diff --git a/trie/encoding_test.go b/trie/encoding_test.go
index 2f125ef2f8..95c482b0cf 100644
--- a/trie/encoding_test.go
+++ b/trie/encoding_test.go
@@ -30,25 +30,21 @@ type TrieEncodingSuite struct{}
 var _ = checker.Suite(&TrieEncodingSuite{})
 
 func (s *TrieEncodingSuite) TestCompactEncode(c *checker.C) {
-	// even compact encode
-	test1 := []byte{1, 2, 3, 4, 5}
-	res1 := compactEncode(test1)
-	c.Assert(res1, checker.DeepEquals, []byte("\x11\x23\x45"))
-
-	// odd compact encode
-	test2 := []byte{0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5}
-	res2 := compactEncode(test2)
-	c.Assert(res2, checker.DeepEquals, []byte("\x00\x01\x23\x45"))
-
-	//odd terminated compact encode
-	test3 := []byte{0, 15, 1, 12, 11, 8 /*term*/, 16}
-	res3 := compactEncode(test3)
-	c.Assert(res3, checker.DeepEquals, []byte("\x20\x0f\x1c\xb8"))
-
-	// even terminated compact encode
-	test4 := []byte{15, 1, 12, 11, 8 /*term*/, 16}
-	res4 := compactEncode(test4)
-	c.Assert(res4, checker.DeepEquals, []byte("\x3f\x1c\xb8"))
+	for _, test := range []struct {
+		hexSlice []byte
+		exp      []byte
+	}{
+		// even compact encode
+		{[]byte{1, 2, 3, 4, 5}, []byte("\x11\x23\x45")},
+		// odd compact encode
+		{[]byte{0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5}, []byte("\x00\x01\x23\x45")},
+		//odd terminated compact encode
+		{[]byte{0, 15, 1, 12, 11, 8 /*term*/, 16}, []byte("\x20\x0f\x1c\xb8")},
+		// even terminated compact encode
+		{[]byte{15, 1, 12, 11, 8 /*term*/, 16}, []byte("\x3f\x1c\xb8")},
+	} {
+		c.Assert(compactEncode(test.hexSlice), checker.DeepEquals, test.exp)
+	}
 }
 
 func (s *TrieEncodingSuite) TestCompactHexDecode(c *checker.C) {
@@ -64,39 +60,36 @@ func (s *TrieEncodingSuite) TestCompactHexEncode(c *checker.C) {
 }
 
 func (s *TrieEncodingSuite) TestCompactDecode(c *checker.C) {
-	// odd compact decode
-	exp := []byte{1, 2, 3, 4, 5}
-	res := compactDecode([]byte("\x11\x23\x45"))
-	c.Assert(res, checker.DeepEquals, exp)
-
-	// even compact decode
-	exp = []byte{0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5}
-	res = compactDecode([]byte("\x00\x01\x23\x45"))
-	c.Assert(res, checker.DeepEquals, exp)
-
-	// even terminated compact decode
-	exp = []byte{0, 15, 1, 12, 11, 8 /*term*/, 16}
-	res = compactDecode([]byte("\x20\x0f\x1c\xb8"))
-	c.Assert(res, checker.DeepEquals, exp)
-
-	// even terminated compact decode
-	exp = []byte{15, 1, 12, 11, 8 /*term*/, 16}
-	res = compactDecode([]byte("\x3f\x1c\xb8"))
-	c.Assert(res, checker.DeepEquals, exp)
+	for _, test := range []struct {
+		str []byte
+		exp []byte
+	}{
+		// odd compact decode
+		{[]byte("\x11\x23\x45"), []byte{1, 2, 3, 4, 5}},
+		// even compact decode
+		{[]byte("\x00\x01\x23\x45"), []byte{0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5}},
+		// even terminated compact decode
+		{[]byte("\x20\x0f\x1c\xb8"), []byte{0, 15, 1, 12, 11, 8 /*term*/, 16}},
+		// even terminated compact decode
+		{[]byte("\x3f\x1c\xb8"), []byte{15, 1, 12, 11, 8 /*term*/, 16}},
+	} {
+		c.Assert(compactDecode(test.str), checker.DeepEquals, test.exp)
+	}
 }
 
 func (s *TrieEncodingSuite) TestDecodeCompact(c *checker.C) {
-	exp, _ := hex.DecodeString("012345")
-	res := decodeCompact([]byte{0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5})
-	c.Assert(res, checker.DeepEquals, exp)
-
-	exp, _ = hex.DecodeString("012345")
-	res = decodeCompact([]byte{0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 16})
-	c.Assert(res, checker.DeepEquals, exp)
-
-	exp, _ = hex.DecodeString("abcdef")
-	res = decodeCompact([]byte{10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15})
-	c.Assert(res, checker.DeepEquals, exp)
+	for _, test := range []struct {
+		str string
+		key []byte
+	}{
+		{"012345", []byte{0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5}},
+		{"012345", []byte{0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 16}},
+		{"abcdef", []byte{10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15}},
+	} {
+		exp, err := hex.DecodeString(test.str)
+		c.Assert(err, checker.Equals, nil)
+		c.Assert(decodeCompact(test.key), checker.DeepEquals, exp)
+	}
 }
 
 func BenchmarkCompactEncode(b *testing.B) {