vacuum sealers

[scubabob]

i don't go bush as much as i would like to and certainly not on too many overnighters so any tucker i take can be relatively fresh or at least dried. i have been looking at these vacuum sealer machines and wonder what they are like. They are a couple of hundred dollars and although i spend more than that just getting my scuba tanks tested every year, i am wondering about justifying the expense should i not use it often - but then again when VCR's first came out i didnt know if i would use that much either.......................

Anyone out there have one? and would you rate them as a yay or nay?

[photohiker]

Got one. Use it when car camping. It's pretty good for packing small quantities of stuff, frozen meals etc. Especially good for meat and the like, extends the shelf life in the fridge quite a lot.

For hiking, handy to pack single meal rations, spices etc, but does mean you have a bunch of plastic to pack out by the end of the trip. I've also used it for sealing emergency supplies like matches.

[scubabob]

never thought of the matches idea, pretty clever that one. Might look into one seeing as my dehydrator decided to give up the ghost overnight

[scubabob]

i went into KMart yesterday anad the Sunbeam vacuum sealers were on special from $129 down to $89 so at that price who could say no. Now the fun begins................

[MJD]

I took some vacuum sealed salami & cheese rolls on the last five day trip that I went on. Seemed to keep pretty well. Just make sure that you start with fairly solid bread rolls or you might be amazed by the size reduction as the air is removed.

[stu]

The vacuum sealers also do a hell of a job shrinking a toilet roll for multi day walks where a back up roll is required.
I dehydrate & vacuum seal all my own meals, I would never go back to that packet rubbish now.

[corvus]

I took some vacuum sealed salami & cheese rolls on the last five day trip that I went on. Seemed to keep pretty well. Just make sure that you start with fairly solid bread rolls or you might be amazed by the size reduction as the air is removed.

How long did you keep your rolls for b4 you ate them ? I am interested in getting a vacuum sealer and also looking at re visiting my dehydrator for meals that I can seal as I am also "freeze dried meals out " and think that yes I can carry a wee bit of extra gas for my taste buds sake ,just need to cut down weight elsewhere
corvus

[ILUVSWTAS]

I took some vacuum sealed salami & cheese rolls on the last five day trip that I went on. Seemed to keep pretty well. Just make sure that you start with fairly solid bread rolls or you might be amazed by the size reduction as the air is removed.

How long did you keep your rolls for b4 you ate them ? I am interested in getting a vacuum sealer and also looking at re visiting my dehydrator for meals that I can seal as I am also "freeze dried meals out " and think that yes I can carry a wee bit of extra gas for my taste buds sake ,just need to cut down weight elsewhere
corvus

I witnessed MJD eating his rolls 5 days into the trip.

[corvus]

Did you taste them ??

[MJD]

The rolls tasted quite good on the fifth day - but then almost anything would

[rogo]

I have been looking at those manual vacuum pump and special plastic bag type sealers. I saw a couple at the camping show a week or so ago. You get a pump to evacuate the air from the bags that come with it. One was around $50 with 6 or so bags. These have an inbuilt attachment on the bag to put the pump on. A few pumps and the air is extracted. The bags are reusable.
Then I saw a motorised one. More than double the cost and less bags. I was in Paddy Pallin the other day and saw Zip Vac food storage system for $30. Six bags...three are really too big for a solo walker but maybe I could do my toilet paper in one So I bought one. I'll let you know how it works in the field. I am not taking the pump with me.

Ro

[johnat]

For our olive packaging, we have a commercial model cryovac machine. Possibly a bit OTT for just walking, but it does the job nicely!

[corvus]

The vacuum sealers also do a hell of a job shrinking a toilet roll for multi day walks where a back up roll is required.
I dehydrate & vacuum seal all my own meals, I would never go back to that packet rubbish now.

stu,
Just got back into dehydrating my meals again and have borrowed (thank you Mate) a vacuum sealer question is do you keep yours in the freezer (wont be used for around 30 days) like I used to prior to vacuum sealing .
corvus

[climberman]

Like corvus I'm interested to know what is the best combo for dehydrate + vacuum seal. We typically dehy then freeze.

Does vacuum sealing reduce size, improve 'shelf' life, etc ?

Or do people mostly use it to seal fresh foods for later use ?

[Ticklebelly]

I've had one for years and first used it lots for packing things for stashing in the canoe. Things like, single serve toot paper, mini first aid kit, snake bandages and other stuff for in a dry bag on the back deck, as well as food/snacks, get bagged. I have a Sunbeam brand and it has been fine. I re-purpose any plastic bag I get my hands on. If it has been heat sealed, chances are it can be resealed but not vacuuumed. Not a problem for most day trips. I just squeeze most of the air out and seal. Biscuits, for example, only need to be kept dry until lunch time on my typical canoe day out and don't need to be vacuumed. I open all sealed bags by just cutting off the sealed bit and often get several uses out of one bag. Canoe trips don't raise too many issues when considering weight of a single day's lunch or snacks so I don't cut the bags down too much.

Ticklebelly

[WarrenH]

I like vacuum bagging food. What I like most about doing it is that I can start preparing the food for extended trips, months ahead of time. Also, I can bag perfect portions for my needs, from cereals to vegetables to a few treats. I also dehydrate my supplies. The two processes go hand in glove.

Commercially sold back packers food stuff is just that. I find that they are either too sweet, too chemically after-tasting, too skimpy or just plain horrible to eat. Also you get little value for your money which makes them doubly unsatisfying, I find. Know what I mean?

Eight weeks of supplies for my last cycle/walking tour through the Northern Alps. I like to remain unsupported. You can do a lot when you are well fed and not having to bother about the need to resupply.



The white packets on the left are Indian flat bread mixtures. The pale yellow packets on the right are full cream powdered milk. Last trip I carried double the amount of milk shown in this photo and missing from this image, is a dehydrated 8 kg watermellon. The watermellon was reduced to only 100gms, to virtually being weightless, after dehydrating. 500gm of seeded green olives reduced to 30 gms. I took this shot before I had finished bagging the breakfast cereals (at the top of the table) I also have a telescopic fishing rod and use Celta #2 red and gold lures/spinners and Celta #3 Frog spinners for here in the mountains. I like to cook when I tour.

I like bushwalking with my bike and "V" bagging the grub makes it work well. It is good not carrying the weight.





Warren.

[climberman]

Warren - nice summary thanks.

How do you find the rear rack on a dually ? Or is that a second bike ? ard to make it out in the shadows.

[WarrenH]

Climberman, G'day.

The Topeak MTX Type-A beam rack and the side rails was $150 complete. The capacity is only 8kg, which keeps the bike light.



What looks like a third wheel is a 'new' Extrawheel Voyager, that takes panniers. The carrying capacity is 30kg. The trailer only weighs 4.5kg complete with the wheel. The trailer is good. It took me a while to really learn to ride smoothly with it on, and not to forget that I had it on ... and not travel to quickly. The max speed for the trailer is advised at 30kph. The trailer and bits (like special quick release skewer and nuts, flag and mudguard and spring caliper) without the wheel was about $285, from BUFF Australia. Which is probably cheaper now with the good exchange rate. On the flat the trailer is excellent and on the hills it is basically only the weight of the cargo that is affecting. To attach it to the bike only takes a few seconds.




Warren.

[climberman]

Warren - thanks, very nifty !