Vacuum sealers? For PSK's and you gear bags

peripatew

peripatew

Joined
Jul 31, 2007
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There are two things I'd like one for:

First, I'm in the cramming phase of my new PSK. And I can get everything to fit nicely, but it's like playing Jenga. There are two or three items I'd like to trying to compress using a vacuum sealer. One is a space blanket. It is unopened, and is one that is packed fairly flat, instead of a small fist sized one. I can squeeze the air out of it, but as soon as I let go, it fills back up, I'd like to vacuum seal it to keep it as small as possible.

I'd also like to vacuum seal a bandanna for my PSK. I don't think this would be necessary if I can get my space blanket tight, but I figure while I'm making things smaller, I might as well shrink it too. This might give me some more room.

Second, I'd like to compress and waterproof some backup clothing for winter trips. Such as a pair of socks and a sock hat. In a ziplock bag, these fluffy items take up a fare amount of space, and I don't trust regular zip lock bags. Even my Alkosaks lose some air.

I've seen the hand held handi-vac's ($10), but I don't know if they make bags small enough so that the excess bag wouldn't take up much room. I know some of the full sized sealers you can do custom bag sizes, but I don't want to spend $100 bucks for just a few uses. I've noticed a Deni brand for about $30, but I'm worried about the quality. I thought about picking one up, and taking it back if it didn't preform well.

Any thoughts or suggestions? I've seen someone (huntflix maybe?) vacuum seal some matches which is an awesome idea. I'd like to be able to experiment with things like this.

So, suggestions!? Thoughts about vacuum packing stuff in general? I'm I a maniac?

L!
 
Hi naked.

I have no first-hand experience with those tiny sealers, but have heard form others that they don't work too well. You can find a FoodSaver at CostCo or Wally world. I've had mine for more than 10 years and have used it a lot. I actually wish I had bought a more expensive unit with a more powerrful motor/more suction, but I guess the one I have has done fine.

-- FLIX
 
i am personally not too inclined to vacuum seal things in my kit since i will try to avoid using them then, so i haven't looked into it. it could be cool though, for a PSK type kit...

i have wondered about the infomercial bags that have the valve on them though, where you can compress the bag with your body weight (or a vacuum) and it will reduce the volume of your stuff. i was thinking about these for clothes and the like, so that they can be reused and resealed on the trail/in camp.
 
For years, I used a Seal-a-Meal brand bag sealer and it worked great. It did not have a vacuum function though, so what I did was squash the contents of the bag (while in the bag) between books (for smaller items) or by leaning on it (larger items) and then seal the bag. Once sealed, the contents remained 'squashed'.

For all intents and purposes, it did the same thing as vacuum sealing.

Doc
 
Waste of time. I tried this, and in moving around in my pack I noticed that small holes would wear through the bags causing them to lose thier vacuum. If I want to keep something dry, I just use ziplock freezerbags.
 
I would hesitate to vacuum seal for a few reasons.

First and foremost, I think that a good PSK (or just a good outdoors pack) ought to be re-packable without too much trouble. Once you open a vacuum-sealed space blanket, the packaging is pretty much useless. If you find it necessary to pack your blanket up again (to shift locations, for example), you'll need to find a new way to compress and store it. For this reason, I use a ziploc with elastic bands, rather than a sealer.

Second, as siguy mentioned, vacuum-sealing items in your kit might make you less likely to experiment with them, which can be an issue.

But, if it works for you, go for it.

All the best,

- Mike
 
I use vacuum sealers a lot but not for my PSK. I do have most items wrapped in a heavy ziplock in there and I just compress and seal by hand. I also have a vacuum seal bag in there but it's for water collecting.

I use it a lot for dehydrated foods I make for camping and it works well.
 
Those vacuum bags sold on TV never keep their vacuum for very long. I think the seal gives away.

In past years, I must have bought at least $100 worth of the bags on 3 different instances and I have not had one bag hold it's vacuum for even a year. All I used them on were clothing, sheets and pillows -just regular soft stuff. When I go to look in the closet, they've all expanded again.
 
I have a vacuum sealer and it is handy for many things. I make portions of Barley with a bouillon cube and jerky for soup, I have a sweater that shrunk down to the size of a folded map and an extra pair of socks. The vacuum bags I have came from Costco on big rolls are very heavy duty. Rubbing and handling won't cause tears.

Also if you have a vacuum sealer, you can buy bulk foods like steaks and seal them up and put them in the deepfreeze.

Chad
 
If you want to have something sealed up and really last, go to your local butcher shop and ask them to seal up a few things for you. They have commercial sealers that use plastic that is almost bullet proof. I go over to mine all the time and he charges me for the bag, about a buck for the large bags, and that's it.

I had him seal up a cheap sleeping bag for me, kind of like what the pilots carry in their planes. That thing was damn near flat. I opened it up one year later to see what it was like, and to my surprise it was in very good shape. It would have been fine for an emergency bag in a vehicle. I had him seal it up again and I have one in each vehicle.

I wouldn't seal up a space blanket. I did that and after three or four years, I opened it up just to see what kind of shape it was in, and it was stuck together and COMPLETELY useless. I would have got more use out of a potato chip bag as it was big than my blanket.
 
Thanks for all the advice, and thanks for the info on space blankets sticking together Big Bunker. Still thinking I'd like to experiment, maybe not for my psk, but for extra fluff things that go in my main bag.

L!
 
For PSK kit and i would'nt bother, as others have said what happens when you need the gear......and then need to repack it? I would just vacu seal the PSK kit to kepp rain and water from ingressing (added insurance) , then when you need it just rip it open.

HOWEVER......having been on wet weather trips in a canoe, i will say that having cau sealed a pile of clothing, blankets, sleeping bag in heavy duty salmon bags and an indistiral vac sealer, it did workl VERY WELL for me and the group. We reduced our gear space by over half, our kit was dry despite the downpour and a few bags over the side....our food supplies and FAK and CB radio too was dry. Its best i mention that we were paddling to a campsite where we would set up for several days...we were not unpacking and repacking every night.
 
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