Which Storage Tube Fits? 4.5 and 6 Inches, Measured Against Real Pockets

A storage tube is one of those objects that seems to come in one size until you try to put it somewhere. Then 4.5 inches and 6 inches turn out to be different decisions: one disappears into a jacket pocket, the other needs a bag. This is a sizing guide for the tubes we make, measured against the places they actually end up, with a plain answer at the bottom about which one to buy.

This is part two of six. Part one was about caring for glass. This one is about size.

The two we have on the shelf today

Tube	Length	Body	Closure	Price
Small Ceramic Tube (blue, green)	4.5 in	Ceramic, gloss, engraved moon	Tight-seal screw cap	$12.99–14.99
Metal Tube (rose gold, silver, black, purple)	4.5 in	CNC aluminium, engraved moon	Screw top with an o-ring	$12.99
XL Metal Tube	6 in	CNC aluminium	Screw top with an o-ring	Sold out in every colour at the moment

We are telling you about the 6-inch because people ask, and because "sold out" is a more useful answer than a page that pretends otherwise. If you need the long one, the 4.5-inch metal tube is the same body and the same seal, shorter.

What 4.5 inches actually is

Numbers on a listing are hard to picture, so here are three things that are also about 4.5 inches long: a standard lipstick with its cap on is about 3 inches, so the tube is one and a half lipsticks; a credit card is 3.4 inches on its long side; an ordinary ballpoint pen is about 5.5 inches. The tube is shorter than the pen and longer than the card. It stands upright in a mug.

Where a 4.5-inch tube goes without thinking about it:

• The pen loop of a planner or a notebook cover.
• The inside zip pocket of a tote or a crossbody bag.
• A jacket or coat pocket, lying flat.
• The front pocket of a backpack, standing up.
• A desk drawer's pen tray, a bathroom cabinet shelf, the cup holder in a car.

Where it does not go comfortably: the coin pocket of jeans (too long), or a clutch that is already full. If you carry a small bag, the ceramic tube's lighter, rounder body is the easier of the two to find by feel.

Ceramic or metal, since they are the same length

The length is a tie, so the choice is about the body. The ceramic tube is glossy, comes in blue and green, and is the one that looks like a small vase on a shelf; its cap is a tight-seal screw and it is made to keep contents dry. The metal tube is machined aluminium, comes in five colours at the time of writing (rose gold, silver, black, purple and gold; white is sold out), and its screw top closes on an o-ring, which is what makes it water-resistant. If the tube will spend its life in a bag being knocked about, the aluminium body is the less precious of the two. If it will sit out where you can see it, the ceramic wins on looks.

Both are the same length, both seal, both carry the moon. We make both because people put them in different places.

The plain answer

Buy the 4.5-inch. It is the size that fits the most places and it is the size we have in every colour. Choose ceramic if it lives on a shelf, aluminium if it lives in a bag. Skip the 6-inch unless you have already measured the pocket it is going in, and when it is back in stock, the product page will say so.

Next in the series: what actually makes a small container airtight, and how to test the one you own.

See the Small Ceramic Tube — 4.5 inches, tight-seal cap, blue or green, from $12.99