Hoboroll<\/a> packing solution, and once we’d actually figured out somewhere in the world I could have it posted to (ahh, the joys of a life on the road), sent a bright green one out for me to take a look at.<\/p>\n\n\n\nIt’s an interesting piece of luggage, occupying a middle ground between a day pack and a compression sack. Made of heavy-grade nylon fabric, it’s essentially a smallish cylinder that splits internally into five sections, with drawstrings on both ends to cinch the openings, and a strap and buckle system for applying compression and carrying the Hoboroll.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Although the company website boasts space reductions of up to 50%, my real-world testing yielded far more modest gains of around 10-20% depending what I put inside. Highly compressible items like clothing are obviously better than things like books and shoes, and aiming for an even size distribution in each compartment helps as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Still, even these smaller gains make a noticeable difference. No longer do I have to force the zips on my backpack, or spend an extra few minutes rearranging stuff before rushing off to catch the train I’m already late for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I haven’t used the Hoboroll properly on its own yet (ie, outside my backpack), but the little testing I have done makes it seem handy for an overnight trip, with some basic water and dust protection thrown in. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
I have a minor concern about the durability of the plastic buckles — they’ve popped open a few times as I’ve been compressing the Hoboroll, but that could well be due more to over-stuffing it and pulling too hard on the straps than any real design flaw.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So What Do I Use Now?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n After trying out both options for several weeks, which one did I settle on long-term? Well, surprisingly, the answer was: both.<\/strong> I gave away my two small packing cubes, but kept the larger one to store an assortment of miscellaneous stuff that doesn’t compress and I don’t use all the time. A heavy pair of shoes, a book or two, my first aid kit, that kind of thing. <\/p>\n\n\n\nIt fits snugly into the middle part of my backpack, and the relatively square nature of the things I keep in it means it doesn’t waste too much space.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I decided to also keep using the Hoboroll for compressible stuff. Most of my clothes get rolled up and put into it, and I jam it down into the base of my pack with a few other items squashed around it. It’s not as convenient as the cubes to pack and unpack, but the space saving makes it more useful on a day-to-day basis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So there we go. There’s no clear winner, but I have found a solution that works better for me than the method I’d used for the better part of 15 years, and it’s not too often I can say that.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
There are many great things about my backpack. It has the best harness I’ve ever used, it’s easy to secure, and…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":12585,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[13,5],"tags":[106,482],"country":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
Packing Cubes vs Hoboroll: the Battle for My Backpack<\/title>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n