On the other ships, it is offered one night during cruises that are 10 days or less. The price tag of $49 USD per person (it’s a la carte at the permanent restaurant) may make you ponder skipping it, but let me tell you that would be a huge mistake.

We ate during the Rudi’s Sel de Mer night on the ms Amsterdam on our recent Alaska cruise, and it ended up being one of the most phenomenal meals of my life. Tigger even found herself enjoying foods she would never eat otherwise.

Get something handy to wipe your drool and read on.

Starters

Once you’re seated, you are immediately delivered a nice French baguette. Along with this, you are given some delicious butter than has been mixed with sea salt and lightly graced with chives. The butter was so tasty, we were tempted to lick the serving dish clean. You are also presented with a nice array of tapenades, olives, pesto, and other treats to enjoy with your bread.

Shortly after, the friendly server will bring an enticing amuse-bouche.

This dish is to give you a taste of what will be coming; an idea of what the chef’s style will be. And when you bite into this, you may very well make audible sounds. Thankfully, no one was seated too close to us to be concerned by the noises coming from our table.

This particular amuse-bouche was a scallop prepared with saffron vinaigrette resting on a seaweed salad and topped with an exquisite orange foam. These flavors slowly developed while in your mouth, and you were able to appreciate the flavor long after having swallowed your bite.

Tigger won’t eat scallops normally. She tried this and ate the entire offering. This truly tells you of its magnificence.

While purring over this, we received our starters. We chose the foie gras torchon, the popular seafood tower, and bouillabaisse Marseillaise. The foie gras wasn’t as exciting, although the plate did contain small cubes of red currant aspic which were amazing! They would cause an explosion of flavor in your mouth. The seafood tower was cute in its presentation but rather lackluster in flavor.

The bouillabaisse, however, was a true highlight. This dish is often messed up by chefs and/or unimpressive. But the Rudi’s Sel de Mer version was the best I’ve ever had. The broth was full of complex, savory flavors. This was another dish that hade me making audible sounds and saying “Wow!”

Tigger asked if I needed some alone time.

Main Dishes

While this is a seafood-dominated affair, they do offer some other great options for people, and Tigger happily ordered the steak. I had a harder time choosing since so much looked so appetizing, but I ultimately ended up ordering the salt crust baked branzino (European sea bass).

I later learned that the fish is baked while encased in meringue to ensure its tenderness. It ended up being quite impressive and had been topped by citrus pieces and lemon peel shavings which caused another wonderful blast of flavor upon the first bite without overpowering the taste of the fish.

Dessert

While waiting for dessert, we were treated to a small selection of chocolate truffles and strawberries covered with milk or white chocolate.

We eagerly awaited our crêpes Suzette and Rudi’s soufflé, which is based on the infamous Salzburger Nockerl. While the soufflé was light and airy, it was impossible to compare the impeccably prepared crêpes Suzette. I have had this dish served many different ways in many different countries, and this was absolutely the best I’ve ever had.

Once again I found myself struggling against dining room etiquette and my desires to lick every drop off this plate.

I just can’t recommend this dining experience enough. It’s a meal that I continue to fondly and vividly reminisce. So if you’re going on one of their cruises, find out when the Rudi’s Sel de Mer night is and make your reservations!

Have you eaten at Rudi’s Sel de Mer? What was your experience?

As we planned our visit to Berlin, a friend connected us with Miniloft, which is an aparthotel in a great location in the city. Miniloft offered to host us for a couple of nights so we could experience their property and see what kind of setup it would be for family and group travelers especially.

I had initially planned on mentioning the property in a larger Berlin post, but we enjoyed this place so much I felt like it deserved its own post.

Miniloft is located very close to different forms of public transportation and is an easy walk to/from the big train hub Hauptbahnhof (Hbf). So getting there from the Schönefeld Airport was an absolute breeze. We were able to get a train that went directly from the airport to Hbf, and we arrived at their location in about 35 minutes after leaving the airport.

Our room could comfortably support up to 6 guests with the use of comfy fold-out couches. When I became the most impressed, however, was when I started looking through the kitchen cabinets. This place was better stocked than most Airbnb apartments we’ve had!

I was also surprised by the large dining room table. In most places, you get a tiny round table which maybe seats 2 people even though there are 4 of you staying in the room. The table matched the possible occupancy, and it was so nice to actually have room to put my computer down and still be able to have plenty of room to eat.

The flat was quite spacious, and there was a large wicker box containing more pillows, sheets, and blankets.

