To Use Vacuum Sealer Bags or Not...
*This article and corresponding video are sponsored by the company Out of Air. They sent me their product in exchange for my honest review.
Have you ever used a vacuum sealer to increase the shelf life of your food or to keep it from forming ice crystals while in the freezer? I have recently discovered that vacuum sealing is quite fun! I find myself looking around for items to seal! You see, growing up, we didn’t have a vacuum sealer, and since I am pretty old fashioned, I never cared to invest in one. My husband has wanted one, but eh.
Does our frozen meat sometimes get freezer burned and form ice crystals? You bet! Psst: However, if you crockpot the meat and add in wonderful herbs and spices for flavoring, you don’t even taste the freezer burn. I always liked the idea of vacuum sealing, but again the cost to purchase the one I would want was off putting. Then it appeared God intervened as He so often does. Much to my surprise a company randomly contacted me and asked if I would be interested in doing a review over their vacuum sealing bags. I was happily surprised but then realized that if I wanted to do this, I would need to finally purchase a vacuum sealer.
I decided this was most likely divine intervention since my husband was again talking about wanting a vacuum sealer and the company generously offered me a variety of free bags in exchange for my honest review. I decided to look around and compare prices and features for vacuum sealers. I decided on the FoodSaver FM 5460. Unfortunately, this vacuum sealer was more pricey than I felt comfortable paying then low and behold God put it on sale. A very good sale at that! I was truly surprised with how good the sale was, so I bought it, and we have been quite pleased. See God sees all and cares for all parts of our lives. Now the question is what do I think of the Out of Air bags, but first, let’s quickly cover the benefits of a vacuum sealer.
Benefits of a Vacuum Sealer
A vacuum sealer machine, simply put, removes the air and oxygen from food. By removing the air, food will stay fresher longer, which means if you decide to vacuum seal chips or bread, they won’t go stale as quick. Your frozen vacuum sealed food won’t get freezer burned as quickly or form ice crystals, if at all. Since some bacteria grow in an oxygenated environment, a vacuum sealer can inhibit certain bacterial growth as well. The bottom line is that vacuum sealing your food can increase the life of your food. For more information about what a vacuum sealer is and how it works, check out this article.
What is Out of Air?
The company Out of Air was created by an entrepreneur named Jonathan Laliberte in 2015 with the intent of making vacuum sealer bags and rolls affordable for the average homeowner all while not sacrificing quality. This American company is based in Massachusetts and the items are shipped from the US. You can read more about the company and owner here.
How are Out of Air Vacuum Sealer Bags Different?
Overall, Out of Air bags and rolls are quite similar to other vacuum sealer bags in their purpose and design. However, there are some key differences.
- Out of Air bags and rolls are 4 mil thick on the gloss side and 10 mil thick on the embossed/textured side. Food Saver’s are said to measure 1 mil LESS thick on each side when compared to the Out of Air. The added thickness of Out of Air helps prevent freezer burn and ice crystals.
- Out of Air bags and rolls are said to be made of 7 layers while Food Saver’s are said to be made of 5 layers. These two additional layers help to resist tears and punctures.
- Out of Air bags and rolls have a taller area than the Food Saver’s for writing. This is convenient for people who tend to write large.
- Unlike Food Saver, Out of Air bags have a notch in the side as a convenience for you to quickly open the bag with your hand instead of employing scissors or a knife.
- Out of Air bags and rolls are made using FDA approved food grade material and their products are said to be bisphenol-A (BPA) and phthalate free. On Food Saver’s website, I only see that they list their bags and rolls as being BPA free.
- Unlike Food Saver rolls, Out of Air rolls come with a cutter on the box ensuring that you get a straight and even cut.
- Unlike Food Saver’s bags, Out of Air’s bags as well as their rolls come with markings along the sides to help assist you in filling the bags equally or cutting each bag the same size. I see that Food Saver rolls come with the markings but not their bags whereas Out of Air’s bags and rolls both come with the markings.
- You can read more differences between Out of Air and Food Saver on their faqs pages.
- For your convenience here is a ready made comparison between Out of Air and three other popular brands of vacuum bags.
What I Like About the Vacuum Sealer Bags and Rolls
I really appreciate the following about the Out of Air vacuum sealer bags and rolls.
- When the items arrived, I immediately liked the packaging. I like simple things and the packages, especially the brown ones, did not disappoint. The boxes have a simple and clean design and feel to them.
