Vacuum Packing Clothes in Luggage

[coco6]

I have no idea where to post this question but since I'm cruising in July on the Carnival Destiny, I decided to ask this question here.

I was thinking of vacuum packing my clothes in those plastic bags that you can suck the air out of, that way I can fit more clothes in my luggage but I can't find a travel size or compact vacuum cleaner to suck the air back out of the bag once I go to re-pack my clothes on the way back home. Does anyone know of any device I could use to get this accomplished?

 

Thanks

[niiaka]

Walmart sells Space Saver bags.. same concept, but you don't need a vaccum cleaner to suck the air out. They come in Large, XL Large and they come with a clip to seal the bag.. then just sit on it to squeeze the air out. Works great! We use they everytime. Be warned though, does seem to make your bags much heavier. Hope this helps.

[bobandkelly]

I use 2 gallon zip top baggies. Roll the clothes, place in bag, zip most of the way, squeeze the air out, pack suitcase. Yes some air gets back in but if you pack the suitcase right away not much gets back in. DH is amazed at how much I can put in a carryon!

Then after I pack dirty clothes in them I can throw them away!

Kelly

[coco6]

both ideas sound great. It would be nice if they made some hand held device that was small and easy to pack to remove all the air out the bags but I will try the space saver bags from walmart and see how it goes. Hopefully it will reduce the amount of luggage I will need to bring.

 

Thanks for the ideas

[Chazon]

They sell Space Savers for Travel - they have a one-way valve and you just roll the whole bag to get the air out - no vaccuum needed. We have them and they work great!

[Dem&Mag]

They sell Space Savers for Travel - they have a one-way valve and you just roll the whole bag to get the air out - no vaccuum needed. We have them and they work great!

 

DW and I just picked some of these up for our trip later this month, they look like they will hold a ton of stuff so we are really looking forward to using these to help get more in.

[Chazon]

Another thought on this though, a lot of camping mattresses use a pump to air/deflate, and they are travel sized. The one I have has two connections - the side connection airs up the mattress and then to deflate, I attach the fitting to the top of the pump - gets all the air out. . .

[MamaParrotHead]

Get the Hefty XL and XXL storage bags. Much cheaper and condense as flat as the vacuum bags. I've used them successfully on many trips.

[cookingchick]

Get the Hefty XL and XXL storage bags. Much cheaper and condense as flat as the vacuum bags. I've used them successfully on many trips.

 

I've used both and I prefer the Hefty zip lock bags too. The space saver travel bags have a cheap little zip gadget on the top that tends to come off...not worth the money in my opinion.

[chris10sne1]

I haven't tried this but have you heard of those new Reynolds Handi Vac bags that you can suck the air out of? You can buy the vacuum in that aisle and it is really small...or you can use a straw and suck it out yourself. Heheh.

 

Description from Amazon.com

Reynolds® Handi-Vac Vacuum Sealer - Vacuum Sealing System Starter Kit with Handy Vac Freezer Bags and Batteries

[rickcop44]

I gotta go with niiaka said in her post. We went the vacuum packing on one cruise about three years ago. Yeah, we saved a ton of room; in fact, we were able to pack two suitcases worth in one bag. Only trouble was, though, the bag weighed 475 pounds. When we got to the airport, we were charged additional for having a suitcase in excess of 50 pounds. I believe our bag weighed almost 100 pounds. Okay, I admit, I was bad and it was heavy. But I got charged $75 for that overage. Sure I could have unloaded stuff and pushed it into our carry ons, but they were already heavy as well. So my advice to you is, if you want to vacuum pack, great. Just don't let the bag get too heavy or be prepared to get charged for the overage at the airport.

[Tbay-eh]

I haven't tried this but have you heard of those new Reynolds Handi Vac bags that you can suck the air out of? You can buy the vacuum in that aisle and it is really small...or you can use a straw and suck it out yourself. Heheh.

