Peak Design Shoe Pouch Review: Better than Other Travel Shoe Bags

Table of contents

Summary
Critique
How did it work out?
Peak Design Shoe Pouch: Features to note
What fits?
Why would you need a shoe pouch?
Is it a good buy?
Where to get one

Having already owned the Knack Bags Shoe Bag and some other cheap compression shoe cubes from Amazon, I wasn’t sure I needed the Peak Design Shoe Pouch.

But of course, I was wrong: the Peak Design Shoe Pouch is now my favorite. It’s better than the rest. I took it on my recent business trip, to pack my business casual brown leather shoes. It worked out great.

In this review, learn about this small yet powerful packing accessory and why I’d recommend it for your organization collection.

Summary

Getting right into it, here are a few of the highlights to know.

Size

It fits one pair of men’s shoes. I wear a size 10, so my shoes are on the bigger side. The product page says it could fit up to 2 pairs of shoes, “depending on the size,” but you won’t find that applicable to men’s shoes (maybe 2 pairs of women’s travel shoes would fit).

Zippers

Just like the Peak Design original packing cubes, the zippers are excellent quality and make using this shoe pouch a breeze when I’m already tired from flying.

Weightlessness

The ultralight construction from the weatherproof nylon is almost paper-thin to the touch. It feels like special stuff, because I know it’s strong ripstop material.

Compactness (Folds up)

When I’m not using it, it folds up into a little brick, the size of my hand. I can stash it in any part of my Peak Design backpacks.

Critique

I think the PD shoe pouch, in comparison to the one I have from Knack, is a little lacking in the “compression” area. Sure, it keeps everything contained, but unlike my Knack Bags shoe bag, it doesn’t have compression straps.

Of course, this doesn’t really bother me, as I rarely have a need to compress my shoes with straps. I like to let them breathe while they’re in transit.

Second, I saw that the interior label of the Shoe Pouch says surface clean only. That’s a little baffling to me because I’ve washed my Peak Design packing cubes in my washer, and just hung them dry.

(In all honesty, I’m going to throw the Shoe Pouch in my washer, maybe in a delicates bag, and turned inside out, and hang it to dry on my rack, if I need to clean it.)

How did it work out?

I traveled to Texas for work and started packing the night before. I took out my Peak Design packing cubes, and laid out all my clothes, socks and shoes, to take inventory of everything I needed in my suitcase.

I got my business casual shoes to fit into my Peak Design Shoe Pouch, and those were ready to pack in my carry-on.

When I got to my destination, I took them right out, swiftly, via the zero-snags zipper. They looked great. Of course, I’d recommend that if you have shoes that can’t be smushed (delicate fabrics, or very stiff shoes, for example), to put them at the top of your suitcase while in the Shoe Pouch so that they don’t get crushed.

(What’s so good about Peak Design’s packing cubes? Find out at my Peak Design packing cubes review.)

Peak Design Shoe Pouch: Features to note

In a nutshell, here is what I’d share with you if you were wondering why this Shoe Pouch stands out above overs in the travel market, in my opinion.

Weightlessness

When I got the PD Shoe Pouch, I was actually taken aback by how thin it is. I’ll put it in perspective: my shoe bag from Knack is 2.8 ounces by weight, and the Peak Design Shoe Pouch is only 1.7 ounces.

Knack quotes the volume of their shoe bag to be 5 liters, while Peak Design’s is 10.

In essence, the Peak Design Shoe Pouch is unbelievably light. It doesn’t weigh down my luggage, and it’s virtually not even there when it’s holding my shoes. The feel of it is unique, and I don’t have anything else like it.

Packs into its own storage pouch

To show the incredible pack-down size of the shoe pouch, it packs into itself. When compressed, it’s the size of the palm of my hand. I can slide it into any nook or cranny of my backpack if it’s not in use.

Overall quality

Quality is where I like to really dig in to Peak Design products. With the number of Peak Design products that I have, I’ve detailed tons of times, like in my Peak Design brand review, that the company prioritizes quality and form over everything else.

The Shoe Pouch looks flimsy, but that is where the “catch” is. It’s made with abrasion-resistant thread on the zippers, and ripstop nylon (a 100% recycled fabric) on the shell.

Just like the fabric in the packing cubes from Peak Design, if you were to puncture or make a hole in the weatherproof fabric, it’s supposed to “heal” itself and shrink back to make up for that.

Sustainability

I always like to talk about sustainability factors, especially when it comes to big companies making travel gear that I’ll be using. For the Peak Design Shoe Pouch, Peak Design created savings on water usage through the way the fabrics are dyed, and the fabric is BlueSign certified (a certification given to responsibly-made textiles).

What fits?

Like I started to describe above, my size 10 brown leather shoes for my business trip fit into the Peak Design Shoe Pouch. There was not room for much else.

If Becca were to use it for her smaller shoes (women’s size 6.5), there’d be extra space. She may even be able to fit in a pair of flip flops with a pair of running shoes.

If you don’t want to use the Shoe Pouch for shoes, that’s also no problem. Peak Design markets this packing pouch to be used for “other stuff,” too.

I’ll be honest: I don’t think your hiking boots would fit into the Peak Design Shoe Pouch unless you got highly creative.

Why would you need a shoe pouch?

For years, Becca and I would take trips and wrap our shoes in plastic bags. After all, this seemed smart: we needed to separate them from the clean clothes and stuff in our bags like travel towels, toiletries bags and jackets. Additionally, shoes tend to get dirty after you wear them (naturally), so placing them in plastic bags (sometimes held shut by rubber bands), we kept their dirt to themselves.

But, plastic bags don’t last forever. They get holes. They get static, and the dirt and dust clings to them. They look messy and chaotic. There had to be a better way.

We got our first shoe pouches from an Amazon Basics set (now discontinued), quite a few years back, and Becca started using those for her sandals when we’d pack for warm-weather trips. I’d groan, though: they didn’t fit BOTH of my men’s size 10 shoes, typically. Maybe they’d fit just one. I’m not sure why they didn’t come bigger.

We got our hands on the Knack Bags shoe cubes a few years later, and the quality was great, but the design left room for improvement. They created bagginess, and the compression was a little cumbersome. (They actually clock in at the same price as the Peak Design Shoe Pouch).

So finally, this year, we got to try the Peak Design Shoe Pouch. It’s the most minimally-designed one of the bunch, and it’s expert-level, just like all my Peak Design accessories.

Is it a good buy?

Given that I own other shoe bags for compression packing and they’re the same price, absolutely. Peak Design’s Shoe Pouch has a Lifetime Warranty, so if it gets any defects over the years (ones that don’t come from neglect during use), they’ll replace it for free. Make sure to keep your proof of purchase handy.

The Peak Design Shoe Pouch is one of those handy travel items that makes travel just a little bit more of a breeze, and that’s what I’m always looking for with all my Peak Design products.

I’ve been happy with all my PD products to date, from other packing accessories (see my Peak Design Wash Pouch review) to backpacks, like you can see at my Peak Design Travel Backpack review.

Where to get one

As I’ll always say, get all your Peak Design products at the Peak Design website. It’s where you’ll get that Lifetime Guarantee, as well as free shipping over $99 and 30-day returns if you aren’t happy with what you bought.

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