REI Co-op  Pack-Away Bin

These pack-away bins are a great storage solution for all of my gear. Before, I had all of my gear just thrown into a large plastic bin. I was able to sort accessories into the smaller bins and the thing that I like most was that the storage bins are soft and not bulky. The smaller items can be packed away and fits easier than a box.

Introduction: I was sent the REI Pack Away Bin, the 10, 15, & 25L Cubes, and the 25L adjustable cube as an REI Product Advisor. I will format the review so that the specific product related is reviewed individually at the top with the entire system reviewed below that. As such, much of the entire system review will be repeated between the different products. This product was taken on a trip to Fort Mountain State Park in Georgia with my wife and two dogs. We chose to take make the 6+ hour drive because it got us far enough south to celebrate New Years outdoors. It was in the 60s during the day there. We also went to Georgia because they have Pioneer Campsites which are three-wall shelter like you’ll find on the Appalachian Trail. Eliminating the need to have our own tent combined with the space-saving achieved through the Pack Away system is what allowed us to take the trip in a Hybrid sedan rather than our much less gas-efficient SUV. Top Line Reactions: • Sturdy Fabric with heavy-duty stitching • 10 handles for easy carrying in any context. • Great zipper. Zippers are often the first thing to go on a product. • Made with recycled materials The Pack Away Bin is 140 L. To give that size some context it is a little larger than a standard hard-sided trunk. I found the construction to be exceptional. It had a total of ten handles which were sown with heavy-duty stitches into what my tag says is bluesign approved recycled polyester. The fabric has a canvas-like feel and I have to say when comparing it to other cubes decision to use ripstop nylon I prefer it. Ripstop Nylon is awesome on tents, hammocks, and stuff sacks because it can be collapsed so well, but with a bin like this, I prefer a fabric with more structure. The top bottom and sides have additional structure from a stiff material on the top and sides. This might prevent you from collapsing storing the bin away itself, but I recommend that you try to use it as storage at home as well. The ideal would be to have this bin fully packed with all your essentials, so that you just load it into the trunk when you want to leave somewhere. The bin itself works great. If you didn’t have a single packing bin and just needed this for a bunch of bedding it would work great, but I think it works best as part of the system. The Pack Way Bin also comes with two small elastic cords, so additional things could be strapped to the outside . REI Pack-Away bin system Top Line Reactions • Cubes pack in bin well. • Full windows allow quick item identification • 140L bin allows many cubes to be packed inside. This review is for the Pack-Away system. First, the 140L bin is supposed to hold 6 25L bins or 8 15L. We used it for clothes, dry good foods, and bedding. There are plenty of other possible uses although I would not recommend things with sharp corners. Even if it is strong fabric it’s still fabric. Fully loaded I think it probably weighed between 35-45 lbs. It was not hard to carry to our site, which was about a hundred-yard walk in. If that were too heavy or the walk longer, they make it extremely easy for two to carry with the many handles. Something that my wife commented was that it was very easy to repack to clean up at night, so you don’t have gear spread around potentially getting lost or dirty. The windows on the cubes are great because you can see what is inside but the mesh is of the thicker variety so it doesn’t have the potential to get a tear the way that some mesh can. One thing I should note is that I’ve never owned another pack-system. We used Tupperware totes, plastic toolboxes, and canvas shopping bags. To these, this system is immensely superior. Tupperware drives me crazy because while it’s sturdy it makes packing with limited space impossible. This is great because while its firm it has some give so if you needed to shove that extra sleeping bag on top of it in your trunk you can. That is helpful. Conclusion: Anyone who does a fair amount of car camping with multiple people will find this useful. Possibly it’s best use will be at home keeping the first-aid, flashlights, extra cord, rain gear, and all the other stuff you only use camping consolidated and ready to go with you on your next adventure. The product itself is high quality and it serves an excellent purpose.

This bag is going to be my camp kitchen. I cut a piece of Coroplast to make a box that fits inside so that the sides, front and back stand up straight. I will also make or buy containers to hold my various pots and tools to go in it. I plan to use it standing up with the lid laying out flat in front. I will put a piece of Coroplast in the lid to make a cleanable kitchen surface. I think this bag carries and packs best when handled like a suitcase. I will fashion a handle to suit me. My inside box measures 26"x13" x 11" . The 11" measurement is the height. Sad this product is being discontinued.