There is also a booklet in the room with maps showing you where the various shops, markets, and restaurants are located in the immediate area. I felt it was a great extra touch.

Some of the windows could be opened if you wanted fresh air, and each window also had power blinds that could be raised or lowered from a central control system. It was nice to be able to have a lot of windows but still be able to achieve significant darkness at bedtime.

There is also a thermostat in the room so you can control the temperature, something I greatly appreciate in Europe as some places tend to really overheat with the radiators and your only option is to open some windows to try to balance things out.

The Wifi had really good strength and speed, and we were able to connect multiple devices to it.

Unlike most European places, including private apartments, this place had really good sound proofing. I could occasionally hear a door close from another room, but for the most part it was a very quiet location.

The location was great not only for exploring nearby on foot but for going out to the big sights in Berlin. The neighborhood also felt really safe, even late at night.

We enjoyed our stay there so much that I asked to pay to stay longer, but they were fully booked.

If you decide to stay at Miniloft, which I highly recommend, make sure to visit their website and look at the picture of their building. The addresses on this street aren’t the easiest to see, but the building has a very unique appearance which makes it easy to spot.

Have you stayed in an aparthotel before? What was your favorite amenity? For Tigger, it would be the dishwashing machine.

When you read about all the places she’s been and discover that she had somehow managed to not eat rice or eggs until her travels in her mid 20s, you’ll be pretty stunned. I know I was.

I knew she had a lot of . . . issues around food, so when she and her boyfriend Dave met up with us and another blogger friend in Vietnam to eat lizard, I was very interested to see how this would turn out. Looking back at that night while discovering she had never eaten rice before her journey, I was even more amazed.

Pretty early on in her book you’ll read about one of my favorite stories from her—the time she got sucked into a tea house scam in China and ended up punching one of the women in the face. (It’s on her blog, too, if you want to check it out.) It’s even funnier when you realize just how terrified she was of travel in the first place.

And she didn’t start out in some super easy place like Paris where things would be closer to her sheltered life in the UK. She decided to jump in the deep end first, and I read in fascination as she made the big hop from Europe to Asia shortly after leaving home.

Talk about ripping off the Band-Aid!

Lauren has a very witty and engaging style of writing. I like that she can not only verbally paint a picture of her surroundings for me, but she is able to bring the reader into her emotional state as well. You share her anxiety as you read what’s happening.

I’m generally not very keen on memoirs, especially travel ones. However, Lauren’s book is definitely an exception, and I highly recommend it to anyone. Even if you aren’t that interested in travel, it’s fascinating to see her journey of progression as she slowly overcomes more and more of fears and functions amazingly well while riddled with anxiety.

I mean can you imagine setting out on a round-the-world trip while you’re pretty thoroughly convinced that almost everything you eat, drink, or do will be the cause of your demise? Especially when you have experiences like almost careening off the side of a mountain in Thailand when your scooter’s brakes go out.

This isn’t only a collection of crazy incidences, it’s also an insight into the world of living with anxiety. Lauren is an inspiration and a great example of perseverance in the face of incredible fears.

This is a book full of rollercoaster emotions and nail-biting moments that is just hard to put down.

You can purchase How Not to Travel the World at Amazon.

Recently, his book on travel, How to Travel the World on $50 a Day, was released as a second edition with over 100 additional pages of information. When he asked if I would be interested in reviewing it, I was naturally interested.

We travel for much less than $50 a day total for two people, so my first thought was “Why so much?” However, not everyone is cut out for the type of travel we do. Admittedly, we’re part of a very small club. Most people who travel, or dream of travel, won’t be using our style or methods.

Matt’s $50 a day is aimed at the “regular” occasional traveler. You know, the person who has a 9-5 type of job, perhaps is a student, or has a place they’re paying for monthly along with some other regular bills.

As I read the book, I was quite pleased to see that he also includes tips on saving even more money on travel. One could say, it’s really a book about how to travel on $50 or less a day.

And someone planning a gap year or longer-term travel will still find plenty of good information.

I really enjoyed reading his book and took an extra amount of time to give it a more thorough study. It’s well organized and includes some really great region-specific tips. For instance, when he is giving information about an area, he includes many local resources that might not be readily known or discoverable by the average visitor. I found some tips about areas we had visited that could’ve come in handy while we were there.

The book is written in a very friendly manner and is very easy to use as a resource. He really wants to get more people traveling and that comes through in this book. I really could’ve used something like this when we first began traveling, and even after four years of constant travel there is still some good stuff in there.

