Bagsmart vs. Bagail Compression Packing Cubes: Which are best for your next big trip?

Winter and holiday travel is right around the corner — and if you need to jet out, it’s time to start prepping your travel gear accordingly.

Some trips — like a quick jaunt to your parent’s house — require minimal packing. In these cases, a backpack or duffel bag should suffice. But when trips demand outfits for formal occasions or gear for varied climates, a carry-on suitcase’s cubic capacity suddenly seems pitifully inadequate.

Destination weddings, in particular, pose packing puzzles. Before discovering packing cubes, I had to forgo packing casual wear and workout clothes to accommodate my tuxedo, formal shoes and other black-tie attire.

For the savvy traveler, compression packing cubes are as indispensable as Global Entry or a good pair of sunglasses. They add extra space to your suitcase by squeezing out excess air from folded garments. Plus, packing cubes also keep suitcase contents organized — with a glance, you know exactly where your shirts, socks and toiletries are.

There are dozens of brands of packing cubes out there. In this article, we’ve pitted two top packing cube brands — Bagsmart and Bagail — against each other. We assessed durability, aesthetic appeal and practicality to help you buy the packing cubes that best fit your travel needs.

Bagsmart Packing Cubes vs. Bagail Packing Cubes

Quick comparison

Durability

As a full-time freelance travel writer, I inevitably beat up my travel accessories and carry-on bags. For example, on a journey through the highlands of Papua New Guinea, my suitcase fell from a poorly latched van trunk, exploding open and spilling my clothes and toiletries all over the road.

Bagail’s packing cubes meet my criteria for durability with flying colors. Made of sturdy nylon, the Bagail cubes resist rips and fraying. Zipper quality is a dependable bellwether of an accessory’s overall quality, and Bagail’s zippers are hefty and resistant to jamming. The cubes’ nylon handles allow me to easily yank them from my luggage — a boon when changing in an airport bathroom after a long flight. The mesh face, handy for inventorying suitcase contents, is as tough as any gym bag.

Bagsmart’s packing cubes feel less durable than Bagail’s, but the former boasts a sleeker, more professional look. Bagsmart packing cubes are better suited for business travelers than adventure seekers. The slots to insert informational tags are a welcome touch and a godsend for those prone to misplacing items.

Praticality

The Bagail packing cubes come in sets of four, five and six. The compression zipper flattens clothes effectively, adding roughly 30% more space to your luggage. Make sure to fold clothes properly before compressing them to avoid wrinkling. The cubes fit easily into duffel bags and travel backpacks as well. Further, each cube in the Bagail set is a different size, the smallest sleeves best suited for socks and underwear and the larger for jackets, blouses or sweaters.

The Bagsmart cubes likewise come in sets of four, five and six. As far as compression efficacy goes, both brands do the job well. In this category, both pugilists are evenly matched. Bagsmart’s cubes are slightly smaller than Bagail’s, with the former easily fitting into a small knapsack. Bagsmart’s set of six includes a laundry bag for dirty clothes. The drawstring seals the laundry bag tightly, so the clean clothes in your suitcase won’t smell like the lost and found at the YMCA.

Looks

Like a dopp kit or toothbrush case, packing cubes are chiefly utilitarian — function trumps form with this accessory. But, to take a cue from the Japanese ideal of beautifying mundane objects, even the humble packing cube should please the eye in a perfect world.

Bagail customizes packing cubes in a color wheel of hues — colors as vivid and bold as nautical flags. Meanwhile, Bagsmart’s packing cubes are file cabinet gray, but you can customize the color of the trim. Bagail takes the design prize in my eyes, but beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

Bottom line

Packing cubes are worth their weight in gold. This affordable accessory has enhanced my travels to an unexpected degree, allowing me to pack more and thus travel with greater convenience and ease. I especially appreciate the extra space when I find beautiful gifts to take home from my travels. To my delightful surprise, packing cubes have even saved me money. I never have to buy clothes on the road and always carry enough attire to avoid hotel laundry services or dry cleaning expenses.

I recommend the hardier Bagail Compression Packing Cubes for those with a penchant for camping, attending festivals or backpacking. For long trips, say, a multi-week backpacking stint, go with the set of six. It’s a matter of personal taste, of course, but I like Bagail’s design over Bagsmart’s. Plus, they’re less expensive.

The Bagsmart Compression Packing Cubes, sleeker and boasting bag tag slots, are better for business travelers. Bagsmart’s laundry bag is handy for those who need to keep their outfits fresh. At the end of the day, the differences between these two brands are subtle, and both Bagail and Bagsmart’s packing cubes work well.

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