Conserved protein complexes called ESCRTs (endosomal sorting complexes in retrograde transport) exert diverse membrane remodeling and repair functions in cells. Hakala and Roux discuss a novel type of ESCRT-III structure found by Stempels et al. (2023. J. Cell Biol.https://doi.org/10.1083/jcb.202205130) in migrating macrophages and dendritic cells, suggesting a novel, cell type-specific function for this complex.