Compression Backpack
€99.99
Color: Black
1
Free shipping across the EU
Packing hack · Cubes vs compression vs vacuum
Packing Cubes, Compression Cubes or Vacuum Bags? What Actually Saves Space
Packing cubes organise; they barely shrink anything. Compression cubes add a second zip and squeeze a little more. Vacuum and roll-up bags squeeze hardest, but crease your clothes and need re-sealing whenever security opens them. And here is the part most comparisons skip: none of them changes the size of the bag around them, which is the only thing the airline measures. A compression backpack does the squeezing with its own rigid shell — and holds 40 × 30 × 20 cm while it is buckled shut.
- Cubes organise, compression cubes squeeze a bit, vacuum bags squeeze most
- None of them shrinks the bag around them — the thing airlines measure
- A compression backpack squeezes with its shell and holds 40 × 30 × 20 cm
- No cubes needed
- No pump, no battery
- 40 × 30 × 20 cm buckled shut
- 4.8/5 · 677 reviews
Compression Backpack
€99.99
Color: Black
1
Free shipping across the EU
Four ways to pack, compared
The space figures are the ranges commonly quoted by brands and comparison sites — real results depend on what you pack and how hard you squeeze.
| Four ways to pack, compared | Compression backpack (Ryanwear) | Packing cubes | Compression cubes | Vacuum or roll-up bags |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| What it does | Presses clothes between two hardshell halves | Sorts clothes into zipped fabric boxes | Sorts, then squeezes with a second zip | Pushes the air out of a plastic bag |
| Space saved (typical claim) | Built to pack up to 3× a regular backpack of the same size | ~ Little — mostly organisation | Often quoted around 30% | Often quoted 30–60% |
| Shrinks the bag you carry | ✓ Holds 40 × 30 × 20 cm while buckled | ✗ No | ✗ No — dense cubes can still bulge the bag | ✗ No — and dense bricks bulge soft bags |
| Clothes on arrival | ~ Pressed flat and even | ✓ Least creasing | ~ Some creasing when cranked tight | ✗ Heavy creasing is common |
| Needs a pump or power | ✓ No | ✓ No | ✓ No | ~ Roll-up bags no, electric pumps yes |
| After a security check | ✓ Press and re-buckle in seconds | ✓ Just zip it | ~ Re-zip the compression zip | ✗ Re-roll or re-pump every bag |
Space ranges are the ones commonly published by brands and comparison sites as of October 2026, not our own measurements. “Up to 3×” is our design claim for the backpack versus a regular backpack of the same outer size.
The bag is the compression cube
Overfill the base. The lid does the squeezing.
A packing cube shrinks a stack of T-shirts, and the soft bag around it is still free to bulge. The Ryanwear backpack turns that around: the base is the cube. You pack it well past the rim, the lid presses everything flat between two hardshell halves, and the buckled bag ends up at its own size — 40 × 30 × 20 cm — with the clothes inside it.
One big flat layer also packs better than six small bricks: no gaps between cubes to stuff with loose socks, and no fabric walls taking up room of their own.
- The base is the cube: overfill it, the lid presses it flat
- The buckled bag stays at 40 × 30 × 20 cm
- No gaps between cubes, no cube fabric taking up room
- ✓ One flat layer instead of six small bricks
- ✓ Even pressure from a flat base and a flat lid
- ✓ Fold flat and the clothes come out with fewer creases
The cube-free way
Skip the cubes: the bag does the squeezing
Cubes and vacuum bags compress the clothes and leave you to fight the bag. Here it is the other way round. Lay the clothes flat in the hardshell base — piled well above the rim, the tall fabric collar is built for it — close the lid and pull the straps until the metal buckles lock.
The squeeze is held by the shell, so the bag itself sits at its final size, and the things you need at security live in a separate quick-access box at the back.
- Clothes flat in the base, piled above the rim
- Lid down, straps tight, metal buckles locked
- The shell holds the squeeze — and the bag’s size
- ✓ No cubes, bags or pumps to buy
- ✓ Flat, even pressure instead of an uneven vacuum crush
- ✓ Quick-access box for liquids, passport and power bank
Packing cubes vs compression bags
What each method really does to your luggage
Do packing cubes actually save space?
Not much — and that is not what they are for. A packing cube is a zipped fabric box: it keeps T-shirts with T-shirts and makes it easy to find things in a hotel room, but the clothes inside take up roughly the same room as before, plus the fabric of the cube. Where cubes do help is packing discipline: a fixed box stops you adding “just one more” item.
If your problem is finding things, cubes are great. If your problem is that everything will not fit into a free under-seat bag, cubes alone will not solve it.
- Cubes organise; they don’t shrink your clothes much
- The cube fabric itself takes a little room
- Great for finding things, not for fitting more in
Compression cubes vs vacuum bags: which squeezes more?
Vacuum and roll-up bags squeeze harder. Compression cubes use a second zip to pull the cube thinner, and brands and comparison sites typically quote savings around 30%. Vacuum bags remove the air itself and are often quoted at 30–60% — but the result is a dense, rigid brick that creases clothes, can be opened at security, and has to be re-rolled or re-pumped every time it is opened.
There is also a weight trap: when you squeeze more in, you carry more. Compression adds no weight of its own, but a bag that holds more clothes simply weighs more — worth remembering on airlines with a weight limit.