This is a great gear storage solution for the back of my 4Runner. I used to have a plastic bin but those don't have any flex to them so it's difficult to get everything in and get the lid to fit. With this bag I am able to take advantage of it's 'forgiving flex' to fit more things in there. There's lots of room in there for all my gear and it gives me the ability to be ready to go quickly. I also got one of the REI Co-op Pack-Away Cubes to hold all my cooking stuff and I appreciate being able to hold lots of smaller items within that cube. I would have given this 5 stars except for one thing REI left out of the design. I wish it had 'Molly' attachment points along the side. If that was there I could add my Leatherman, radio, knife, and other belt clip items on the outside for quick access.

I previously thought that my tall plastic bin was ideal for keeping car camping gear... it was big enough to hold everything and could double as a small table beside the camp stove. However, now I'm swayed to the value of these nylon packing bins. Some of my favorite features are: - large enough to hold all the gadgets my family of four needs for car camping, including cookware, flashlights, first aid gear, and other small things we keep in our "go" bin - plenty of handles, so that it can be carried with only one hand if needed - strong nylon sides that seem robust enough to tie on the luggage rack when the back of the Subaru gets too crowded... I couldn't do that with the old plastic bin - strong zippers that should last as long as the bin - The soft-sided design holds down the clatter and noise of all my gadgets rattling around during a drive to the campsite - the bin's length is exactly equal to the depth of our house's closets, so that it tucks away neatly between trips No concerns about it yet - it all seems like a good solution for an age-old challenge!

I love love this bin! I felt guilty spending so much on a packing bin, but it is worth every cent. I love that it is rigid enough to (mostly) stand up on its own, but flexible enough to be stuffed into my car in smaller spaces than a regular plastic tote. It conforms to the space available, unlike a hard plastic bin. I love all the handles in different places, this makes it easy to carry and move around. I also accidentally left it out on my last camping trip and it got rained on a little - nothing inside was wet. I don't think it's waterproof, but it did seem to handle a moderate, short rain shower just fine.

I purchased this for a car camping trip in order to keep my bedding clean & organized. I underestimated exactly how large this bin is, as well as how much space it would eat up in the back of a Prius. Not only did it fit the expected queen size feather down quilt & pillow, but also easily stored my dog’s sleeping bag, my backpacking sleeping bag, two regular sized bath towels, hand towels, wash cloths, my L.L. Bean fleece robe (big & bulky), 2 closed foam sleeping pads (one for the dog, one for me), with substantial room to spare. I have debated about keeping it or sending it back. Pros: many handles top, bottom, side, tough, cavernous space, & malleable in the trunk. Off season I may use it for the many bed quilts overflowing the linen closet. I have even considered purchasing the smaller brother for ongoing car camping just b/c of its durability, multiple handles, malleability, and I have wondered if I could get ALL of my camp gear in there with use of packing cubes, reducing trunk clutter.

I like the idea of this bin, and indeed it's nice to pack a ton of stuff in this and be able to stuff it into the car. What I don't like is how in reality, the two sides that should pop open and stay upright, instead constantly collapse in. They stay up straight for a minute, but then the storage crease/fold wins and it collapses back in. Maybe I just got a dud or mine was unusually crushed during warehouse storage or something, but no amount of pushing will keep the sides up long term. I got so annoyed that I got some clamps and clamped the creases in the opposite direction overnight and that mostly fixed it, but still not totally. I'm not going to return it because I DO like its other redeeming qualities, but it's an almost-return for me.

I was very excited to give these a try so I bought the 100L and the 140L, the 100 manages much better than the 140. I think the reason is because the "floor" of the bag lacks support and when you go to lift it after it has been packed with stuff everything wants to slide towards the middle of the bin and forces the bag to cave at the bottom creating an uncomfortable carry around, and everything inside gets out of place. I will be returning the 140L.

Wow, I thought these were a little pricey when I first ordered them. When they arrived I was surprised by how substantial and well built these soft 'trunks' were. I stuffed them with everything from my ABS backpack, ski boots (3 sets), and all my ski apparel. Great to toss in the back of the van for an extended trip! Love that when they are not in use, you can fold them flat for storage. However, I can see them on my shelves year round instead of putting this gear back into clear bins. These hold their shape once you put gear in them. I'm stoked with these. Carry them like a lightweight trunk! Worth the price. REI - suggestion for improvement... A place where you could write on the end to label the bins would be great. I would also love to see insulated insert organizers and different color insert organizers as well. I'm using my Sea-to-Summit organizing cubes now. They are okay.