Packing cubes

Currently 7 months into my backpacking across Asia and Australia and both myself and my partner have said multiple times how our packing cubes are the best thing we have with us. They honestly change the game when you’re living out of a bag!! we both just have cheap ones from amazon and they’ve gone the distance.

Definitely worth it - I used to waste so much time trying to find things in my big backpack everyday. Now I know that t-shirts are in one cube, underwear in another and so on, it makes things so easy. I use some called Pro Packing Cubes which I bought from Amazon 2-3 years ago and don't have any complaints about them. They don't cost much.

Personally, I think they are amazing! I'm not someone who is particularly bothered about a tidy bag so never thought about packing cubes until half way into my trip and OMG they make such a difference! So easy to find anything ( want a shirt, just pull out the shirt cube! No grovelling around in the bottom on your backpack to find a particular shirt ) 4 cubes are probably all you need! Life saver!

I would recommend using at least a few packing cubes to keep smallers things i.e swimwear or tops, but its not necessary to pack *everything* into a cube! But they are really helpful so your clothes aren't as creased and you don't have to pull all your stuff out to find one thing! 😊

I am also on a veeery tight budget and since good quality packing cubes are very expensive for me, I decided to buy cloth bags istead!

They work really good in separating all my items when I put them in my backpack and take almost zero space.

I usually bring 4 on my trips: one for t-shirts and tops, one for pants and skirts, one for underwear and socks, one for toiletries.

Random pic found online to show you what I'm talking about 😊

I use every thin cloth bag or ziplock back I found to organize my things, it's more quick to put together a backpack closet that way in my opinion.

I think it depends on how organized you are. I am someone who is not naturally organized by any means, so packing cubes are a life-saver. But some people just magically are able to keep everything nice and set without them!

Personally I think they're definitely worth it!! I find them essential to keep my backpack organised. You can get cheap ones on Amazon in their Amazon Basics range... I've never tried them for quality but the reviews look like they're alright!

it really depends on the size of your backpack since @Em made some valid points, however, i always prefer travelling with packing cubes because it helps me keeping my backpack organized. I don't think you need packing cubes because you have a lot of cheaper options but you having something to separate your clothes is essential ahah!

I (a very tight budget backpacker) personally have decided not to use packing cubes in the past, as I found they used up more space. I would say it depends how tight your backpack currently is.

Having used only a carry on to travel around NZ I found the most efficient thing to use close to packing cubes is actually garbage bags. I am able to put all my clothes in them, seperate them into as many groups as I like and the best part is, you are able to push all the air out of them, essentially vacuum sealing (by hugging, sitting on and wrestling the bag 😂) and this allows for super compact packing! and they can be shaped to fit into all the corners of your bag. You also get the added benefit of them being waterproof.

In my opinion, pros: compact, cheap, waterproof, convenient (easily available)

cons: easier for clothes to wrinkle, can rip if being too harsh (however I always have spares for wet or dirty clothes and for this case so never an issue for me)

Hopefully this helps with a more budget compact option