RS' New Flat Packs or Packing Cubes

Cubes. Or just roll or fold into your suitcase or pack. Cubes are fun and have an organizational bonus but cubes are not necessary in the least.
Vacuum and air evacuation bags just wrinkle your stuff.

Packing lightly for a long trip is about making good decisions and doing laundry on the way; it’s not about cool packing toys.

If you’re traveling during a month in Fall or Winter, you might like one of the Flat Pack compression bags for sweaters. Those are good for items that fluff full of air that you can remove for additional space. Otherwise, I would use the mesh packing cubes. The RS mesh cubes have been what I’ve used for the past 5 years and am very happy with them.

We use a combination. The folding envelope (not the flat packs) hold shirts and pants. One medium size per bag. And two or three large ziplock bags that hold things like socks, underwear, t-shirts. Big advantage of the zip lock bags is that they are clear and we can write on the bag what is in the bag. And maybe one packing cube to hold misc. that don't pack well. Everything in our bag is in another bag. Nothing is lose. Makes for easy packing and unpacking and for keeping track of things.

PS I don't see the folding envelope on the Steves' site. This is what I was referencing --- https://www.eaglecreek.com/shop/organizers/pack-it-specter-tech-garment-folder-medium-ec0a3lo3?variationId=002#hero=0

Another vote for RS Packing Cubes! Have been using them for 10 years. We generally travel in warm weather months and perfect for a month in our 22" TravelPro bag.

We like the doublesided packing cubes. One side becomes dirty clothes and other side clean. Keeps things organized in hotel rooms, so once everything is back in cubes, back into suitcase and your packed.

My husband I each use 2 large (shirts and pants), 2 mediums (underwear, sleep clothes, and t shirts). When we purchased I wish we would gave stuck to 2 colors, one color for me, and other for my husband. We ended up with 4 colors.

Not familiar with "flat packs", but for many years we have used a combination of folders and cubes. Cubes for things that don't wrinkle such as socks, undies, sweaters, and such. Folders for shirts and pants. Can't say enough good things about that combination. We gone on trips of similar durations using them in one carry on each.

Ther are a lot of packing cube brands out there. Cheap ones at Wal-Mart or the Amazon basics. I am a fan of ebags.com, classic Ebags style in bright colors. Eagle Creek is always good. Ebags and Eagle Creek have good dimensions without being too deep or too shallow. Good, practical sizes.

The two are designed for totally different functions.

The flat pack is for compressing bulky items. It will wrinkle anything you put in there. It will also encourage you to pack heavier because you can fit more stuff in your suitcase.

The packing cubes are for organizing your clothes. There’s lots of methods out there.

My current pack doesn’t have internal tie down straps so I use a packing cube for my clothes.

I have never ever needed a compression flat pack, even when I went for a 4-1/2 week long trip that included mountaineering. My Primaloft jacket stuffed into its own pocket. I only needed a single carry on bag.

Don’t substitute extra gear for good packing techniques.