The Ridge Packing Cubes Review

If you think a packing cube is a packing cube, we have news for you! Well, not really, but now that we’ve got your attention, we’re We’re amped to give the Packing Cubes from The Ridge a go—let’s dive in!

External Components

The primary material used on these packing cubes is 420D ripstop nylon. This fabric is durable, reasonably lightweight, and water-resistant. We’re fans of durability here at Pack Hacker, although it isn’t the most important factor for packing cubes. For reference, the Osprey Ultralight Packing Cube Set utilizes 40D ripstop nylon, a fraction of the weight used to make these. They aren’t as durable, but they’re one of our most recommended options at the time of writing.

The front face is crafted from mesh, which is usually handy. You can see what’s inside, and wet gear is less likely to get mildewy. However, if you use your cubes for dirty clothing on the way home, the smell can waft out easier because there isn’t a material blocking it from escaping. We like seeing what gear you’ve got stowed inside, but it comes down to your specific needs.

The logo is pretty large, and we’re not quite sure why. It’s bulky, heavy, and doesn’t serve much purpose other than reminding you where you bought your packing cubes from. We understand branding, but this feels like a little overboard for a set of packing cubes.

At the time of writing, there are only black cubes available. At first, that might make you sad. After all, who doesn’t love a little color inside their travel backpack? If we promise to give you a random fact about cats later in this review, would that make you feel better? It will? Sounds great. See you in a few paragraphs.

We’re working with zippers from YKK, which we’re here for. As far as we’re concerned, these are the cream of the crop; we rarely have issues with YKK zippers. The pulls are easy to grab onto and don’t get in your way or make much noise, which we dig.

There are two cube sizes available—large and medium. At the time of writing, you can’t purchase them individually. You have to go with the combo pack, which has one large cube and three medium ones. Given the dimensions, it feels like a model is missing in the middle. The medium feels small, but the large feels right, and we wish something were in between the two.

Inside The Packing Cube

Inside, there’s a liner, essentially making the cubes two-ply. The interior is anti-microbial 210D nylon, which is handy for ensuring your pack doesn’t start to smell too much, although it only has this on five of six sides. Some stink might escape the sixth mesh side.

Similar to earlier, this is a high-denier material for its task. We’ll get into that more later, though!

There’s no organization inside; however, we didn’t expect there to be. Unless there’s a travel system involved, we find pockets and organizers inside packing cubes superfluous, wasting space and weight. The Ridge design is simple but effective for stowing clothing. What can you fit inside, though?

The large cube is a solid shout for pants, thicker shirts, long-sleeve shirts, and similarly sized clothing. You can fit a bulky sweater or sweatshirt here, but it monopolizes the space. These cubes are better for sorting out small and medium clothing items; you can leave the big stuff in the main compartment of your travel backpack or daypack.

The medium cubes are a good shout for socks, underwear, thin shirts, pajamas, and other smaller clothing items. Since you get three of these in the combo pack, you can use each cube for different purposes, although having a size in the middle might be more efficient to save space and weight.

Overall, using these cubes is easy. If you’ve used a packing cube before, it’s a simple but effective design with little learning curve. Still, there are better choices for some kinds of travelers.

The materials are unnecessarily heavy, deterring some ultralight and minimalistic travelers. A middle-sized cube would be helpful for separation between delicates and your go-to, larger clothing, like T-shirts and pants. We wish you could purchase the cubes separately to mix and match your options more effectively. If you get one combo pack, you only have one large cube, which may not won’t be enough for longer trips or family packing.

For most uses, these cubes do well. The materials are durable, the hardware is solid, and they’re easy to use. Plus, you can add it to your order from The Ridge if you purchase one of their backpacks, travel wallets, or carry on luggage. Now that’s a complete package!

Okay, it’s time for your cat fact: Did you know that the house cat you (might) have at home shares roughly 95% of the same DNA as a tiger? Wild, huh? Think about that the next time they’re screaming for wet food. They’re only 5% away from tearing your limbs off!