- Aside from the package design, I absolutely LOVED that ALL the printed words and information was in ENGLISH. Thank you so much!
- Just as wonderful as the words being in English was that the size of the product was given in inches! This was huge as I have to pull the converter out to decipher how many centimeters by how many centimeters an item equals in inches. Again, a HUGE thank you. This is America, so I do greatly appreciate when American companies have English and our American standard of measurement listed on their products.
- I appreciate the convenient cutter on the boxed 100′ rolls. This will make for an even straight cut without the need for scissors, which I will confess, I don’t always cut straight.
- I like the markings along the sides of the bags that you can use as a guide when measuring or cutting in order to make sure each bag is filled the same amount or cut to the same size.
- I like the larger writing space on the bags and rolls.
- I appreciate the thought they put into adding the tear notch to the sides of their bags. That was a nice and considerate touch!
How Do They Compare to Food Saver?
Please do not think I am picking on Food Saver. I find no fault in their product, I am simply comparing Out of Air to Food Saver because I have only used Food Saver and Out of Air bags and rolls.
If you would like to watch the review video for more clarity, you can find that video here.
While I was using both brands to seal some food, I noticed the following.
- On one bag, it was harder to open the Food Saver.
- I can feel that the Out of Air bags and rolls are definitely thicker than the Food Saver brand not a huge amount but noticeable.
- I held each brand up to a background, and I was able to see more through the Food Saver brand, which was another way of letting me know that the Out of Air brand was thicker as it wasn’t as transparent.
- Both bags sealed equally as well, but once they were sealed, again, I could feel that the sealed Out of Air brand was thicker.
- Currently, both brands that I vacuumed sealed in are still sealed and chilling out in the freezer.
If you'd prefer to watch a video showing the Out of Air bags in action, here you go!
What You Can Do With Out of Air Bags and Rolls
Out of Air bags and rolls can be placed:
- in the fridge
- in the freezer
- in the microwave
- in the dishwasher
- and even boiled. In fact, they say they have had their bags tested by two separate companies, and their bags were found to withstand boiling (Sous-vide) and even passed the test for food safety even after 4 hours of boiling at 212 degrees F (100 degrees Celsius).
- the bags are washable and reusable. However, it is recommended that you dispose of bags that contained raw meat just in case it wasn’t thoroughly and properly cleaned.
- the bags are resealable, just cut and reseal.
- the bags are recyclable.
Things to Mention
- Out of Air bags are compatible with all brands of vacuum sealer machines such as Food Saver; Weston; Cabelas; Seal a Meal; Ziploc; and others.
- Currently, Out of Air does not offer any bags that can be used with the handheld vacuum device. In other words, they offer no bags with the little one-way valve on the face of the bag to hook up an accessory hose or handheld device to remove the air.
- One thing would make this company get a 100% in my book and that is I would absolutely LOVE to see these bags made in America. I mean completely made in America. Unfortunately, the world we live in, it is difficult to find many things made in America anymore. According to Out of Air, there are no made in America vacuum bags or rolls.
- You may find Out of Air’s blog helpful as they have many informative articles helping you get the most success out of storing your food.
Warranty and Guarantee
Out of Air has a surprising warranty. In full disclosure I have not had to use their warranty or guarantee, so I cannot comment on the ease of doing so.
Their warranty is called 3X Safe.
- If you don’t like the bags for any reason, you may return them within 90 days for a refund.
- If you think the bags have lost their seal due to the bag being faulty within 360 days of purchase, they will refund you.
- Any bag that was returned as defective will be personally inspected and tested by Jonathan, the company’s founder, and he will personally follow up with YOU!
- If you need sealing tips or have a problem, review their information here.
For comparison, Food Saver offers a 30 return for unused items.
How is THAT for customer service!
Would I Buy Them?
The bottom line is YES! I will buy bags and rolls from Out of Air and here is why.
- Even though Out of Air and Food Saver both sealed just fine, Out of Air is thicker than Food Saver.
- I personally prefer supporting smaller companies.
- Another reason I will buy these bags is the bags are MUCH more affordable than Food Saver bags.
- I am getting a better quality with additional thoughtful features, and the cost is much easier on the pocketbook.
Don’t take just my word for it. You can read the 2145+ reviews for this product giving it a 4.9 out of 5 stars. That IS saying something!
Now it’s your turn, go ahead and check them out! Click the Out of Air name to the left or directly above to visit their website.