One of the things I really like is that he encourages people to get out of the established tourist areas to experience more of the local flavor. He gives advice that accommodates a broad range of travelers, from those who are totally comfortable in a 10-bed dorm to those who prefer more luxury on their holiday.

Unlike some other less content-packed books produced by bloggers, the price is extremely reasonable, too. Something else I really appreciate.

How to Travel the World on $50 a Day gets a big thumbs-up from me.

As we are preparing to settle into a long-term base, I have considered possibly turning an extra room into an Airbnb rental for some extra income as well as an opportunity to meet new people. Because of that, I was quite interested in the ebook Get Paid for Your Pad when it became available for review.

The book is targeted more toward people who have luxury apartments/homes to rent out; however, I still found a lot of the advice to be useful for other rental situations as well.

The writers did a great job of organizing information into a very clear format, and they’ve covered pretty much every aspect you would want to know. I found a lot of their tips to be quite useful. Their suggestions are backed by their own experiences as well as those from some others.

They’ve managed to cover everything from the basics of renting out your place to what the kitchen should be stocked with to how to manage your listing in the Airbnb site, including how to make sure your offering gets the most attention it can.

If you have a place, or even a room, you’d like to rent out, I can highly recommend their book. It answered so many questions for me, and I learned a lot more about the other side of using Airbnb as a host.

You can purchase their book on Amazon.

The system looked amazing, and I contacted them about reviewing it for you. They responded by sending me the pack and some half cubes so I could test out how to pack light and organized with their cool system.

For starters, the pack is very lightweight at 2 pounds 2 ounces. It can be worn as a backpack or carried as a duffel bag. Just like with the wheeled backpack, the straps are easily adjusted to make things as comfortable as possible.

I tested it out on our flight from Florida to Texas. During our 9-week carryon-only trip earlier this year, I used a messenger bag. It wasn’t always the most convenient pack. The Systems Go was a marked improvement and was much more comfortable to wear as well.

With everything crammed into a messenger bag, I ended up getting extra screening in Europe a couple of times because they couldn’t see everything on the x-ray. This pack is so well organized with the cubes, that it isn’t a problem. Even with the pickier TSA in the US, it went through screening smoothly.

Living out of the pack is MUCH easier as well, especially when using colored cubes. I knew which cube held what I wanted, so I didn’t have to go through the whole bag and pull things out to get to items. The pack opens as a front-loader which makes things extra simple.

The size is perfect for a carryon, and the shape means it fits easily into the overhead bins without needing a lot of space.

When I was packing the cubes, I ended up looking for extra items to put in them so I could test it out with all five cubes in the main compartment. You could easily use this carryon for a longer trip. I found myself wishing I had it during our Europe hopping.

In addition to the large main compartment, there is a smaller one in the bottom of the pack that can accommodate two additional half cubes or other items. I ended up using it for my hydration belt and water bottle I use when I’m running and still had room for additional stuff.

As with the other backpack I reviewed, this has a cushioned and vented back for extra comfort while wearing it as a backpack. As I already carry a daypack for my laptop and some other items, I tested this as a duffel, putting the strap across my chest when carrying the bag. The padding in the strap assured a comfy experience.

Carrying it as a duffel through the crowded aisle of the airplane was quite easy.

Here is a basic list of everything I had in the pack:

• 5 T-shirts
• Swim trunks
• 3 shorts
• 3 pairs of socks
• 1 jeans
• a bunch of toiletries
• hydration belt plus 20-ounce water bottle
• GPS with a bunch of other cords and chargers for other devices

There are also plenty of lash points on the outside for attaching gear, and the internal compartment includes a sleeve that will fit most 15-inch laptops. You also get a small section at the top of the bag and another on one side of the pack.

It really isn’t difficult to see how to pack light and organized with this great system. I look forward to taking it on many more carryon-only trips. It makes packing and traveling an absolute breeze.

Have you taken any longer carryon-only trips? What tips can you share?

My wallet is on the left for size comparison

Wireless features you will love

Saving on fees

As I said above, with this device you save on fees by connecting the router to the WiFi network and using it as a hotspot for other devices. When I tested this out, we had two laptops, a mobile phone, and a tablet all connected under a single login.

Using this device in these situations just a couple of times (or even once depending on how many connections you need) more than pays for itself. I wish I had it in Wales when I had to pay $22 USD so that we each could be online.

Since the devices store the NETGEAR router profile, you don’t have to go through a bunch of connection steps each time you want to set it up. Just connect the router, and you’re good to go!

