Testing Double zip compression bags.

[Denali]

Part 1 as Im limited in posting photos.

A few months ago a kickstarter popped up on my screen and as we're heading to Iceland in a few months, meaning lots of polartec and a couple of jackets, I thought I would give it a chance. I ordered a couple of extra large bags so approx total price was approx $100AUD including delivery.


Kickstarter site: QUBIX - Double Compression Packing Cubes


The promise/ad:






Showing zippers:




Packing cubes purchased, the white rectangle thing is some sort of size guide.



Large bag fully unzipped v unopened bag.





1st bag has (all men's clothing):
1 x thick poarltec jumper, XXL
1 x polartec pants, XL
1 x hoodie, XXL



Bit of a squeeze to get the zippers closed.




Honestly, I found the bag smaller on the sides but the middle seems to be about the same so basically a very stuffed pillow. I wonder if a normal packing cell squished in your luggage would have similar result to this. So far, slightly disappointed but this bag is mainly bulky polartec.

 

[Denali]

Part 2.

So thought to get the promised ad utopia, I should go with less bulky so this bag has:

2 x thermal tights L
2 X thermal long sleeve shirts, XL
2 X tshirts, XL




Result better than the polartec



The 3rd bag had:
Rain pants, XL
Thick fleece lined snow pants, XL
Gortex jacket and was no where near as bulky as bag #1 (polartec) but not as streamlined as bag #2 tshirts.






3 bags after packing





Thoughts so far:

Construction seems very good, my first bag attempt was over stuffed but the zippers and sewing held up well. Im going to leave the bags full for a week or so to see if if they strain the sewing/thread.

Next week Im also going to compare them to vacuum bags, especially the polartec.

Im honestly not 100% sold yet so stay tuned till next week (I really want to test the sewing/thread). Aso wondering if splitting the bag with 1 piece of polartec and tshirts/thermals would be better (will try next week).

 

[Pushka]

It looks like you’ve compressed about 3”? The bags look heavy weight material? Do they weigh much? I wonder if you rolled them which is what I do with ikea large double ziplocks if you’d get more compression?

An excellent review.

 

[Denali]

The large bag empty weighs approx 230grms and made from a nylon canvas material.

As they are not sealed like plastic, rolling them like a vacuum bag wouldn't achieve anything.

I really want to redo the bag, mixing shirts and polartec but will wait to see if the zipper/stitching fails on the stuffed bag first.

 

[Pushka]

The large bag empty weighs approx 230grms and made from a nylon canvas material.

As they are not sealed like plastic, rolling them like a vacuum bag wouldn't achieve anything.

I really want to redo the bag, mixing shirts and polartec but will wait to see if the zipper/stitching fails on the stuffed bag first.

So how do they stay compressed then?

 

[Denali]

The zipper basically goes around the bag twice so with each side you close the zipper, it squashes the bag contents down.

There is a video of the product on the Qubix link: QUBIX - Double Compression Packing Cubes

 

[Pushka]

The zipper basically goes around the bag twice so with each side you close the zipper, it squashes the bag contents down.

There is a video of the product on the Qubix link: QUBIX - Double Compression Packing Cubes

So it’s the double zip that squashes down but still might not get, and/or keep, all the air out? I’ll only need a parka and warm stuff for 12 days or so, the rest of the time is Grand Canyon and Hawaii.

 

[Denali]

The overstuffed bag (all the polartec) is pretty full/hard so I doubt there is much air in there at the moment. Woudlnt want to use it as a pillow.

 

[Matt_01]

Have you used thes in anger as yet. We are off to Harbin and Sapporo in Jan/Feb 19. Harbin comes in at around a daily high of -20c around the time we are visiting. I am normally a HLO traveler but after seeing the stuff MrsM is planning on taking for my daughter and herself, e.g. extra ski suites, coats, scarfs gloves, face masks that have heat exchangers, indoor/ outdoor wear I am trying to work out how I can stuff their gear in an extra bag.

