Do Compression Packing Cubes Wrinkle Clothes?

Last Updated on September 11, 2023

The idea of compression packing cubes or space saver bags is great. We all want more room in our luggage.

We’ve reviewed the best compression packing cubes before and they do save space. But if all that squashing leads to wrinkled clothes then what’s the point!

Unfortunately there is no simple answer to the question. It depends what you are packing and how you pack it. Compression packing cubes can help you avoid wrinkles but it’s more complicated that you think.

Let’s first consider what causes wrinkles, There are 3 main factors to consider:

• The fold in the fabric.
• The pressure on that fold.
• The suceptibility of the fabric to wrinkling

Factor 1 – The Fold In The Fabric

You can sometimes reduce or even eliminate folds on your clothes if you use the rolling technique.

It depends on the size of the garment. You will need to fold large garments before you can roll them.

But you might be able to reduce the number of folds or change the location of the folds by using the rolling technique.

The less folds you have the less chance these will develop into visible creases.

So it’s a good idea to roll your clothes before you put them inside the compression packing cube. This will usually help to reduce wrinkling.

Less folds = Less Wrinkes! Try to have as few folds are possible by rolling when you can.

Factor 2 – The Pressure On The Fold

Compression packing cubes apply extra pressure to your clothes. That’s what they are for!

But it’s important to remember that the amount of extra pressure they apply depends how tightly you pack the cube. If you stuff lots of clothes in and force the zip closed you will apply lots of pressure on those folds. This will increase that chance that the folds turn turn into visible creases that won’t fall out.

You need to have enough pressure so that the garment does not become move around and become crunched up. A crunched up garment that has been squashed will develop wrinkles all over it not only at the folds.

The sweet spot keeps the clothes in place. It stops the rolled up clothes from unrolling but still squashes your clothes down a little.

Too much pressure will result in huge creases along any folds that you made when you packed it into the cube.

Vacuum spacer saver bags provide the most efficient compression. That can be useful, but they crunch up the clothes and result in more wrinkles across the garment.

Less pressure = Less wrinkles! Don’t over-pack your compression packing cubes.

Factor 3 – The Susceptibility of the Fabric To Wrinkling

You also need to consider the material that your garment is made of.

Some materials like linen will winkle just if you look at them.

Other materials like wool are very resistant to wrinkles. That’s one of the reasons why I love merino wool t-shirts and Wool & Prince dress shirts.

Lower wrinklability (my new word I just invented it!) = Less Wrinkles!

Here Is How I Pack Using Compression Packing Cubes To Reduce Wrinkles & Creasing

• Step 1 – I pack socks and undergarments in roll up space saver bags to aggressively crunch them down. I want to save as much space as I possibly can because I will need that space later and space saver bags have the most effective compression. I don’t know about you but I don’t mind if my underpants have wrinkles!
• Step 2 – I pack my t-shirts and less dressy clothes in compression packing cubes that are NOT overstuffed. I don’t mind if casual clothes like t-shirts are a little wrinkled so I don’t mind squashing these down a bit. Similarly I don’t iron my pajamas so they can’t get squashed too. I apply medium compression to stop the items from moving around inside the cube and becoming crunched up. But I avoid too much compression that will crease the folds.
• Step 3 – For special garments that I want to keep looking fresh I have an awesome tip for you. Watch the inflated zip-lock bag trick that this guy uses 1 minute into the video. I recommend not skipping the 1st minute though, the guy is an artist at suit folding!

https://youtu.be/VDGWW7_O2sI

A lightly folded dress garment that is protected inside an air pillow will not crease too badly. The air pocket stops the other things in your suitcase from squashing the items in the air pocket. Make sure you put the heavy items at the bottom of your bag and the zip-lock air pocket sit on top.

If you want to get super-fancy then packing foam inside the zip-lock bag along with your garment will reduce the chance of it slide around. Once, sealed it’s the air pressure inside that bag that stops the pressure on your garments. The foam just keeps things in place.

Hang your suit or nice dress up as soon as you arrive at your destination to lets the creases fall out.

You can go to the ball Cinderella! (Or Prince Charming)

It’s true, you can’t do this trick with too many items but you can do it with a suit or a dress shirt for that meal out at the fancy restaurant you are planning. You get the idea!

If you are traveling with a small bag you’ll need to make space in your luggage to have room for these air protected pockets. For that reason alone I highly recommend both travel space saver bags and compression packing cubes.

How To Deal With Creases & Wrinkles When Traveling

So you’ve learned to compress the heck out of any thing that either won’t crease because it’s a wrinkle-resistant fabric or where you don’t care if it wrinkles.

And you use the space you saved to protect special clothes with air pockets created with Ziplock bags.

But getting some wrinkles is just a fact of packing a suitcase. Compression packing cubes alone don’t stop this from happening.

If you really want to avoid wrinkles then my best tip to deal with this is to pack a small travel steamer in your carry-on like this one:

While you can pack a small travel iron in your carry-on luggage it’s not much use without an ironing board.

A travel steamer is much better solution. They are also permitted in hand luggage if they are small. The Polardo is only 3.4 x 7.7 inches and weights just 1.2 lbs.

You can use it to remove creases and wrinkles and also to freshen up clothes so you can wear them twice.