I’m perpetually packing. Whether I’m unloading from a trip abroad or getting set for a one-day outing, I swear, I’m always putting things back into their place or stuffing them somewhere else. It’s a wonder how I haven’t lost more phone chargers and water bottles.
Needless to say, I like to be organized. I like things to be neat. When I received the Mountainsmith Modular Hauler 3 to test out, I couldn’t help but think, “Yes, finally, a friend in my fight to file.” (Okay maybe I didn’t quite think that. But it’s a funny line to write.) 🙂
The Modular Hauler 3 is made to keep things organized. And by things, I mean a whole range of items-sports equipment, grocery bags, clothes, kids stuff, emergency kits-the list goes on and on. The kit is comprised of three large, zippered, Â floppy, 15″ x 7.5″ x 15″ cubes. The cubes fit snugly into a larger hauler that can be carried by handles on the sides of the bag. When empty, the bag with cubes weighs a total of 2 pounds 11 ounces. Also available is the slightly smaller Modular Hauler 2 or the larger Modular Hauler 4.
I first tried to use these cubes to store my outdoor gear in the house-snow gear, climbing gear and camping gear. But I didn’t really feel I was using the kits for all they were meant for, it just stayed in the corner of my room. I then brought the hauler with me in my car, and used it to organize my trunk. This made better use of it, but with such a small car, you can see it took up the majority of room in the back of my Subaru Impreza Outback.
In the car, I found the cubes to work well as grocery bags when I forgot mine at home-very lightweight and helpful handles well positioned on the sides. But when the hauler has three full cubes, I found it slightly awkward to carry in and out of the house, preferring to just bring the three individual cubes in with me. And once they were in the house, I could load up each individual cube for a day at the mountain-warm clothes, food and gear-and I then could easily bring them back into the car and put them into the trunk.
The hauler was useful in keeping my stuff organized in the car, and I’ll continue to use it for this purpose, but because my car is so small, I will just be keeping the individual cubes, not the larger case.
What I loved:
- Multipurpose – can use for organizing all sorts of things OR in a pinch, as grocery bags.Â
- Color-coded cubes mean it’s easy to identify which cube you packed with what (if you remember).
- Well positioned sturdy handles on each cube and the larger hauler as well.
- Lightweight makes the cubes easy to pack and move.
Not so much:
- Material is slightly flimsy-a factor of being lightweight. The cubes would fold inward when not packed.Â
- Larger hauler I found to be not very useful. In my car, it was easier to just transport solely the cubes.
- Very large for a small car-would be better suited for an SUV.
The Modular Hauler 3 retails for $79.95 and can be bought here on the Mountainsmith website.
All photos taken by Joslin Fritz.