Peak Design Ultralight Packing Cubes Review
Summary Verdict
Peak Design Ultralight Packing Cubes are a practical and sustainable choice for travellers needing to organise gear efficiently. Their innovative materials and straightforward design make them ideal for non-clothing items, and the ability to convert them into sling bags adds to their versatility. While they may not be perfect for keeping clothes wrinkle-free, their overall utility and eco-friendly construction make them a worthwhile investment for those looking to streamline their travel organisation. However, this may be another example where less is more, as I found the smaller Ultralight Packing Cubes the most useful.
What are the Peak Design Ultralight Packing Cubes?
Part of Peak Design's travel range, the Peak Design Ultralight Packing Cubes build on the company's original line-up of Packing Cubes with new sizes, materials, and colours. They are designed to help you organise your gear when travelling and with the addition of an optional strap, they can be transformed into a sling bag.
While the original Packing Cubes are designed for organising clothes for travel, the new Ultralight range is for all sorts of gear, which might include some clothes, but they are also useful for those essentials we all carry on photography trips.
Read our Peak Design Travel Duffels Review
Peak Design Ultralight Packing Cube Price and Availability
The prices of the Peak Design Ultralight Packing Cubes (in the regular or mesh fabric) are as follows:
XXS: £14.33 / $14.95
XS: 19.12 / $19.95
S: £23.92 / $24.95
3-Pack with one of each size: £47.88 / $49.95 (only available in Black)
Specifications
Dimensions when full: XX-Small: 18c x 8c x 6 cm, X-Small: 23 x 11 x 9 cm, Small: 30 x 17 x 13 cm (mesh cubes expand beyond this)
Volume (regular fabric): XX-Small: 0.8L, X-Small: 2.5L, Small: 10L
Volume (mesh fabric): XX-Small: 1L (expands to 3L), X-Small: 3L (expands to 8L), Small: 12L (expands to 22L)
Weight (regular fabric): XX-Small: 20g, X-Small: 27g, Small: 44g
Weight (mesh fabric): XX-Small: 31g, X-Small: 45g, Small: 77g
Materials (regular fabric): Ultralight Terra Shell 40D exterior fabric is weatherproof, 100% recycled, and Bluesign-approved
Materials (mesh fabric): Ultralight 180g Powernet nylon stretch mesh is Bluesign-approved
The Peak Design Ultralight Packing Cubes can be folded and rolled for storage when they’re not in use.
Key Features
Peak Design makes the Ultralight Packing Cubes in three sizes: Small, X-Xmall and XX-Small. Each size is also made in two fabrics: UL Regular, which uses Terra Shell, a 100% recycled, PFAS-free fabric, and UL Mesh, which is made from stretchy nylon mesh.
The volume of each size varies a little depending upon the fabric used. The Small UL Regular cube, for example, has a volume of 10L, whereas the Small UL Mesh cube has a volume of 12L. Meanwhile, the X-Small UL cube has a capacity of 2.5L, while the X-Small UL cube is 3L in volume. The smallest UL packing cube is the XX-Small UL Regular cube which has a volume of just 1L.
Terra Shell is Peak Design's most eco-friendly and high-performance fabric to date. The cubes made from Terra Shell have taped seams and a weatherproof zip to make them waterproof. Conversely, the UL Mesh cubes are breathable and stretchy, making them useful for containing odd-shaped items or wet kit.
Unlike the original Peak Design Packing Cubes, the Ultralight versions have just one zip as they lack the expansion zip and are a single volume. That means that the contents can't be compressed other than by the elastic nature of the UL Mesh cubes.
The Peak Design Ultralight Packing Cubes have one zip with a long elasticated pull.
Peak Design offers the Ultralight Packing Cubes in five colours, Cloud, Dune, Sage, Eclipse, and Black. Those colours aren't just for aesthetics, if you have cubes of the same size in different colours you can use the colours to distinguish their contents.
Being ultra-light, these packing cubes are also ultra-packable and can rolled up tightly before being held by the elastic loop on the zipper pull.
There are loops on the outside of the Ultralight Packing Cubes to enable a Peak Design Cord Hook Carry Strap (sold separately) to be connected to convert them into lightweight sling bags. Of course, if you have a strap like the popular Peak Design Slide Lite, you can use anchor loops to connect the strap and turn the cube into a sling bag.
From left to right, the Peak Design Ultralight Packing Cubes in size Small (mesh), Small (regular), X-Small (regular) and XX-Small (regular).
Build and Handling
The Peak Design Ultralight Packing Cubes are built with practicality and sustainability in mind. The Terra Shell material is usefully water-resistant and durable but it’s also environmentally friendly. In addition, the taped seams and weatherproof zippers ensure their contents stay dry. Meanwhile, the nylon mesh fabric of the UL Mesh cubes means they are useful if you have anything damp that you want to dry. An XX-Small cube, for example, could be clipped onto a backpack to contain the backpack’s rain cover after a shower. And the small is large enough to hold a thin beach towel and swimwear.
There are loops on the Peak Design Ultralight Packing Cubes that can be used to attach an optional strap. This shows the Small Mesh Ultralight Packing Cubes in the Eclipse colour.
As they are basically thin cases with a zip (think of a simple wash bag or an old-school pencil case), there's no mystery to using the cubes. Open the zip, pop in whatever you want it to hold and close the zip. The tricky part is deciding what size you need. I expected to get the most use from the Small Cube, the largest in the Ultralight range, but actually, it's XX-Small and X-Small that I have used more because they're handy for housing small items that you don't want to have to hunt around in your bag for.
From left to right, the Peak Design Ultralight Packing Cubes in Eclipse (my favourite colour), Sage, Black and Cloud.
Performance
I've used the XX-Small UL Packing Cube frequently to contain a power bank, charging cable and a couple of batteries on a day out with my camera. Meanwhile, the X-Small is useful for holding a very light jacket or a thin extra layer, while the Small is useful for a bulkier fleece or towel. The X-Small UL Packing Cubes have also been ideal for holding balled-up socks when I’ve been away from home for a couple of days.
Next time I go surfing, I can see myself using the Small UL Packing Cube to hold my wetsuit boots, gloves, a small towel and maybe the board wax. It’s a bit too big to be useful when I’m out with my camera, though.
While the UL Regular and UL Mesh Packing Cubes can be handy, they're not a great choice for items that you want to keep uncreased - that's really where the original Packing Cubes come in.
Although the Peak Design Ultralight Pack Cubes lack the internal organisation of the new Peak Design Small Tech Pouch, but they are more versatile and simple to use.
The elasticated zip pull is useful for keeping the Peak Design Ultralight Packing Cubes rolled tight when they are empty.
Verdict
I'm a bit of a packing cube nerd. I started using some Amazon Basics Packing Cubes a few years ago and switched to Peak Design's Packing Cubes when they were first introduced (yes, I bought them). I love how they reduce the time it takes me to unpack my suitcase to just a couple of minutes when I go on holiday. The Peak Design Ultralight Packing Cubes are another versatile and eco-friendly solution for organising gear that doesn't sit so well in the original cubes or that doesn't need the compression they give.
While they are simple in principle and easy to use, the Ultralight Packing Cubes are also very well made from high-quality, eco-friendly materials. The X-Small and XX-Small versions have proved especially useful to date and are likely to be of most use for photographers on a day out. The Small versions are best suited for use during longer trips.