Image courtesy of GobiGear

Win This Tight Luggage Compression Organizer

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by Michelle Schusterman Mar 29, 2012
On my list of packing essentials, clothes are near the bottom of the list.

I MEAN, I bring clothes. But other things take priority when it comes to bag real estate. My SLR and zoom lens. Notebooks and sketchpads. Books. Laptop. Other various gadgetry.

And since I refuse to carry multiple bags — camera bag, laptop bag, backpack, purse — I’m constantly trying to finagle as much (if not all) of this stuff into one pack. Clothes are the last thing I care about. I’m not joking when I say I have gone on a trip and forgotten to pack shoes.

GobiGear claims that their Hoboroll “reduces packed volume by up to 50 percent;” that got my attention. I tested it out on a recent trip to Belize.

The Hoboroll is open-ended and split into five long compartments you can access from either side. The compartments are really useful mid-trip, when it becomes vital to separate your clean clothes from the stuff that’s starting to reek.

I tightly rolled and packed one dress, one pair of pants, one pair of shorts, three tank tops, five shirts, two pairs of socks, a bra, six pairs of underwear, and a pair of flip flops into the Hoboroll. Once everything was in, I snapped the two plastic clasps and yanked on the straps to tighten it as much as possible.

Image courtesy of GobiGear

I unzipped my backpack — carry-on size — and placed the Hoboroll inside. I’d say it took up about 40% of the interior space.

I added my two small plastic bags of toiletries. Then I slipped my laptop and plug behind the Hoboroll. The pack still looked half-empty. On my last trip, it was hard to close the zipper at this point.

In went my bulky SLR case, which included an extra zoom lens. I zipped the backpack closed easily — there was still room to spare.

This thing is basically a garter for your clothes. (Suck it in, jeans.) The material is a very lightweight nylon, and both ends are fitted with drawstrings, so you can actually use the Hoboroll as a bag itself. Which I will be doing in the near future in my never-ending quest to reduce the apparel section of my luggage.

Want one?

GobiGear is offering a 15% discount for all Matador readers! Just use the promo code MATADOR12 when you order. Or you can enter to win one…

This contest is closed

And the winner is…Rachel Walker!

Stay tuned for more Goods giveaways.

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