Pack Mates on QVC?

[Lorabelle]

Has anyone used these or a similar product? They are the bags that you squeeze the air out of to save space in your luggage.

 

I am tempted to buy them. There are 7 bags in 3 diferent sizes for around $20.

 

The demonstration is great, but they are showing mostly very airy things like pillows, comforters, down jackets. I would expect those to condense down considerably.

 

I'm curious how much space this will actually save with just regular clothes. (T-shirts, sweaters, jeans, khaki's, underclothes, etc.)

[bostongal]

I have Space bags-similar product. I like them for storage but don't use them for travel. found that they didn't save all that much room and the clothes get really wrinkled. My dh loves them though.

 

hope this helps.

 

Meg

 

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do then by the ones you did. So, throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.

Mark Twain (1835 - 1910)

[gopher's girl]

When packing for my last cruise I couln't fit everything in my suitcase until my best friend's sister started rolling everything for me. There was an abundance of room and not a wrinkle on even my linen shirt when I unpacked. I love QVC but I don't think you need any packing assistance.

 

Pack smarter, not more expensively.

[Toto2Kansas]

They also sell something similar in our local Walmart, at a much better price. Have a look if you can get to the stores, there are many alternatives to the pack mates out there.

 

Tahitian Princess 10/14/04

RCI-Legend of the Seas 3/27/05 Panama Canal.

One Phantom Booking still open with Princess.

[KAJOKG]

Magellan's (a travel supply catalog) sells strong plastic zip lock type bags. A set comes in different sizes. You press the air out of the bag as you zip it. I have used them for years...replenished a few sets - they are not expensive. I love them, and they do save space and make packing easy. At the end of the cruise, though, I skip the bags and just toss all our stuff in the suitcases any which way. When it's over, it's over! I also use the canvas, mesh packing cubes. I just take those things out of the suitcase and put them in a drawer. Works really well for flimsy things and I use one for meds and first aid stuff. Keeps it all together in the suitcase and in the drawer.

 

KATY

 

NCL NORWAY - 2000

GOLDEN PRINCESS - 2001

GOLDEN PRINCESS - 2002

HAL NOORDAM - 2002

HAL VOLENDAM - 2003

ISLAND PRINCESS - NOV. 2003

HAL VOLENDAM - JAN. 2004

CORAL PRINCESS - OCT. 2004

[derf5585]

NOTE: these bags do not prevent wrinkling

from

http://www.thesavvytraveller.com/tools/pack_mate/1home.htm

 

USS Chilton APA-38 1966-1968

USS Guam LPH-9 1968-1970

Pacific Princess Oct 21 2001 Bermuda

Golden Princess Dec 7 2002 "Eastern Caribbean"

Coral Princess Dec 9 2003 "Panama Canal"

 

Carnival Miracle 17 Oct 2004

 

NOT UPDATED again 25 Feb www.geocities.com/fsbsdel

 

 

[igloo42]

Hi - one place that "space" bags come in handy is for white or light clothing - so that they don't get dirty. Also, to save space and keep things clean, a good 1 or 2 gallon zip lock bag will do as good a job and the bags are much more economical (I actually found this tid-bit of advice on this web site & it worked very well on our last cruise).

 

igloo42

[jhannah]

One word of caution: when you save space, you increase weight. That is, you get more items and their weight in the same space. This can put you over the 50 pound limit if you're using a 27" bag. And that will cost you when the airline weighs it at the airport. We learned the hard way a couple of years back.

 

'Vegas Jim

[derf5585]

jhannah

 

Is that the same thing as a trash compactor. Compacts 50 pounds of trash into 50 pounds.

 

USS Chilton APA-38 1966-1968

USS Guam LPH-9 1968-1970

Pacific Princess Oct 21 2001 Bermuda

Golden Princess Dec 7 2002 "Eastern Caribbean"

Coral Princess Dec 9 2003 "Panama Canal"

 

Carnival Miracle 17 Oct 2004

 

NOT UPDATED again 25 Feb www.geocities.com/fsbsdel

 

 

[clandt]

I just returned from a buisness trip, in which I needed to pack 3 outfits and p.j.s. I put all in a small duffle bag -- rolled each item -- no wrinkles and I still had room to spare for my purse, make up bag etc.

I can't remember where I learned how to roll the clothes but it works wonders!!!!

 

Christy

[Trevoli]

It's true that less bulk does not necessarily mean less weight.

 

I like the Space Bags for things like swimsuits, nightclothes, underwear. Stuff like that gets wrinkled, who cares?

 

T

[jorjen9]

Okay, so can someone tell me how exactly to roll clothes so that they do not wrinkle? I tried this while packing for our cruise last year and apparently did something wrong because everything was extremely wrinkled. I spent hours ironing which I do not want to do this year.

 

Caribbean Princess- 6/5/04

[derf5585]

tips on packing

from

http://messages.cruisecritic.com/2/OpenTopic?a=tpc&s=927093444&f=147097554&m=8833023547

 

Packing Tips to Save Space and Avoid Wrinkles

from

http://www.trfcc.org/info/packingtips.htm

 

Packing Made Easy

from

http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/mecklenburg/depts/fce/org/pack.htm

 

USS Chilton APA-38 1966-1968

USS Guam LPH-9 1968-1970

Pacific Princess Oct 21 2001 Bermuda

Golden Princess Dec 7 2002 "Eastern Caribbean"

Coral Princess Dec 9 2003 "Panama Canal"

 

Carnival Miracle 17 Oct 2004

 

NOT UPDATED again 25 Feb www.geocities.com/fsbsdel

 

 

[Lorabelle]

Thanks for all the replies so far! I'm a pretty good packer, I travel for work frequently, so I can cram quite a bit of stuff into a small bag, lol.

