BLITZHOME Vacuum Sealer Machine, 6 Easy Modes for Dry/Moist Food Storage/Sous Vide, Built-in Cutter/Storage, Visual Seal-Time, Automatic Food Sealer with 15Pcs Bags,1 Roll, Full Starter Kit…

I’m really impressed with this vacuum sealer machine. I didn’t personally own one before this but I’ve used my parents’ Food Saver extensively and never really cared for it. I found it to be complicated to use (it uses the same button for multiple purposes to the point of being confusing) and you have to press and hold down the lid to activate it, which makes it finicky to turn on as it doesn’t always want to start and it prevents multitasking. Because of my subpar Food Saver experience, I was hesitant to order a vacuum sealer machine for myself. However, I shouldn’t have been because I’m obsessed with this machine! First of all, this machine is incredibly easy to use. Each button is very clear about what it’s used for. You just tap the option that matches the description of what you’re trying to seal, put the bag opening in the trench inside the machine, close the lid and push the power button. It’ll vacuum the appropriate amount and then seal once it’s done. If it’s something fragile like crackers, you can choose “Soft and dry” and it’ll vacuum less powerfully and not suck out every bit of air as to not crush the food inside. I also really appreciate the inclusion of a manual mode. By pressing and holding the “Vacuum” button, it’ll suction as long as you hold it. Once your bag is devoid of air to your liking, you release the vacuum button which causes it to instantly stop and then press the seal button. Perhaps my favorite feature of this vacuum sealer is that you can use it with any bag that has a straight across opening and also to repair a bag that’s been ripped. I had a store-bought bag of tortilla chips and the bag itself is incredibly thin and prone to ripping and had torn down the middle. I lined up both sides of the tear and put them over the heating strip in this vacuum sealer and pressed the “Seal” button. This machine sealed the tear and automatically turned off when it was fully sealed. I also tried the seal feature on a very thin plastic graham cracker bag. I held the vacuum button to manually extract the air and then pressed the seal button. To my surprise, it automatically stopped sealing when the graham cracker bag was sealed and didn’t melt the bag (which I’ve seen happen with other sealers if they run too long for a particular material type). The fact that I can use this to seal any store-bought food that’s sold in a plastic bag exponentially expands the usefulness of this vacuum sealer! In regard to storage, I found that I’m able to store the power cord and the included roll of bags inside of the machine, making it easy to store in my cabinet. This vacuum sealer machine has blown me away and far exceeded my expectations in regard to ease of use and versatility! Zero complaints!

Bottom line - would recommend This is my first vacuum sealer machine - so with regards to this units features, performance etc, I unfortunately cannot give a comparison to other brands. While it is not the cheapest unit out there, it seems to be a good deal when comparing features and to the more expensive big brands. If you can happen to catch it on sale (time of review it had a 45% off promo), then this seems to be an absolute steal. With regards to my personal experience, so far I am very happy with the unit. I have tried the included bags and the roll and used the following functions - seal (no vacuum, I used to seal bottom of the the bag when using the roll), "strong and dry", and "soft and dry". The unit is simple to use - attach power cord and plug in, select one if the functions then touch the on/off and let it run. Using the seal only function took minimal time (maybe 3-5 seconds once machine was warmed up), while the 'strong and dry" vacuum sealing mode took just over 20 seconds. The build in bag cutter is a nice feature, though the roll can sometimes slide and cause an angled cut if you aren't holding it tight enough. I found it quicker and easier to just grab my pair of scissors and cut the roll. The first bag I tried I simply closed the kid and let it run. I initially wasnt impressed ( it didn't seem to seal all the way across and let some air leak back in). So I decided to cut the top off and try again, this time just placing light pressure on the edge of the lid. I immediately noticed a big difference. The unit worked much better - better/quicker vacuum and comolete seal - this small adjustment seemed to allow the sponge sealing gasket to fully seal around the bag and allow the unit to work better. Not sure if this is the same with all brands across the board or just this, but thought I'd mention in case someone else was having the same issue. I have not yet used the "wet mode" or the 'pump' mode to comment on how these work. Overall I am satisfied with the unit and it's performance so far. As mentioned before, this is my first vacuum sealing machine, so I cannot tell you just how well it compares to the big brand named ones.