How to Fit More Stuff in Your Suitcase Christine Sarkis, October 28, 2015

How to Fit More Stuff in Your Suitcase

Christine Sarkis, October 28, 2015

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When it comes to packing, there are two types of people: the rollers and the folders. I've long been Team Rolling, but I recently found myself wondering—does it actually save space?

It's certainly accepted wisdom (both here at SmarterTravel and among other travel experts in general), but I couldn't find any hard data on whether rolling is truly more space-efficient.

So I decided to put it to the test. I pitted folding against two types of rolling, and then threw in a wild card just for fun. Will the results surprise you? It depends on your team.

Test 1: The Basic Fold

As my baseline, I filled a carry-on bag to capacity with folded clothes. This is how much a 19-inch rolling carry-on could fit. 

As you can see, the suitcase is full to the zipper. It's densely packed as well; I used socks to fill spaces and slipped in a stack of tank tops sideways to abide by the folding rule while filling all the available space.

Test 2: The Fold-Roll Hybrid

When I started rolling, I realized for the first time that my default technique has evolved into a hybrid fold-roll. I take folded items from the drawer and rather than unfolding them to reroll them (which adds an extra step and more time), I simply roll the folded item. This probably isn't the best for wrinkles, but since rolling is best used on items that don't wrinkle easily (clothing like denim and stretch knits like t-shirts and light sweaters), it's never been a deal breaker.

RELATED: How to Pack Really (Truly) Light

So before testing the purist rolling technique, I tried my time-saving fold-roll hybrid method. As I tucked the last item into the carry-on, the results were clear: Rolling saves space. Using even this adapted rolling method, I freed up about 10 percent of my suitcase.