[pct-l] Vacuum Sealer Questions

[Brian Lewis]

Eric wrote:
"I found a REALLY cheap vacuum sealer at Walmart made by Reynolds called the
Readi Vac.  It costs less than $10, and reviews seem to make it seem like a
completely viable alternative to the huge vacuum sealers that melt and seal
off the end of the bag.  I have yet to use it yet because I"m not totally
sure that I need to vacuum seal my bags."


I believe you're talking about the Handi-Vac by Reynolds.  I bought one of
these and found it unsatisfactory for my intended use.  

I had read varied reviews of it on Amazon.com and I ultimately called the
company after every one (five out of five) bags that I sealed didn't remain
sealed.  The first question they asked me was what kind of food I was
sealing.   It turns out that if you include anything that has any sort of
powder or other particulates, it can stop their little gasket from
completely sealing.  

This unit might work great for sealing, say, a chunk of raw beef or some
fruit slices or the like but I was trying to use this to create meals that I
would later add boiling water to --- thus including things like rice,
spices, etc.

If that's the kind of thing you're thinking of, I'd encourage you to return
it and look for a more generally useable vacuum sealer.

As far as your specific questions, having just recently bought a vacuum
sealer I'm not the ideal person to attempt an answer.  I will say that for
my "freezer bag meals", I did freeze them as well as vacuum seal them,
because I was able to make space in the freezer and this extends the shelf
life for food that I won't be eating for months.   

I wouldn't personally be keen on using foods set to expire soon; removing
most of the air and/or freezing isn't like using a science fiction stasis
chamber.  I ultimately did elect to vacuum seal gorp and dried fruit that is
going in some of my later boxes (not freezing that), but partially because I
had bought some additional vacuum bags at a more reasonable price online.

Hopefully someone with a lot of experience with vacuum sealed food on the
trail will respond to your questions.


	Brian Lewis