Solgaard Packing Cube Quartet (Medium Kit) Review

There are many different styles of packing cubes, from simple organizers to compression cubes and shoe pouches. Some even include a bag for your laundry. Then again, some options, like the Solgaard Packing Cube Quartet (Medium Kit), include everything you might need.

So, does that make for easy packing and unpacking, or leave you wanting more? We took them in our carry on luggage for a 10-night trip to find out.

External Components

You have choices when considering the Solgaard Packing Cube Quartet, specifically whether you want the medium or large size. Unlike other multiple-piece packing cube sets, this one doesn’t ask you to forgo one cube or another when choosing between medium and large. Instead, it’s referring to the actual sizes of the cubes and the total capacity of the four pouches.

Each set has two compression cubes, one clean and dirty cube, and one zipped grab bag, which we used for shoes. The total capacity of the medium set is 38.5L, while the total capacity of the large set is 67.5L. You save 9-14L of space when you compress the two cubes that can.

Both sizes come in a charcoal color called Gothenburg Gray and are made with Solgaard’s Shore-Tex® recycled fabric. The compression and clean and dirty cubes also have a diagonal panel of mesh on the front to help you see what’s inside, while the grab bag does not. However, we didn’t mind the omission because we used it as a shoe pouch. While that doesn’t allow it to breathe, it also doesn’t let out any dirt, so we’re here for it.

All four bags include a large webbing handle that makes them easier to pull out when you reach your destination. The Solgaard brand name is printed in grippy material on the handles, on a small tab on each cube, and on each zipper pull.

SBS makes the zippers, and we have no issues with them. They all work well, even when compressing a tightly packed cube. While it may have been nice for the compression zippers to be a different color than the main zippers, we didn’t struggle much to figure out which to use.

The only other feature to mention is on the clean and dirty cube, which has a TPU-coated mesh liner that’s helpfully labeled Clean on one side and Dirty on the other so you remember which is which. It has enough play to flex one way or the other as you make your way through your clothing, though it’s definitely not enough space to hold all of your dirties from all three cubes at the end of the week. It does well enough for socks and underwear and a few sweaty tees, though, and that’s primarily what we used it for.

Inside The Packing Cube

The interior of the cubes mirrors the exterior, with no additional liner fabric. We’re happy about that because the Shore-Tex® is thick and sturdy enough on its own, and doesn’t need any additional beefing up. We’ve also tested other compression packing cubes that include an extra liner, and we couldn’t fit any extra clothing inside because the liner material took up as much space as a T-shirt.

The compression zipper isn’t centered in the cube; instead, it’s situated more in the lower third of each compression cube, so you’re only cinching up the bottom. It still worked quite well to compress our tester’s clothing. The benefit of this design is that everything doesn’t explode out when you open it without decompressing to pull out one piece of clothing.

We used these cubes to pack for a 10-day trip, and our female tester fit four dresses, one skirt, a wrap, and a cover-up in one compression cube. Six shirts, three pairs of shorts, a sports bra, and one pair of workout leggings fit into the other compression cube. Socks and underwear, pajamas, and two swimsuits went in the clean and dirty cube, so items could move from one side to the other as the trip progressed.

As for the grab bag, she treated it like a shoe pouch to keep the soles from dirtying anything in the bag. She was able to fit a women’s size 10 pair of Teva Tirra Sandals and a women’s size 10 pair of Allbirds Tree Runner NZ inside to make the most of the space. It worked well for that, but the bag’s thick material and large size will take up a lot of space if you’re not making the most of its capacity as we did.

All four pieces of the Solgaard Packing Cube Quartet (Medium Kit) fit snugly inside our rolling carry on luggage (in this case, the DELSEY Paris Helium Aero Carry-On Expandable Spinner). The Large Kit is designed for checked luggage.

Whatever size suitcase or backpack you’re using, it’s nice to have multiple types of packing cubes in one set, instead of having to decide between styles and perhaps mixing and matching cubes to make your own set. We found that it worked well for our purposes, allowing our tester to cram a lot of clothing and shoes into a small space without ever struggling to zip them shut. The cubes also worked well in the dresser drawers of a hotel room and a cruise ship to keep our clothing organized and together so that no T-shirt was left behind. While they’re not the lightest packing cubes we’ve tested, that doesn’t matter as much when packing into luggage as when carrying a travel backpack, so you’ll have to decide whether a few extra ounces matter to you.