Miphnia Compression Packing Cube Review

Hello hello~! I'm a little late on this review, but I figured there's no time like the present!

This Thanksgiving, I spent the weekend at my Grandparents' house. They don't live that far from my place, but since I didn't want to make the trek back home to sleep and shower every night, I used the holiday as a chance to test out my new backpack and compression cube!

Stock photo, I do not own!

My backpack is the new and improved replacement to my smaller travel backpack. While I still recommend both bags, I wanted a slightly bigger bag that could hold my laptop, in addition to other items.

I decided on this bag from Amazon because it has a built-in laptop sleeve, plenty of outside pockets, and a hidden security pocket! I can't wait to take this bag on a longer trip, :)

Size comparison between my backpacks.

Unfortunately, my new backpack still has limited space, so I took this chance to also test out my new compression cube! I say "cube" because I bought a 3-piece set, but gave the other two pieces to my Mommy, <3 

Compression cubes are exactly as they sound -- they're supposed to take the clothing and compress it into a tighter bundle, giving you more space in your luggage for other things. I'm already a HUGGEE fan of packing cubes (see how useful they are here!), so I couldn't help but wonder if these new cubes are the next big thing in travel tools.

Compression Cubes

Stock photo, I do not own!

The set of 3 cubes features one large bag and two extra-large bags. I grabbed the large bag, so that my Mom would be able to fit more things in her suitcase with the bigger bags. The things I do for my Mama, I tell ya, XP 

My cube!

My single cube is tall enough to fit into my backpack with no height issues. Since the height passed the test, the next step was to see if it could compress my clothes. I knew going from the start I wouldn't be able to fit every single thing I wanted to bring in my backpack, but I certainly wanted to try.

In this cube, I packed: 

-3 camisoles

-2 long sleeved shirts

-1 pair of jeans

-1 pair of joggers

-1 pair of leggings 

-1 duster cardigan

All my items together!

I folded everything up into two piles, and laid them side-by-side in the cube. It stands pretty high with all the items folded inside of it.

Now, for the ultimate test: the zippers. The way that compression cubes "compress" is by zipping the bag repeatedly to make it flatter, as opposed to vacuum bags that compress by having the air removed from the bag. I guess zipping it sort of removes the air from the bag too, but there's no vacuum required! 

Explanation diagram, I do not own! 

Here's my bag at full width with all the items inside of it! I feel like I stuffed it a tad more than I should have, but that's all part of the test.

The filled bag.

So, I zipped the first zipper closed, then turned it so that I could see just how puffed out the bag had become from all the clothes inside. Now, on to the compression zippers!

Full width of the bag.

This process was nerve-wracking -- I honestly kept waiting for the zipper to break or skip. It didn't, though the zipper did get stuck a few times from the cube's fabric getting caught in the zipper. I had to use my finger to push the fabric down, then shift it out of the way while I moved the zipper. Sounds much more complicated than it actually was.

The first level of compression.

Here, the zipper has made one full trip around the bag. Already, it's clear that the compression is working! There were a few times where I had to back-track the zipper and pull the teeth closer together to get over a certain section (mostly the corners), but it held together and stayed compressed. Let's keep going.

Fully compressed!

Now the bag is fully compressed! I don't know WHY I didn't get a side profile of the fully compressed cube, but I can confirm that it's smaller. It's still bulky though, and the shape is irregular, so when I tried to fit it into my backpack, there was hardly any room left, X_X

With the remaining space in my backpack, I was able to fit my laptop, my laptop charger, and two pairs of socks. My cosmetics bag couldn't fit in there though, nor could my packing cube that held my underclothes and sleepwear. Still, with the amount of clothes I was able to get into this single cube, I was happy I could even fit it in my backpack.

Having tried this compression cube, I don't think I would buy any more of these. Mostly, I don't care for the shape that they create once they're filled to the brim. I love the packing potential it has, but I'm concerned that these are much easier to overpack, and thus, possibly destroy.

With packing cubes, however, the "cube" shape remains, no matter how many items you pack inside of it. Also, the cubes' shape just makes packing easier.

Still, as a Lolita that travels, I love the idea of these compression cubes. Particularly with Lolita extras like petticoats, wigs, bloomers, tights, and other items that can be wrinkled and compressed, these would be great for packing those items without sacrificing space. I don't know if I'd want to pack multiple dresses in here, but if wrinkles aren't a concern for you, it's certainly possible.

Would I buy these over my packing cubes? Nah. Would I replace my packing cubes with a set of compression cubes? Also no, haha. I say all that to say that I still love my packing cubes and I stand by them, but I don't hate the compression cube either! I see the utility of them, and I definitely plan to use mine in combination with my packing cubes for my next trip. I give them a 5 out of 8, with an added note that the score might go higher after a few more uses.

I bought the set in navy blue (of course), but as of this post, that color option is sadly out-of-stock, :/ There's still two other colors to choose from, including the light blue one! You can grab the 3-pc. Compression Packing Cube set with this link.

I have a HUGGGEEEE Taobao haul in the mail this week, so stay tuned for my haul ASAP. In the meantime, tell me about your trips for the holiday season in the comment box below! 

Until next time, my lovely Blue hearts!

Stay beautiful, stay true,

~J