What's the best packing cubes for travelling with children?

Packing cubes are most useful on a family trip when they stop children’s clothes becoming one mixed-up pile. Compression is secondary to whether everyone can find their own socks.

The two products worth comparing first

Your priority	Specific product	Why it deserves a place	Reason to hesitate
First shortlist	Eagle Creek Pack-It Reveal Cube Set	A mesh-fronted set lets you see what belongs in each cube without unzipping every one, which helps with children’s packing.	Mesh is less useful for damp or dirty items that need isolation.
Alternative	Peak Design Packing Cubes	A more structured alternative with compression features to compare for bulky outfits and frequent unpacking.	They can be overkill for very small children’s clothes and cost more than simple mesh cubes.

• Eagle Creek Pack-It Reveal Cube Set Check price on Amazon
• Peak Design Packing Cubes Check price on Amazon

The buying decision that matters

Assign a colour or cube to each child and pack outfits rather than grouping all T-shirts together. Keep a separate washable bag for dirty laundry; that does more for organisation than another compression zip.

Check your journey, not just the label

Pack by use rather than forcing every garment into its own cube. A ‘first night’ cube for all children can be more useful than one cube per child when arriving at a hotel late.

Packing and day-to-day use

Watch the weight of the luggage after compressing. Packing cubes organise clothes but do not remove their mass, and heavily packed cases are difficult to lift onto train luggage racks.

Our recommendation

Choose the Eagle Creek set if visibility is the priority. Peak Design is more attractive when packing volume matters and a parent will manage the cubes.