The time I realized I was packing my backpack all wrong for flights

So I was at the airport in Chicago last month, digging through my carry-on for my tablet, and this guy next to me just pulls his out of a side pocket in like 2 seconds. I've been shoving everything deep inside my pack for years, thinking it saved space. Then he showed me how he rolls his clothes tight and uses packing cubes to keep the top layer free for quick grab items. It hit me that I was basically making my own life harder just to fit a few extra shirts. I tried it on my flight home to Denver and got to my seat in half the time. Has anyone else had that moment where you realize a basic travel habit is totally backwards? What did you change?

2 comments

2 Comments

olivere301mo ago

Twenty bucks says your buddy's packing cubes take up more room than they save. I've been cramming everything loose into my Osprey since 2019 and I fit two extra hoodies plus a pair of boots compared to my cube-using friend last trip. Denver to LAX, I was laughing while he struggled to zip his bag closed. Rolling clothes tight? Yeah, wrinkles are worse and you lose the ability to just shove a jacket into a gap. I grab my stuff from the bottom all the time, just takes a few seconds of digging. Nobody needs that tablet mid-flight anyway.

thomas_young1mo ago

Man I gave up on cubes after one trip, just chucking everything in loose is way faster.