For years I have wanted to try one of those food vacuum sealer kitchen gadgets. Not wanting to fork over all that money has been the main reason for my hesitance in buying one. If it doesn’t work, then I’m out at least $100 and then have another “seemed like a good idea at the time” product around the house.
When I was asked if I would like to review the Reynolds Handi-Vac Vacuum Sealer, I thought that here is my chance to try a product that I’ve been wanting to for years. The Handi-Vac isn’t like those expensive vacuum sealers. It’s much cheaper as the starter kit retails for $9.99. It also is very compact and can be tossed in a drawer when not in use.
I expected to be impressed with this product but didn’t think it would start with taking the sealer out of the packaging. There is a little yellow sticker on the bottom that says to pull the corner tab to open. Sure enough, the corner tab is not sealer so it was super easy to pull the plastic apart. It is without a doubt the easiest plastic packaging I have ever opened.
The vacuum sealer kit comes with everything you need to get started right away. The Handi-Vac is packaged with three speciality Ziploc bags and comes with batteries. Kudos to products that come with batteries. Since I’m lacking a freezer right now, I used some of Raegan’s plastic food as a test to see how well it worked.
Once I sealed the bag, I placed the vacuum suction tip over the marked hole on the bag and then turned it on. Voila! In a few seconds, all the air was sucked out.
Best of all is that the vacuum wasn’t that loud. I conducted my test during Rae’s nap time and the noise didn’t phase her at all. With the Handi-Vac, you can fill the bag with food up to the white line. You must place the bag on a flat surface before suctioning out the air. No food can be behind the suction hole. You can also remove food from the bag and then reseal, so if you have two frozen hamburger patties but only need one, you can remove it and then suction the air out to place the other one back in the freezer before it begins to thaw.
Bottom line is the Handi-Vac works well, is compact, and costs a fraction of the price of other similar products. It’s would make a great addition to any kitchen.
January 20th, 2008 at 11:31 am
Great item when it worked. Had it two months and it quit. Makes all the same noise, replaced batteries and still not working.
February 26th, 2008 at 11:46 pm
Some people say that I must be a horrible person, but that’s not true. I have the heart of a young boy — in a jar on my desk.
March 15th, 2008 at 11:21 am
I have used this sealer many times and it works great when you have it lined up just right for it to start working. I guess it takes a little practice.
October 29th, 2008 at 11:19 pm
Great sealer! its too handy, i love to have one,
November 8th, 2008 at 5:56 pm
is it just $9.99?
but i don’t have money.
December 6th, 2008 at 5:30 am
Did you try more than one bag?
I gave up after 4 or 5 boxes with an 80% failure rate. Most of the bags had a problem with the valve in that no matter how I tried to position the vacuum device, it would never suck air out of the bag, the valve would not open. Then you have the problem of having the bags that work keep their seal in the freezer. What a great idea if they could perfect it.
January 3rd, 2009 at 2:42 pm
cool sealer, love to have one