How to Use Compression Packing Cubes Without Breaking the Zipper
Compression packing cubes have two zippers: one to close the cube, and a second one around the middle that pulls the two halves closer together. Used well, they fit noticeably more into a carry-on. Used badly, they jam or split. Here is the right way.
Step by step
- Roll or fold clothes flat. Rolling t-shirts and underwear is fastest. Fold shirts and trousers to the width of the cube.
- Fill the cube to just below the top. It should close without force.
- Close the main zipper first. That is the one around the edge.
- Press the cube flat with one hand, pushing air out.
- Close the compression zipper slowly, keeping your other hand pressing down. Keep a finger behind the zipper so fabric does not catch, as one maker's instructions recommend.
If the compression zipper will not close without a fight, take one item out. Forcing it is how zippers fail.
How to fill a carry-on with cubes
- Put the heaviest cube against the back panel of a backpack or at the wheel end of a suitcase.
- Stand cubes on their edge like books if your bag is deep, so you can lift one out without moving the others.
- Fill the gaps around the cubes with shoes, a toiletry bag and chargers.
- Thule's guidance for its cubes is that most carry-ons take four small cubes, or two small and one medium.
A set like the Thule compression cubes is made with YKK zippers and ripstop nylon because the compression zipper takes real strain.
A simple cube system
- Cube 1: tops.
- Cube 2: trousers, shorts, skirts.
- Cube 3: underwear and socks.
- Small pouch: chargers and cables.
Keep the same system every trip and packing takes ten minutes.
Care
Empty cubes between trips and let them air out. Wipe them clean, or wash them if the maker allows it. Check the zippers for loose threads before a long trip, when they are cheap to fix.