I’ve taken a thousand-plus flights in my life and not once did I use a packing cube. It’s not because I was against them; I just never thought I had a need. Packing comes easy to me, and I don’t necessarily mind a messy suitcase while living out of a hotel. I also don’t overpack — even when traveling with my kids — and we’ve always been able to travel lightly.
But on my past few family vacations, I decided to take the dive and try them out. And boy, did my attitude toward packing cubes change. Simply stated: They are amazing. I was able to pack and organize each child’s clothes separately (or combine like articles together, such as sweatshirts, pajamas or bathing suits), which made finding our clothes incredibly easy at our destination. No more tearing through suitcases, as our clothes stayed neatly organized in their individual cubes (for the most part). This resulted in fewer clothes sprawled across a semi-small hotel room and the kids being able to find their clothes more easily.
But before I even left for my vacation, I was sold. During the packing process, I realized that the packing cubes compressed the clothes. Even though the cubes we used weren’t compressing packing cubes per se (though compression packing cubes do exist), utilizing the cubes allowed me to fit significantly more in my suitcase, thus carrying less luggage on our trip — a huge win when traveling with a family.
During these recent trips, I had the opportunity to try two different packing cubes brands: The Insider Packing Cubes by Away and Amazon Basics’ Packing Travel Organizer Cubes Set. With each set consisting of four different cubes, I used one set for each child to really compare the two brands with each other.
So after three different family vacations, which consisted of staying in a total of four hotels in California, a New York City apartment and a trip to Grandma’s, which packing cubes worked out better?
Away vs. Amazon Basics at a glance
This four-pack comes with four different sizes of cubes in seven color options. Made of water-resistant nylon, the mesh paneling makes it easy seeing your packed items. The set of four is designed to work perfectly inside an Away Carry-On suitcase.
This pack of four offers four different sizes of cubes in five color options. Made of polyester, the packing cubes offer mesh paneling to see the inside contents, a webbing handle and double-zipper pulls.
Quick comparison
| Measurement | Small Wide: 10 inches x 8.25 inches x 4.1 inches; Medium Slim: 10 inches x 4.3 inches x 4.1 inches; Medium Wide: 13 inches x 10 inches x 4.1 inches; Large Slim: 13 inches x 6.9 inches x 4.1 inches |
|---|---|
| Material | Nylon |
| Weight | 0.7 pounds (total) |
| Colors | Black, Navy, Coast, Asphalt, Petal |
| Warranty | Return it anytime within the first 100 days of purchase; 1-year warranty. |
| Number of customer reviews | 266 |
| Customer star rating | 4.9 |
| Price | $45 |
| Measurement | Slim: 14 inches x 5 inches x 2.8 inches; Small: 11 inches x 6.75 inches x 3 inches; Medium: 13.75 inches x 9.75 inches x 3 inches; Large: 17.5 inches x 12.75 inches x 3.25 inches |
|---|---|
| Material | Polyester |
| Weight | 0.85 pounds (total) |
| Colors | Black, Blue, Green, Gray, Red, Sky Blue |
| Warranty | 1 year |
| Number of customer reviews | 34,290 |
| Customer star rating | 4.7 |
| Price | $24 |
Appearance
On the surface, the sets of packing cubes look very similar to each other. They both offer a mesh top panel, allowing you to easily see the inside contents without having to unzip. However, on the Amazon Basics set, the mesh paneling is black (regardless of the color of the rest of the cube), whereas the Away brand keeps a consistent look and the mesh paneling is the same color as the rest of the packing cube.
The other five sides are solid, with the Amazon Basics offering a polyester material, while the Away brand sports a nylon material. The material on the Amazon Basics set has a more sheen look to it, whereas the Away cubes are more muted.
From just an appearance perspective, the Away brand has a more expensive look to them, but as you’ll find out below, that doesn’t necessarily make them better. However, if you value aesthetics over other elements and prefer for your packing cubes to match your Away Carry-On suitcase, the Away cubes are winners here.
Design
Although the packing cubes look fairly similar, there are a few design differences that might make you gravitate toward one brand over the other.
As discussed above, the two sets are built with two different materials. Because of the material used, the Amazon Basics packing cubes are more rigid in structure, while the Away brand cubes are a tad flimsier. Despite the slightly rougher feel of the Amazon Basics brand, this actually allowed the cubes to hold their shape better during packing. While I didn’t have difficulty packing our clothes in the Away cubes, the shape didn’t hold as well on its own.
