long time world traveler and owner of the brand TravelFashion Girl. Even before her blog began in 2012, she had been working on packing lists and packing strategies for travelers. She knows both global travel (having hit up 6 of the 7 continents) and clothing (7 years in the fashion industry) and is the perfect person to design these bags.
7. Great Gift Options
There is never a lack of reason to give gifts and never a lack of people to give gifts to. (Side note: I happily accept gifts with or without a good reason). If anyone you know is a regular traveler, they will know the value of a well packed carry-on bag. No doubt, these packing cubes will be well appreciated.
8. NOT team Carry-On? No Problem.
I get it. Team Carry-On isn’t for every one. On my last trip to Morocco I wanted to buy every single thing they sold in the marketplace. I never would have lasted with only a carry-on. As it turns out, I barely managed to stuff everything I brought and bought into the body-bag sized suitcase I took with me.
But what was right at the top of that enormous bag? My Compass Rose Packing Cubes. During this trip I visited 4 different countries and I used the Compass Rose Packing Cubes along with some other larger packing cubes I had from earlier travels. I put smaller items and things I used more frequently in the Compass Rose cubes. They fit perfectly in the upper area of my suitcase which tapered towards the top and didn’t fit the larger cubes as well.
I’ve also used them in my back pack to keep items organized when I go on a quick overnight trip. No matter what sized luggage I take on my trip, I find a great use for the Compass Rose Packing Cubes.
To find out more about the cubes, how they are made and how to fill them, head over to the Travel Fashion Girl website or check out their YouTube channel. If you end up buying a set, please leave me a comment below and let me know how you liked them!
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*Please note that all opinions are my own and while I did not receive any financial compensation from Compass Rose or Travel Fashion Girl, I did receive products to test in order to provide this review.
**Please note that this post does contain affiliate links. If you make a purchase by clicking on them, I make a small commission at no extra cost to you.