Security

If you’re using a public hotspot, your device is at risk from hackers. With the Trek, you have a firewall-protected network for your devices to help make surfing safer.

Going wireless when it’s a wired connection

Occasionally we’ve stayed in a place that charges for WiFi but offers a wired connection in the room for free. No problem! You can connect a cable to the Trek, and now you have a wireless hotspot in your room.

Signal extender

If you’ve traveled a lot or use a lot of public hotspots, it’s quite probable you’ve had to deal with a weak signal. The Trek can act as a signal extender to make your digital life much easier and comfortable. I could’ve really used this in some of the rooms where the best connection was either right outside the door or in a corner of the room.

Having to sit on the toilet to work because that area has the strongest signal just isn’t fun.

So how well did it perform?

I really wanted to give it a thorough testing, so Tigger and me connected our laptops via the router. In addition, I connected my Kindle Fire and my smartphone. I’m pretty sure at one point Tigger also had his PS Vita connected. It’s a really good test with Tigger because he likes to watch a lot of YouTube videos, and that can really zap bandwidth.

I did a bandwidth speed test before we connected and during to get an objective measurement of how well it worked with so many devices connected and in action. Speeds were exactly the same! (I know these speeds look a little sad, but we were in a hotel on an island in Mexico, so it was pretty fast compared to some others we tried.)

The only time I experienced a reduction of speed was when Tigger began playing with friends online. Their games are streaming, and they chat via Skype at the same time. With all that going on, I did experience a drop in speed, but it was still quite functional.

An interesting incidental finding was that Tigger had a hard time connecting with some gaming servers while using the hotel’s login; however, when he connected through the Trek he was able to connect to them with no problem. I’m not sure what made the difference, but to me that’s a big plus. He’d agree.

The device is quite compact and lightweight. It plugs directly into the electrical outlet and has a foldout antenna for ease of use. Another nice built-in feature is a USB plug so that you can charge your phone or tablet while the router is plugged in. If you’ve ever had the joy of being in a hotel room with only 2 outlets, you’ll greatly appreciate this feature.

The setup instructions were super easy to follow. In case you have a device that hasn’t connected to the router before, the ID and password are on the router itself so you don’t have to worry about carrying around extra notes when you travel.

Many of the features of the travel router would be good for use at home as well, especially the signal extender. Sometimes homes have a dead spot, and this could easily solve that problem.

Final word

The NETGEAR Trek travel router gets a thumbs up from both of us. There were many times over the last 3+ years this device would’ve come in handy. It’s definitely now a part of our travel essentials.

Even if you don’t rely on wireless connections as much as we do, I’d still highly recommend it.

The site is really geared more for people whose budget is in the mid to high range. Budget travelers won’t find accommodations within their range.

Unfortunately, you also have to register via email or Facebook to even look at prices, locations, etc., which I think is an odd policy when the competitor sites can be easily searched without registration.

TravelPony arranges results in an interesting fashion. One column is for top deals, ostensibly for those people who are interested in the size of the discount more than the bottom line price. Some of these deals are quite a big difference when compared to some other sites like Orbitz, Agoda, CheapTickets, etc., so it’s worth giving it a go.

Another column is marked “Standard.” Their FAQs don’t explain what this represents, and I’m not really quite sure either to be honest. I see the same properties from the other columns appearing in this one.

“Upscale” seems to be rather self explanatory. If you’re a 4- and 5-star resort kind of traveler, you’ll want to click on this column immediately and peruse away.

All searches will give you a market comparison so you can see what deals are being fond on other sites. The initial search screen provides 2 sites for comparison, but if you click on a property you’ll see a much larger list.

One thing I like about the other sites is being able to filter by amenities. For instance, WiFi is always important to Tigger and me, so any property not offering it won’t be an option. TravelPony does not offer this type of filter, and property descriptions aren’t always the most helpful.

When people are using the web to search for lodging, they want to be able to easily skim to get to the properties they’re interested in. Amenities are usually a big deal for travelers, and there is no quick way to know what a hotel or resort offers.

Another nice feature is an interactive map (supplied by Google Maps) at the bottom of each property’s page. While other sites offer maps, they’re usually an extra click or two and not always as convenient. With TravelPony, it’s right there so you can see what’s nearby, how far away it is from things like the beach, etc.

Once you’re ready to do a booking, it’s pretty straightforward. You can readily see the breakdown of the cost, including taxes, which I like. Cancellation policies are clearly written for you on the same page, so you can review them before hitting the purchase button.

