Space Bag 14 Bag Space Saver Set (Clear)

We're trying to store three households in one so I ordered these bags to conserve our storage space. We started with the large super duper jumbo cube to store my pillow inserts and quilt bats - think pillows and quilts. We put in about a half dozen pillows from 24" square to travel pillow size, along with a couple of quilt batting packages. We zipped it up (after fumbling with the little ziplock thing that kept falling off) and that's when the giggles started!The first problem was vacuum "operator error" because I can never remember how to get the hose attachment to the upright off so I can use it. Trust me, it doesn't work too well when you're trying to suck air out of a bag while laying the upright vacuum cleaner down on its "back" so the hose will reach the bag. Once we solved that problem, we started deflating the bag. One issue I had with the bags was that the plug doesn't "adapt" with the end of the hose, so you're trying to hold it steady - a virtually impossible feat on a deflating bag. Plus, I was yelling at my friend to "sit on it" so that the bag would deflate better. Well, she got the giggles and couldn't stop. I am so glad there were no video cameras to witness two middle aged women wrestling a rather large plastic bag in the middle of the floor, while laughing uncontrollably!We did finally get the bag deflated, but as far as being a "cube" - fat chance. It looks more like a misshapen buttermilk biscuit - only one that is about 2 feet wide and with a lumpy rounded top about a foot high. (Note to self - use this as a prop for "The Giant Biscuit's Revenge" video.) We didn't have any issues with the bag trying to re-inflate when putting the cap on the plug - as others have mentioned. The blue flapper did the trick.We then went on to store some comforters and other "flatter" stuff in the rectangular bags. They more closely resemble the cute pictures on the cover but are a bit misshapen and lumpy. But I can live with that. The articles that took up half an 8 foot long closet are now on the storage shelf occupying roughly a two-foot cube. So yes, they do work. And they've been down there about two weeks and are still holding the seal.One other disappointment was that the bags, as others have mentioned, are a bit flimsier than I'd like - I wish the plastic was a thicker mil. It seemed flimsier than the bags a new comforter comes in. I have my doubts about whether they will work on a second go-round - like if I take something out or use the bags for something else down the road.In summary - yes they work, and they close. Flapper = good. Valve compatability with the vacuum cleaner hose = not so much. Closure = needs a lot of improvement (and it wouldn't cost much to improve this!). Final storage shape - ehh, needs a bit of work so its easier to stack them while you're storing them. Overall rating - somewhere between 3 and 4. It will work for now, but I wish they were better - especially for the price.

These bags live up to the hype - they securely store your items and compact items down to a manageable and easily stored size. With our vacuum cleaner, sucking the air out of the bags is quick and easy. The package deal is actually quite nice and the best I was able to find on the internet (including specials on the manufacturers website).Now, the minor glitch/problem. One of the space bags (xtra-large) had a pinprick size hole in it when we received this new item from Amazon. It was not immediately noticeable until after we started using all the bags and heard a high pitched wheeze coming from the bag (air leaking back in the tiny hole). When we attempted to return this item for a replacement, we were only offered a refund (which wasn't an ideal option, since we had already used and stored all the other bags, which would be a lot of work to return to the original condition. We were able to easily fix the bag with some well-placed duct tape. As annoying as this is (new products should be without defect), it wasn't too hard to fix and would have been more trouble to try to send it back. If you get this product (and we certainly recommend it), recommend you check all the bags for problems prior to filling/sealing any of them.

I found these to be pretty amazing for saving space but in addition to this the bags are great for storing electronics or anything you want to keep airtight. I've used these to store laptops, suitcases, stereo equipment... The list is endless. The bags are fairly thick plastic and can hold up to a bit of abuse, although you still have to be careful about anything sharp since the vacuum will obviously cause a tear.There are only two reasons I didn't give these 5-stars.The first is that I found one out of about every 7 bags I've used is impossible to seal and ultimately slowly leaks air from somewhere. The zipping mechanism includes a plastic piece that is supposed to aid in the zipping, but I largely felt it was in the way and left one of the tracks partially sealed and I had to go over it extensively by hand. In one case the plastic zipping mechanism actually tore the bag between the two zippers.The second reason I am giving this 4-stars is because I felt like the manufacturer makes it difficult to get some of what I found to be the more useful sizes (jumbo/x-large) without buying a half dozen of the smaller bags. Some of the other kit combos have less smaller bags, but only contain a single jumbo bag and ultimately cost more money for the same quantity of x-large/jumbo bags. So I would take this complaint with a grain of salt since this may be the perfect distribution of sizes for the average joe.