Packing space savers?

[K.Pecas]

what would you suggest?

I've seen those plastic bags that you roll up and then i've seen mesh bags and then again I've seen those zipper cubes.. I need to reduce the bulk a bit..

[zsoulan00]

roll your clothes when you pack them

take that extra pair of jeans that you packed, and leave it at home

pack more white tee-shirts

trust me... you can live without certain things when you're on vacation.

when i packed for my 2 month long euro-trip last summer... i packed about a months worth of clothes and accessories. i ended up throwing out most of my clothes, and buying new ones along the way.

my suggestion:

pack for 2 weeks.

if you need more clothes; find a store named CIELO. (or just find an h&m)

[K.Pecas]

It's not so much the space issues, well it is, I have been rolling my clothes, but they shift in the pack and unroll, so it gets kind of messy and it gets annoying. I need something to keep things together that is going to keep everything rolled and together instead of taking up 5x's the space it should.

[pointofnoreturn]

I use space bags. You put your folded clothes in there, run across the zipper (it's more like a plastic clip that functions as a zipper) and roll up the bag to force out the air.

It works like a charm and saves a lot of room in my suitcase. Only downside is that you can't really put clothes in there that tend to wrinkle but I haven't had a piece of clothing that wrinkled due to the bags.

[K.Pecas]

Are they the brand space bag? I have read reviews that they lose suction while they have things in them and that they don't really save space. Have you ever had any issues with them? Do you think they'll last for 2 months?

[pointofnoreturn]

No, I didn't have any issues with them. It didn't need a vacuum to suck the air out. You just stuff your clothes in there, zip it shut then roll it up to force out the air (you need to roll it a certain way though).

It's pretty durable and I use it for other trips as well. I got mine at Zellers (in Canada, our version of Target) for $15 which included one large bag and two medium bags.

[K.Pecas]

How do you need to fold them? I think I'm going to buy some to try them out.

[Eagle]

K.Pecas, I use a number of the Eagle Creek organizers for packing, and find they're great for keeping things in some kind of logical order. I have a collection of Pac-It® quarter and half Cubes and also some Pack-It® Sac's in various sizes. I find these are indispensable in terms of keeping related items together in the Backpack, and preventing them from "shifting" during movement. I also have one of the EC vacuum Folders that the others were describing, however it the size doesn't fit well with my Pack so I don't use it too often. EC has an extensive line of organizers of this type - check their web site for a listing of local dealers in your area.

Cheers!

[pointofnoreturn]

Just fold the clothes as you would normally but keep the more wrinkle-prone clothes in the middle of the pile of clothes you're putting it in. For example, I'd keep a hoodie on top and a t-shirt on bottom while packing my more sensitive clothes in the middle.

EDIT - I should mention that I'm anti-backpack so the space bags fit well in my rolling luggage. My travelling partner had a backpack and borrowed one of my smaller space bags and didn't have any problems fitting it in.

[mslibrarian]

I have two little packing cubes from a company called Woods Canada. I only ever saw them once and bought them at the time. They are zippered cubes with a mesh top. I use them for packing socks/underwear. It keeps them neatly organized. I also put dirty socks/undies in a bag and restuff them in the cube.