In fact, you have to scroll past the cancellation information before you can even submit your booking. I really like the bare bones format for these policies. There really is no room for confusion, which is great.

The process after booking is very similar to what other sites provide, and it all went pretty smoothly.

Pros

• Good selection
• Site is pretty easy to use and visually uncluttered
• Ability to view properties in the luxury range quickly and easily.
• Often cheaper than other sites for midrange and luxury properties.

Cons

• A locked front door. You can’t view anything without registering via email or Facebook.
• Inability to filter by amenities.
• Descriptions are in paragraph form, so you have to read the full description to discover whether or not the property offers what you’re looking for.
• Budget travelers are completely left out.

Wheeled Backpack

I call it a convertible suitcase, but whatever you want to label it, it’s worth checking out. They obviously have many different types of luggage to choose from, but the one I tried out for them is the Switchback 26.

I had given up on a backpack the last time we were in Mexico. I have some back issues, and when they decide to flare up I’d be screwed with just having a backpack. For the most part I’ve really enjoyed having a wheeled suitcase; however, there have been times when a backpack would’ve been more handy.

In Paris, there were so many steps to climb that having a suitcase almost made me swear, especially since Tigger wasn’t strong enough to carry his suitcase up. In addition to back issues, I also have bad knees. Stairs are hard enough without having to lug up a 20- and 13-kg suitcase as well!

The Switchback gives me the best of both worlds. It has 2 large, sturdy wheels with a solid handle that zips away nicely. It’s easy to roll behind you, and if you come upon several flights of stairs, you can just sling it onto your torso like a backpack which makes things a LOT easier.

Additionally, some surfaces just aren’t as amenable to wheeled luggage, like the cobblestone streets found in many parts of Europe and that time we had to schlep our stuff through the dirt roads of the oasis in Morocco.

It has ample room for the stuff I carry and is also a bit lighter than my wheeled suitcase (3.6 kg with the straps on). Lighter is always better in my opinion, even if you aren’t climbing a ton of steps.

An additional feature I particularly love about this particular luggage is that it has an attached daypack which unzips easily. I’ve seen these before, but Eagle Creek has a tendency to go the extra mile on things. The daypack boasts lots of room and also has a padded sleeve that will fit most 15” laptops. There’s another sleeve for a tablet. An additional extra touch is the key fob they included which also has a bottle opener at one end.

The big pack with its straps

The day- and backpack have cushioned mesh so that it’s easier to wear them. The mesh really helps in hot climes.

The straps can be moved between the daypack and backpack. I tested it out, and you can still attach the daypack to the main bag with the straps still on.

Being a larger-framed person, I’m always a bit nervous about straps fitting me well. Also, the waist belt that many backpacks come with often don’t extend far enough around my belly to make things comfortable. So, I was curious to see how they handled things with this bag.

Everything was comfortable! And the waist belt was long enough to extend much farther than I needed. There are also load-lifter straps on the shoulders which help take pressure off your back.

The straps were super easy to connect and exchange. In fact, on my first try, having never done this before, it only took me maybe 2 minutes to get everything attached. The straps are labeled so you can quickly figure out which strap goes on which side. Clips are sturdy and can be attached or unattached while wearing gloves, too.

I took the fully-loaded pack for a nice long walk while using it as a backpack and another walk while pulling it behind me. I wanted to get a feel for what it would be like to walk from a bus station to a hotel or whatever. I went over varied terrain when pulling the case behind me as well since that’s real life.

The Switchback did great! It was quite comfortable to wear as a backpack and only required minimal adjustments, which were easy to make on the fly.

I also went up and down stairs while wearing it as a backpack as well as dragging it up the staircase by the extendable handle. Our stairs are a bit narrow, which was perfect for this test. The bag handled really well, and its profile is compact enough that getting between small spaces (like between a brick wall and a car) and navigating the narrow stairway went smoothly.

As it is a bit smaller than my suitcase, I was a bit nervous about it being able to fit everything. Since I use the cubes, though, everything fit really nicely without even using the space available in the daypack or the two external side pockets.

The wheeled backpack is water resistant and made of pretty tough fabric. Often the pull-up handle on a wheeled suitcase feels a bit flimsy or unstable, but this one moved smoothly and felt quite solid when extended. The Eagle Creek warranty is a “no matter what” policy, which I find extra reassuring.

After giving it a thorough test, the Switchback 26 gets the difficult-to-earn Talon seal of approval. I’d definitely recommend it.