 

Description from Amazon.com

Reynolds® Handi-Vac Vacuum Sealer - Vacuum Sealing System Starter Kit with Handy Vac Freezer Bags and Batteries

:cool: :cool: Don't laugh, the straw really works once you get most of the air out, also, tip your steward and he can reverse the flow on his vac. But as a previous poster said, when you vacuum pack clothes, etc - you can pack more but weighs more. I had 3 friends who did this and their suitcases looked half full so they just kept putting things in - severely overweight and cost a ton extra. Keep a scale handy and make sure you are within the weight.:cool: :cool:

[Cruisin' Ron VA]

Maybe the room steward will let you borrow his or her vacuum cleaner for a minute on the last night while you pack? Just slip him a couple of bucks. :confused:

[Richie Rich!]

both ideas sound great. It would be nice if they made some hand held device that was small and easy to pack to remove all the air out the bags but I will try the space saver bags from walmart and see how it goes. Hopefully it will reduce the amount of luggage I will need to bring.

 

Thanks for the ideas

 

I bought an air mattress once that came with a portable pump. Not much bigger than a rubicks? cube. You could use it of course to blow up the bed, but also in reverse to drain the bed. Check at Wal-Mart in the outdoors section.

[OneAnnM19608]

I have these bags but have never used them.

We are not flying so we don't have an issue with the airlines, does that mean I don't have to worry the overage fee?

[imnance]

Ditto on the Hefty bags.

[belle907]

We have the original Space Saver Travel bags and love them. They don't have the slider thingy that breaks off. We like them so in case the suitcases sit out in the rain/snow our clothes won't get wet. Plus it makes it easier for TSA to look in our bags if they need to open them.

Just remember to spread your clothes out among all bags you take so in case 1 bag gets lost you will at least have some clothes when you arrive.

 

Also, the space bags are good to pack a bottle of wine or alcohol in and if the bottle were to break it won't leak everywhere.

[jayscore]

Now that the airlines are getting fussier about weight, I wonder if "sucking" your stuff is worth it or not. We used the roll-up bags for the really bulky stuff, but watched the weight, just in case. One advantage would be that you can get away with the smaller suitcases.

[belle907]

One advantage would be that you can get away with the smaller suitcases.

That's part of the reason we do it. Plus in the bigger suitcase we can pack a smaller one to get things home and not worrying about the first 2 being overweight.

[choclitsnda]

I have these bags but have never used them.

We are not flying so we don't have an issue with the airlines, does that mean I don't have to worry the overage fee?

 

That's correct...If you're Not Flying...No Need to worry about weight or fees.:)

[rlmac1001]

Question, do you clothes come out wrinkled when you put them in the bags? That is what I would worry about.

[coco6]

wow, so many ideas!! ok now I need to understand how could I use the reynolds handi sealer machine on a hefty xl bag? from what I understand the Hefty xl bags do not have the little device on it to let you suck the air out of it right?

I also like the idea of the mattress pump too.. my first choice is the reynolds handi sealer...i like that thing. so if that doesn't work out I will try the air mattress pump.

I'm just trying to use a smaller suitcase. I hate carrying so much luggage. :)

[belle907]

The Reynolds Handi Sealer has special bags and I've only seen the quart and gallon size ones.

If you use a regular ziplock bag you don't need a pump you just close it like normal and squeeze the air out before sealing. It's going to get all the air out like a vacuum bag would but it will get a lot of it out. JMHO

 

 

Clothes do not come out wrinkled using the space saver bags.

[Goofy62798]

Has anyone used these recently with the weight restrictions? Just curious if this is worth trying.

[btcruzin]

Has anyone used these recently with the weight restrictions? Just curious if this is worth trying.

Not recently, but I agree with the other posters that you have to watch the weight. I like these bags because I can separate each DD's clothes, swim suits, etc. and everything is easy to find. Also keeps things clean when I toss in dirty shoes at the last minute, and nothing goes astray if the bags are inspected by TSA. The bags let you get away with SMALLER suitcases, but it's very tempting to just pack more into the larger suitcases.