The Amazon Basics set also contains an easy-to-grab handle on each cube. This is a nice-to-have addition to the packing cubes, which you won’t find on the set from Away.
Another difference between the two are the zipper pulls. While both cubes include a regular plastic zipper, the Amazon Basic cubes go one step further, offering a nylon coil off the zipper. This extends the length of the zipper, making the Amazon Basics cubes slightly easier to open and close. While I didn’t find zippering the Away bags a challenge by any means, if you have any sort of dexterity challenges, the extra length on the Amazon Basics set will make zipping your cubes significantly easier.
While the design of the Away packing cubes looked significantly higher-end — most likely due to the material type and the fact that the mesh paneling is the same color as the rest of the bag — the fact that the Amazon Basics set includes a longer zipper and a handle could seal the deal for some.
Size
Each set comes with four different packing cubes, ranging from small to large. However, the dimensions between each set do vary greatly. Between the two sets, there are three that match up in relative size, with the Amazon Basics set offering a much larger size and Away offering a much smaller size.
The desired sizing is a personal preference, but I did find that the smallest bag in the Away set is too small for most articles of clothing. Although, it could potentially fit underwear and socks or be the perfect solution for electronic chargers and cords.
With the Amazon Basics set, I found the largest size to be perfect for keeping all of our sweatshirts organized together. While I found a use for all cubes in both sets, I personally found that the Amazon Basics sizing has more use cases than those that came with the Away set.
However, if you’re looking for different sizes, the Away brand also offers a six-pack for $65, which ultimately offers the same sizes as the four-pack, plus one smaller and one larger. The Amazon Basics brand also offers different purchasing options, where you can purchase a pack of four in the one size you like best.
The other difference between the two sets is the width. With the Away packing cubes, all cubes are a consistent 4.1 inches in width across the board. The Amazon Basics cubes, on the other hand, range between 2.8 inches and 3.25 inches wide. While the packing cubes do allow you to stuff a decent amount of clothes or items into the bag, I found that the wider the bag, the better. This is where the Away bags come out ahead, especially due to their consistency. That said, even though I preferred the width of the Away cubes, I didn’t find the width of the Amazon Basics bags to be too narrow. I would have never thought of them as too small on their own, but it was easy to notice the difference when compared to the Away cubes.
Price
The price is the one category where there is truly a huge difference between the two brands. When comparing the two sets — both of which offer four individual packing cubes — the Amazon Basics set is almost half the price of the Away set.
At the time of writing this, the Amazon Basics four-pack set costs $24, while the Away four-pack is set at $45. This is quite a big difference and could easily help you pick one set over the other.
Durability
While I can’t comment on the long-term durability of both sets, as I’ve only been using the two products for a few months, I can tell you that both sets still look brand new after our few trips. And in between trips, my husband has even continued to use the packing cubes on his weekly work trips, giving the cubes more wear-and-tear opportunities.
I haven’t noticed any seams starting to rip or zippers breaking. The mesh paneling is still fully intact on both sets and there doesn’t seem to be any material stretching. Based on our usage and what we’ve seen thus far, I believe both sets will have a decently long shelf life. Both brands also have favorable reviews in terms of durability.
Warranty
Both Amazon Basics and Away offer a one-year warranty on their packing cubes. However, with the Away set, there’s a 100-day trial. This means you can return the product for any reason within the first 100 days, even if the packing cubes have been used. To this end, the Away set offers travelers a better guarantee that they’ll like the product — or you can return it with no issue.
Bottom line
Although the Away set has a much more atheistically pleasing look to them, when pinning the two against each other, we’d pick the Amazon Basics set. The fact that the four-piece set is half the price with a few better design features helps to make this a straightforward decision. The different size options on the Amazon Basics set also worked out better for packing my family.
But, if you prefer the inside of your suitcase to have a cleaner and more refined look, then the Away set is the way to go. Additionally, the warranty and return policy offered on the Away set make it a great option if you’re unsure about your purchase, and the standardized width of the Away cubes is a plus.
If you’ve never tried packing cubes before, now is the time to jump on the bandwagon. The small but effective tools have truly changed the way I go about packing and have made living out of a suitcase on multiple vacations much easier. Whether I’m traveling alone or with my family, packing cubes will always be used going forward.
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