Remember how lousy of a backpacker I am? There are a few items I travel with that help make my life less of a disaster, and they’re called PACKING CUBES. They’re like little containers of happiness for unorganized, messy creative souls like myself. Or, like, people in general.
“Packing cubes” don’t seem to be a term generally used in Canada. I remember walking into a Mountain Equipment Co-Op and asking for some, and the store clerk looked at me like I had three heads. “I don’t know what those are,” he admitted. And neither did most of my friends. Maybe they’re called something else in Canada. We’re weird like that.
What are packing cubes? They’re breathable fabric containers used to separate and organize your gear. I use Lewis N Clark packing cubes from the Featherlight collection, because, as you might have guessed, they’re feather-light. And pretty. As someone pointed out, they match my bedspread smashingly.
The full collection comes with a cube for wires and gear, a small cube for socks or undies, an expandable cube for whatevs, and a cube for toiletries. I especially LOVE the expandable cube. You’d be surprised how much fits into that baby. I’ll never have to go rooting around the bottom of my backpack for a tank top again. (But oh my god do I ever miss digging around my backpack for tank tops to keep me cool in hot Mediterranean temperatures. I wonder how many wool socks I can fit.)
Just to show you how nicely they fit into any size pack, I’ve used them to store my unmentionables this weekend on my trip home for Thanksgiving. PRECIOUS.