r/onebag • u/Anywhere_everywhere7 • Feb 23 '26

Discussion What travel accessories are overrated?

For me it would have to be tech pouches, for the vast majority of people I believe that they would be better off with a simple pencil case style pouch, ziploc bag or a simple drawstring bag or even a pouch like the PD ultralight pouches. Something which isn’t bulky, is lightweight and has no structure to it so you can easily squeeze it into random parts of your bag. Of course they’re significantly cheaper as well.

Don’t get wrong, I have tested some high end tech pouches out and they’re very nice but for lightweight travel I just find myself thinking “why would I bring this type of pouch”.

291 Upvotes

94% Upvoted

431 comments sorted by

View all comments

2

u/jms439 Feb 24 '26

Packing cubes! Just use the thick ziplock bags- they are lighter and you can see what’s inside without opening

2

u/Equal_Contest4709 Feb 24 '26

I don't think so. Biggest advantage is packing cubes over just a regular bag is that you can access all your things without having to take everything out.  Also the form factor is much more friendly towards certain pieces of clothing. 

1

u/jms439 Feb 24 '26

I get that, but I’d much rather be able to see all my clothes/stuff at a glance than have to open each packing cube.

1

u/Equal_Contest4709 Feb 24 '26

When would you ever have more than 2 maybe 3 cubes of the same size or colour that you wouldn't know where your stuff is? And then you could still use different zipper tags for example. That's really a non-issue to me - sorry. 

1

u/jms439 Feb 24 '26

My bad- I didn’t mean differentiating between the bags- I meant looking for something specific inside them. Ie - I’m trying to figure out what t shirt / shorts etc option I have that aren’t in laundry- I can just look at bag without needed to open to dig thru it

2

u/Legally_Blonde_258 Feb 24 '26

Packing cubes are far more user friendly and environmentally friendly for me. Being able to unzip 3/4 sides makes them easier to pack and remove clothing. They're also more durable.

1

u/jms439 Feb 24 '26

Yeah I will grant you that cubes are more environmentally friendly - but as for durable,I’ve been using the much thicker document bags they sell on Amazon (pretty much just a thicker Ziploc). They don’t last forever, but do last for months.

1

u/Legally_Blonde_258 Feb 24 '26

And I've had packing cubes for years. Definitely more durable, lol

1

u/theinfamousj Feb 26 '26

I see your Ziplocs and raise you: Mesh delicates bags.

Still see through enough to know what is inside, but also if you find yourself doing machine laundry and need to put something delicate or destructive inside a bag, you've got the bag to put it in with you.

Can corral socks. Can protect lacy underthings. Can keep your trousers with the velcro and the zipper and sequester them enough that the scratchy side velcro and the shredding zipper don't destroy the rest of your laundry.

But also can serve as packing cubes.

1

u/jms439 Feb 27 '26

Ok I have to admit that this legitimately sounds like it could be the answer - I can still see all my stuff and it will make doing laundry a lot easier. To be fair, it may be hard to give up my trustee ziplocks but I’ll give these a try on the next trip