 

But with four of us, and a 10 day post cruise trip planned, I am trying to figure out ways to be even more efficient.

 

Thanks for the ziploc bag idea, maybe I'll give those a shot, they're only a few bucks. I'll also make sure to check WalMart to see what they have. I'm just not sure what dept I will find them in?

 

From the savvytraveler site, it seems that it won't save much space with "regular" clothes, which is most of what we will be packing, so I guess I'll pass unless I hear some really glowing reports!

[cruisingfreak]

Have also bought the space bags & thought I would use them when we travel. Only use them for storage. Instead we bought Hefty 2 1/2 gallon bags. They work out just as well.

 

 

Minette

[Cruise Miriam]

I personally like the Zip-Lock bags. I have Space-Saver bags or whatever they're called, but they don't work as well for me and I think they're too thick.

 

I use the Jumbo Zip-Locks for t-shirts and regular ones for underwear, swimsuits, etc.

 

There was a lot of talk about this on the Cruise Fashion board a while ago, but of course, I'm unable to find it now!

 

Host Miriam

Community Supervisor

ldrscruisemir7@aol.com

 

Mariner of the Seas 10/16/05 Cruise Info

 

 

[mii]

I read on this board about 2 years ago that she would roll her clothes and there was no wrinkles. So I tried it and it works. Of course you have to roll neatly not in a ball. My last 2 cruises were done that way and they came out like a charm. Highly recommend it.

 

 

Marilyn

[Lill]

I have those and they work great. I tried using the 2 gallon hefty bags but they always come open. The easiest way to get the air out of them is to sit on them. (CruiseDiva tip)

 

Diamond Princess

 

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[pengu1n]

I leave all my clothes on their hangers and then fold them around something like the "bundle" listed above. The most wrinkle prone items go on the outside of the package. Sometimes this works better than others, but it ALWAYS saves time unpacking!

 

Golden Princess 6/13/04

Carnival Paradise 2002

Carnival Inspiration 2001

American Hawaii 1996

American Family 1990

Holland America Monarch Sun 1977

[CaptData]

I was in the military. Travel anyone. We rolled our clothes as neatly as possible sometimes you might get a few wrinkles but the trick is in the rolling. Set up the clothes on a bed, you can put tissue paper inside but I never do. Fold along normal fold lines and roll as tight as you can but do not bunch, pretend it is pastry. Pack in a line so that it does not move. Place bulky stuff on top in zip lock bags especially things that might leak, shampoo, shave creams, first stuff ect. This will cut down on the wrinkling, then when you get there hang up anything you want in the shower and steam it. It works.

 

Hopfully a Hawiian Cruise

 

 Until we sail away on the ocean blue

 

 

 

Navigator of the Seas Western Crib 08/03

Dawn Princess - Eastern Carb 01/03

Dawn Princess Panamal Canal 11/02

 

[Kallen]

I used the space-saver bags on our cruise and was very pleased with them. It really helped with "cross-packing" (I put one bag containing a set of undies, a pair of nylon shorts, a bathing suit, a nylon wrap-around skirt and a tank top of mine in my daughter's suitcase and one in my husband's. I did the same for my daughter and something similar for my husband. If one suitcase got lost, the person still had two bags of clothes in the other suitcases.) It was easy once on board ship to just remove the bags and pass them to the owner and to remove one bag per day containing an appropriate outfit of shorts and a top. I put my bulky items, i.e. my sweater in its own bag and didn't have to worry about wrinkles. All of the other items were acrylic fabric or cotton knit, so I had no wrinkle problems at all. The items which required more care were left in dry cleaner bags, packed last and removed and hung up first. Just in case, I added a tiny spray bottle of wrinkle remover, but never had to use it.

 

Southern on Dawn Princess Feb 28, 2005

Grand Princess Feb 15/04

[charli]

I used the space bags for coats, hats, gloves and sweaters when cruising to Alaska. They really saved space. When we were through with the land tour and cold excursions (glacier trek, etc.) re-packed them and they were out of the way. I also packed our fishing clothes in the space bags. The space bags sealed very nicely. Usually I roll most everthing else. For hanging things I use dry cleaner bags. No wrinkles in our formal wear. I've learned alot about packing from this board.

[Sandy R]

I've used space bags since they came on the market. I got mine at Bed Bath and Beyond but QVC's look similar. Just make sure you get the bags that don't use a vacuum to take out the excess air. I always bring my pillow with me when I travel and a space bag brings it down to an inch or so thickness. We also bring another along to use for dirty clothes. When the cruise is over, I compress the dirty clothes and have room in the luggage for some purchases. Works like a charm!

 

Sandy

[MaryPoppinz]

Target now has Zip-Loks in two larger sizes. XL is 1'x 1'7 ", and XXL is 1'x2'7" (I think?) They are about $5.75 for a package of three or four. If you're not fussy that your bags be the 'real' Space-Saver type, these might work for what you need? I don't find this type of stuff saves that much space (and it certainly doesn't cut down on weight) but it does keep your suitcase well-organized....and keeps things clean in case there's an explosion in your perfume, etc.

 

"I'm gonna book myself on that Princess Cruise."

-- Fox Mulder, X-Files 'Three Words'

[JanetMarie]

You may also want to check over on the Fashion Boards. The ladies over there have tons of suggestions for packing.

 

OUR NEXT ONWARD JOURNEY!