- Compression cubes: typically quoted around 30%
- Vacuum bags: often 30–60%, but creases and re-sealing
- More squeezed in = more weight carried
Why none of them makes your bag smaller
This is the detail that decides whether you pay at the gate. Cubes and vacuum bags shrink the clothes, but they sit inside a soft bag that bulges wherever the bricks push it. Airlines measure the bag as you present it, so a soft backpack stuffed with dense cubes can fail a 40 × 30 × 20 cm sizer even though every cube is perfectly compressed.
A compression backpack works the other way round: the outer shell is what compresses, so the bag holds its size. Buckled shut, the Ryanwear backpack sits at 40 × 30 × 20 cm — the published free under-seat size on Ryanair, Wizz Air, Vueling, Volotea and TUI fly — and it fits easyJet’s larger 45 × 36 × 20 cm under-seat bag with room to spare.
- Cubes and vacuum bags shrink clothes, not the soft bag around them
- Dense bricks bulge a soft bag past the sizer
- A rigid compressing shell holds 40 × 30 × 20 cm while buckled
Rolling vs folding vs compressing
The classic packing hack is “roll, don’t fold”. Rolling is great for things that travel in tubes — the pockets of a packing jacket, the inside of a stuffable neck pillow, or a cube. In a compression backpack, fold flat instead: flat layers press evenly between the two shell halves, so clothes come out the way they went in.
The smartest system uses each method where it works best: fold the main load flat into the backpack, roll tomorrow’s outfit into the neck pillow, and roll the bulky extras into the jacket you wear on the plane.
- Roll for tubes: jacket pockets, pillows, cubes
- Fold flat for a compression backpack — even pressure, fewer creases
- Use each method where it works best
The no-cube system: backpack, jacket, pillow
Here is how a week of clothes travels without a single cube. The backpack takes the main load, folded flat and pressed shut at 40 × 30 × 20 cm, with the security items in the quick-access box. The Packing Jacket carries a full outfit rolled into the tube pockets of its lining, and you wear it on board. The stuffable neck pillow holds a change of clothes and doubles as your pillow on the flight.
Three items, no pumps, no cubes — and on airlines whose free bag is 40 × 30 × 20 cm, no cabin-bag fee. Buy all three together and the pillow is free.
- Backpack: the main load, folded flat, 40 × 30 × 20 cm
- Jacket: a rolled outfit in the lining, worn on board
- Pillow: a change of clothes, and your pillow on the flight
Organisation without cubes
Three compartments instead of a set of cubes
Most people buy cubes for the order, not the squeeze — and that is fair. The Compression Backpack has the order built in: a padded laptop sleeve at the front, the clothes pressed flat in the middle, and a separate quick-access box at the back for the things you reach for most.
If you love sorting, a small pouch for underwear or cables still fits. You just do not need a whole set of cubes to keep a week of clothes tidy.
- Most people buy cubes for order, not for the squeeze
- The backpack has the order built in — no cube set needed
- A small pouch for cables or underwear still fits
- ✓ Front: padded sleeve for a 14–15″ laptop
- ✓ Middle: clothes pressed flat
- ✓ Back: quick-access box for liquids, passport and power bank
Want the full week-in-a-personal-item method?
The step-by-step 40 × 30 × 20 packing list: what to wear, what to compress, what to roll — and which airlines it works on.
Pack a week in a personal itemThe no-cube kit
Backpack for the main load, jacket for an outfit you wear, pillow for a change of clothes. Add all three and the pillow is free.
Packing cubes vs compression bags: FAQ
Straight answers — current for October 2026.
Are compression packing cubes worth it?
They are worth it if you want organisation plus a modest squeeze — brands and comparison sites typically quote around 30%. They do not make your bag smaller, so in a soft backpack the dense cubes can still make the bag bulge. If you fly with a strict under-seat size, a bag that compresses itself is the stronger fix.
Packing cubes or compression bags: which is better?
For organisation, packing cubes. For squeezing, vacuum or roll-up compression bags — at the cost of creased clothes and re-sealing after every security check. A compression backpack combines the squeeze with a bag that holds its airline size while buckled shut.
Do vacuum bags save more space than packing cubes?
Usually yes: vacuum and roll-up bags are often quoted at 30–60% compared with little for ordinary cubes. But they crease clothes, can be opened at security, and turn into dense bricks that bulge a soft bag.
Can I use packing cubes in a compression backpack?
You can, but you do not need to: the backpack compresses the clothes itself, and flat layers press more evenly than cubes. Use a small pouch for underwear or cables if you like the organisation.
Should I roll or fold my clothes?
Both, in the right places. Roll clothes for tube-shaped spaces like the Packing Jacket’s pockets and the neck pillow. Fold them flat for the compression backpack, where flat layers press evenly and come out with fewer creases.
Do airlines care how I compress my clothes?
No — they only care about the size (and on some airlines the weight) of the bag as you present it. That is why a bag that holds its size while compressed is safer at the sizer than a soft bag full of dense cubes.
Fewer gadgets, more clothes
No cubes, no vacuum bags, no pump: overpack the base, press the lid, buckle it — and walk to the gate at 40 × 30 × 20 cm.
- No cubes needed
- Free shipping across the EU
- 4.8/5 from 677 reviews
Get the Compression BackpackFrom €99.99