Vacuum sealed storage bags

My wife and I received gifts of clothing for our daughter enough to last her until she is three or four. (Most of it was collected before my wife was even pregnant! Thanks to my mother-in-law.) A lot of the clothing that we received were packaged in Space Bags. No, the bags are not made of “space age material” or endorsed by your favorite Star Wars character. These are the “as seen on TV” vacuum sealed storage bags that claim to save you tons of space. The idea sounds pretty good; stuff the bag full of clothing, zip it up, then vacuum the bag air tight. In theory, whatever is in the bag becomes smashed down to a space saving fraction of what it was before.

Unfortunately, the bags are not designed very well and the air does not stay out of the bags. So you’re left with bags of clothing stacked on top of each other with broken zip locks. They’re not very useful and a pain in the neck to stack. We eventually just transferred all the clothing into tupperware bins for safe keeping. The Space Bags are not reliable and the price tag, $50 for a set of 15 bags, is rather steep considering the flimsy quality. The concept of these bags is a pretty decent one, but in practice they just don’t work.

Posted by Matt on May 5, 2007 | Comments

11 comments posted

  1. Posted by Anonymous - 05/05/2007

    I had the same experience! These look better on TV than they do in reality. My advice: don’t bother.

  2. Posted by Jame - 05/05/2007

    I have used these bags alot and the only time I had a problem was when they are over stuffed. I find them very useful for storing off-season linens. For storing hand-me-downs though, I find the bins to be better because I “go shopping” in them and it is much easier to dig through a tub than to go through the bag.

  3. Posted by bret - 05/05/2007

    I’ve heard of people using these foodsaver contraptions for clothes, too. I’ve heard this work pretty good. My wife said that they can harm certain clothing, though. Not sure…

  4. Posted by James - 05/08/2007

    I agree with your assessment. I got a set of around 8 of these and to date I think only 2 have kept a seal despite the plastic zipper slides. However, I have found that if you seal, suck, and stack them on top of one another, the weight will keep the bags fairly compressed. Still, they don’t work “as advertised”.

  5. Posted by Leah - 05/08/2007

    I actually used these bags for traveling, and I found they work well for short time periods. They definitely helped me keep my “nice clothes” sealed away and compressed until I needed them. For backpacking purposes, I’m a big fan.

  6. Posted by Cyn Hatmaker - 05/09/2007

    The seal always breaks on me. And the travel sizes pull air back in when you “unroll” it to put it in a bag.

    I bought 2 sets off their website and it was the worst waste of $50 I’ve every spent!

    They’re useless, except just to hang dresses that I rarely use; and store in the back of the closet so they won’t get dusty…..even those won’t keep a vacuum seal.
    I’m not satisfied either.

  7. Posted by sarah - 05/09/2007

    I also found that they didn’t work. What dos work is the large size ziplocs ( 2-gallon and up). The seal stays.

  8. Posted by freecia - 05/10/2007

    Ziplock makes five and ten gallon bags. Shove it full, zip it most of the way, stick the vacuum hose in the little end that is left, vacuum, and seal. Works similarly for much less money.
    They have handles, too, for easier carrying.

  9. Posted by Clara - 05/16/2007

    I love these bags even though they can tear and some amount of air does get back in but other than that they have helped stuff more clothings into my wardrobe and a must-have when packing for a trip.

  10. Posted by Jeff - 05/28/2007

    I bought the bags from Costco, just had the same problem as everyone else, then returned them after reading the comment about the Ziplocs. I tried them, and they seem to leak air even worse than the Space Bags. Am I missing something? I carefully sealed the double seal on them. Somewhere I read to tape the Ziplocs shut. Is that what you guys did?

  11. Posted by Anonymous - 06/06/2007

    I am finishing up a two-year teaching gig in Japan and have used the Japanese equivalent of these in shipping my off-season clothes back home. Many folks in Japan use these for their winter clothes, both because space is at a premium here, and to protect from the nasty mould that creeps in. I sent my clothes in these bags by suface mail (ship), and because of the plastic, I don’t have to worry about the clothes getting soaked if the box is dropped in water or left out in the rain. Really stellar, especially for shipping things.

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