Update: While using it more heavily for longer periods now, I have encountered two situations which might frustrate people.

• When the daypack is attached to the main bag and has items inside it, the bag does tend to fall over. It’s easy enough to just prop the daypack part against an object when standing it up on its wheels, but it would be nice if it didn’t topple so easily. I don’t know they would achieve that without making part of the bag heavier, though.
• When the bag is being tossed around by handlers, etc., the daypack has a tendency to unzip from the main bag. This occurs on the side opposite from where the zipper closure is located, so you have to unzip it and rezip it to secure it again. There are clips to help hold the main bag and daypack together which keeps it from completely coming apart, but it’s something to be aware of.

Money safety for your travel list

There were a few other items I was intrigued by, and they sent me those to review as well.

RFID Bi-fold wallet

RFID technology is finding itself in more and more use. It’s quite common for IDs, credit and bank cards, and transportation passes (like for the metro). One of the advantages of RFID products is also its Achilles heel—it can be scanned without being put through a reader.

This wallet has RFID-blocking technology to keep items from being able to be scanned while they are within the wallet. I tested it with a metro pass, and while other people could hold their wallet up to the scanner successfully, my pass could not be read. I’ve tried this in a few cities so feel pretty confident.

It also has a low profile. There are plenty of internal compartments for cards, passes, tickets, and, of course, money. It’s tall enough that really wide bills (some countries have large currency) still fit securely into the wallet. It’s a handy wallet to have.

Money belt

I was most interested in this belt because it has a plastic buckle which allows you to keep it on while going through airport security. My jeans are too big to wear without a belt, so it’s nice to be able to keep that on to free up both my hands.

The fact that it has a hidden zipper compartment is just an extra bonus.

I’ve gone through several airports with the belt on, and I’ve had no issues with it setting off the metal detectors. The zipper is also easy to operate with one hand so you can get into the compartment without loosening or opening the belt.

I’ve been quite happy with it.

Comfort

Tigger likes inflatable travel pillows, so I had him try out this one. He reports that it is quite comfortable. He’s also fond of the one-way valve which makes inflating it a LOT easier. It’s more comfortable than the horseshoe-shaped pillows as well.

He’s really picky about textures but found this pillow to be nice and soft. He gives it a 6 out of 10.

***

Has your travel list included a wheeled backpack and/or a pack with an attachable daypack? What was your experience?

When Eagle Creek offered to send me items to try out and review, I found packing cubes that also compressed.

Packing cubes that compress, you say? I just had to try them out!

We have a 6-week break before another house sit in Yorkshire. As we’re returning to the same sit, we thought it would be awfully fun to leave our suitcases behind and just do carry-ons. Cheaper and easier. Always a nice combo.

This was the perfect time to give the Pack-It Specter cube a trial since I’m carrying all my stuff in a messenger bag. Yes, a messenger bag for 6 weeks. I know people who pack way more than that for a weekend trip. In fact, I used to be one of them.

Normally, the packing cube I use for my shirts looks like this. I wanted to see how much of a space savings the compression cube would give me.

The original cube takes up quite a bit of room.

Here is the compression cube fully expanded with the same amount of shirts inside (three XL T-shirts).

And compressed

Notice the height comparisons with the candle holder? Quite a nice compression I’d say. How does it affect my space?

HUGE difference! Interestingly, my original cube is a medium size. The compression one is their half cube.

When I had both the full and half-size cubes in the same compartment, I still had plenty of room in the same section plus the divided area behind them. With the regular cubes, my bag would be almost completely filled to carry 2 T-shirts, medications, toiletries, 2 pairs of shorts, 2 pairs of socks, and swim trunks.

Basically, with the compression cubes I doubled my space. Not too shabby!

Another feature I like is that when the cube is compressed, you can still quickly get into your bag and remove something. You don’t have to unzip the entire bag each time you want to get it into it.

Since they aren’t using vacuum creation to effect the compression, you also aren’t out of luck if you get a tear. They are more durable than I expected, too. I ended up catching part of the bag when compressing it for the first time. I wasn’t super gentle getting it unstuck, and it didn’t tear or have a puncture.

If you’ve read my other reviews, you know that I don’t let a discounted (or zero) price tag get in the way of my assessment. I am always asking myself how I would feel if I had paid the full price.

So what’s my opinion when I apply that principle to these cubes?

Well, let’s just say I’ll be buying more. I’m really quite pleased with these and would highly recommend they get added to your travel checklist.

Are you as big a fan of packing cubes as me? What other accessories do you love?