Are Space Bags worthwhile, and if so what is a good vacuum cleaner to use with them?

May 6, 2006 4:48 PM

I'm in a dorm in MA and my space is tight. I'm not going to need my long underwear (along with any other items) until Winter. Should I buy some Space Bags? How about a cheap, small, vacuum cleaner to go with it?
posted by jhscott to Clothing, Beauty, & Fashion (7 answers total)

In my experience, space bags last about a season and then the valve craps out and you have a large plastic bag full of stuff whereever you stacked it. Can you send the stuff home to someone who has more storage space? If not, there's long plastic boxes that fit under your bed that I would recommend over space bags.
posted by b33j at 5:04 PM on May 6, 2006

Response by poster: I'll try the vacuum-cleanerless ones and see what happens. Seems like if I'm going to pay money (shipping home) I might as well spend it on something non-transient. Thanks!
posted by jhscott at 5:21 PM on May 6, 2006

Response by poster: Er, sigh, forgot to finish. I like the idea of having more space when I travel, too. If the bags go south, I'm out $30 and I'll buy plastic boxes :).
posted by jhscott at 5:25 PM on May 6, 2006

Space bags are GREAT. I'd stick with that brand and not get a cheap imitation, though. You can really store a lot of stuff in very little space. I live in a studio, so I store all of my out-of-season stuff in the space bags. The best thing is that the clothes don't get musty. But make sure you don't store items that need to breath, like leather or fur, because they will be damaged. One tip is to label each bag with what's inside because it's hard to remember what's in each bag.
posted by mintchip at 8:12 PM on May 6, 2006

You can get the vacuum-less bags at TARGET, of all places. Cheap too..like two for 5 dollars or something. They come in three sizes. They are incredible. I've re-used mine over a dozen times now.

They're by the luggage aisle.
posted by pencroft at 9:40 PM on May 6, 2006

I've used them and don't think they are worth half of what they cost. Any normal vacuum will do the job. I live in a tiny house right now and the ~50% space saved just doesn't cut it. Now, if it were to reduce volume by, say, 90%... and last a good long time -- that would be a different story.
posted by kc0dxh at 9:41 AM on May 8, 2006

I used space bags and it's a total waste of money. For me, the bag lasted about few weeks then air sipped right in. It's expensive and doesn't hold true to what the manufacture says.
posted by teapot at 7:59 AM on May 23, 2006