Are these compression bags worth a try.

 

[Flashback]

The white squares are used a folding guide i.e. fold your shirt around it and it'll perfectly fit the cube.

 

[Denali]

Have you used thes in anger as yet. We are off to Harbin and Sapporo in Jan/Feb 19. Harbin comes in at around a daily high of -20c around the time we are visiting. I am normally a HLO traveler but after seeing the stuff MrsM is planning on taking for my daughter and herself, e.g. extra ski suites, coats, scarfs gloves, face masks that have heat exchangers, indoor/ outdoor wear I am trying to work out how I can stuff their gear in an extra bag.

Are these compression bags worth a try.

At this point, I would just go with the much cheaper standard plastic vacuum bags that you can roll. As its something you dont usually use and its a one time only, the cost would be smarter on the ebay/Big W vacuum or roll bags.

The polartec stuffed bag seams and threads are looking good - no signs of stretching or damage yet.

 

[Pushka]

At this point, I would just go with the much cheaper standard plastic vacuum bags that you can roll. As its something you dont usually use and its a one time only, the cost would be smarter on the ebay/Big W vacuum or roll bags.

The polartec stuffed bag seams and threads are looking good - no signs of stretching or damage yet.

This has all been really helpful info Denali. Thanks for being guinea pig!

 

[mrs.dr.ron]

Denali are you going to use the bags on your Tassie trip ??

 

[Denali]

I should. I plan on packing some polartec as I see the nights are forecast to be cool so at least a jumper and some pants for around the cabin at night.

 

[fairhsa]

I got some very similar compression cubes before a recent (backpacking) trip to Europe. I use vacuum sacks for pillows and duvets at home, and have used the rollable "vacuum sacs" for travel before so I know the difference. I think its clear that the plastic vacuum sacks certain compress better.... BUT... they also make things a weird shape (I find with my jackets and pillows and stuff that they end up as lumps). I find the vacuum sacks you roll are nowhere near as effective as the ones you vacuum with a vacuum cleaner. Also any kind of hole etc results in a failure, so they are not foolproof.

The compression cubes, on the other hand, are very much like the review suggested. I found them to be excellent in my backpacking trip. Sure the compression is not vacuum-like, but they are very easy to pack, I find the shiny material actually slides down into a rucsack really easily and they allow much easier access to clothes than vacuum bags which are tedious to extract one garment and then re-seal. I have just purchased another set and last night packed for my next trip - these new ones are different colours so I can sort my clothes and pack accordingly, making it really easy to find things. (or me the sorting is "hiking gear" in one, "normal wear" in another and "underwear" in the third. They act a bit like a chest of drawers when you arrive - without having to actually unpack anything. For me, this convenience makes them far more practical than the roll-version.

 

[theblank]

thanks for the detailed testing, from the results I get the impression that the packing cubes i bought from ebay for $10 are as equally effective.

 

[fairhsa]

Having now tried three brands of these, the first set I got were a kickstarter "very lightweight" set which I really loved but which fell apart (around the zips) really quickly. The other two sets have been much better - slightly heavier but much more robust. In order to do up the compression zips you do sometimes have to use a bit of force. So shonky construction really shows. Having said that, my BigFoot ones from Amazon were not expensive and have been excellent.

 

[Pushka]

thanks for the detailed testing, from the results I get the impression that the packing cubes i bought from ebay for $10 are as equally effective.

Do they compress though? Or are just normal packing cubes. Which we like and use but the next trip we will have bulky warm clothing to compress.

 

[Flashback]

Do they compress though? Or are just normal packing cubes. Which we like and use but the next trip we will have bulky warm clothing to compress.

A lot of the time bulky warm clothing won't compress as the material is dense in order to keep you warm. Down jackets are an exception of sorts, but even still they can only compress so much too.....

 

[mrs.dr.ron]

It helps if you sit on the bags while zipping them up