Vacuum-packed Storage Bags- Use em?

[Heimz]

I just saw a commercial for Space Bags (spacebags.com) in which they were hocking reuseable storage bags for clothing, blankets, linens, etc. The cool thing I saw is that they were like a zip-loc bag, but had a universal fitting that you could put any vacuum on and it will suck it down to a fraction of its size. I instantly thought of EXPO use: sleeping bags/comforters/pillows/heavy jackets/spare clothes for that unexpected down-pour....
Aside from the bags, all you would need is a small vac (Ive got a small wet-dry vac about the size of a 2L bottle) and a 120V power source.


Ive seen the food ones, but I was curious if any of you have used this to pack up your rig.

 

[Superu]

We use both Foodsaver/Freshsaver bags for food and Space Bags for seasonal clothing/blanket/linens storage.

Additionally, we use them for camping trips and they are great. Prepared meals just need to be boiled and pillows and bulkier items take up considerably less space when shrunk down on the space bag. I use our tiny shop vac, I think it's probably about 2l (little black & red jobber) and the inverter that we always have on board.

It's nice having your own pillows when sleeping in a tent for a week or more! :ylsmoke:

 

[Heimz]

Sweet! I'll have to keep them in mind for those longer runs to the desert.

 

[Rexsname]

The space bags I have dont require a vacume. There is a one way valve on the opposit end from the zip. They do work well.

REX

 

[ExpoMike]

The space bags I have dont require a vacume. There is a one way valve on the opposit end from the zip. They do work well.

REX

I agree, we have the same style. I think we got them from Bed, Bath and Beyond. We keep all of our bedding in these (pillows, sheets, blanket in individual ones) and with them compressed down we can fit all of them into our waterproof storage box. No way they would fit without being compressed. Keeps everything sealed, dry and no bugs able to get to them. Nice thing too, when we pack up to go home, the sheet/pillow covers all go into one bag so we just grab that one to take inside to wash everything. Seal it all back up and put it back in the box, ready for the next trip.

I do find that over time, they will leak air back in but since everything is contained in our storage box, it's no problem. If they were loose, it could be.

 

[spunky2268]

Space Bag Problems

When I came on the US&R team, I bought the Space Bag Koolade... We were limited to two of the red Forest Service gear bags for all the crap we were to deploy with (6 complete uniforms, two pairs boots, facepiece, etc.,). Space was at a premium. I purchased the two types in several sizes. I would say that one out of every two failed to maintain the vacuum. Also, getting the seals to close was a problem. They would basically work for me to get them packed up, then sooner or later would fail and expand. YMMV.

I've since canned those bags in favor of the duffle bag sized Ziplocks and gallon sized freezer bags. Cheap and if it gets contaminated, it won't hurt the pocket book to throw it away. I've even used the two gallon sized for my horse's grain rations while camping and they held up quite well.

 

[leverett]

so are these bags water proof the would be graet for shrinking the tend down and storing jackets and such on a roof rack ill have to look in to these it seems like a great idea

 

[Stumpalump]

I just moved to AZ and we used a lot of them for clothes and bedding. They are OK but some leaked and they arn't that heavy duty. Some of the snozzles fell or broke off and generally they are a limited use thing like for your wifes wedding dress or stack of winter coats. They were nice to suck down pillows and comforters but I wouldn't recomend them to highly for our type of heavy use.

 

[Harp]

Space bags

My wife is a sucker for infomercials and bought a few for around the house, put all of our winter wear in 2 of them and slid them under our guest bed. She was so proud. A month later we went to get some things out and they had fully expanded and we needed to disassemble the bed to get them out!!! The H2O proof duffle bags at sports or camping stores work well I have a number of them both in light weight and the super seal rubber kayaker type. Never a problem with those.

 

[TangoBlue]

When I came on the US&R team, I bought the Space Bag Koolade... We were limited to two of the red Forest Service gear bags for all the crap we were to deploy with (6 complete uniforms, two pairs boots, facepiece, etc.,). Space was at a premium. I purchased the two types in several sizes. I would say that one out of every two failed to maintain the vacuum. Also, getting the seals to close was a problem. They would basically work for me to get them packed up, then sooner or later would fail and expand. YMMV.

I've since canned those bags in favor of the duffle bag sized Ziplocks and gallon sized freezer bags. Cheap and if it gets contaminated, it won't hurt the pocket book to throw it away. I've even used the two gallon sized for my horse's grain rations while camping and they held up quite well.

x2... My same experience; expect some to fail to seal out of the box. Besides you have to roll up the bag tightly to expel the air so expect very wrinkled clothing if that's a concern. The ones that use a vaccum cleaner to draw air don't hold their vacuum long either. I wouldn't purchase them again.

I like the Zip lock idea and may give that a shot - they do hold up well and it's easy to expel most of the air if you roll them up.

Their new vacuum bags also have an available a hand pump (think vac-u-vin) or battery-powered pump for food storage that I've found works really well maintaining a vaccuum seal.

 

[BIGdaddy]

yup we took them on a glacier national park trip. they failed after two days on the road, apparently from being abraded by whatever they were next to.

We found a walmart in Montana,
bought a cheap duffel bag,
threw away the spacebags on the way out,
and continued on with our trip...

haha!!

 

[cruzinwyo]

I buy the large Freezer ZipLock bags and toss my clothes in them and then push the air out. They hold up really well and they are cheap to replace. I often pack each day in one bag, and toss the dirties back in the bag, it helps keep the stinky clothes stench off of the clean clothes. I can fit a weeks worth of clothes in a carry on sized bag with no problem.

To keep clothes from wrinkling....roll them.

For meals I put dehydrated meals in smaller Freezer bags. just add water directly to the bag and enjoy.

Someday I'll post a write up of all my cheap, high calorie, delicious, freeze dried bag meals.

 

[Life_in_4Lo]

Space bags are a great idea but poor execution. They will almost all leak out after a few days or so.

However, they still will protect against bugs and water so we still use them in storage. If they used a decent Ziploc double seal, it would probably work.

I don't think space bags are durable enough for travel. The small ones that you squeeze out- those would be ok but I found the old "roll everything" trick is a better way to pack luggage.

Anyway, they are ok but would have gladly paid more for heavy duty, high quality bags that kept airtight. They are a great idea.

I like the ziploc bag idea for smaller items while travelling. Ziplocs are great for tons of stuff!