Vacuum Sealer Bags and Rolls: Four Syntus Types Compared

The 150-count box is the simplest of the four. Every bag is precut, so you pull one out, put the food in and seal. Syntus splits the count evenly: 50 gallon bags at 11 by 16 inches, 50 quart bags at 8 by 12 inches and 50 pint bags at 6 by 10 inches.

The film is 4 mil thick, clear on one side and textured with dots on the other. Syntus says the dots help the machine pull air and help stop bones from puncturing the bag. The material is listed as PA+PE, and the brand calls it BPA free, which is the brand's claim.

Here is the compatibility line, and it has a catch. Syntus says these bags work with all traditional desktop vacuum sealers. It also says they have no air valve and are not compatible with handheld vacuum sealers.

If your machine is a handheld pump, look at the zipper set further down. If it is a desktop sealer, buyers back the claim with named machines. One reviewer owns a Weston Pro-2300 and had used only that maker's own bags until now.

That reviewer says these bags equal the Weston ones down to the tear strip, with a clear side, a waffled side and the same gallon, quart and pint sizes. Another reviewer had been using name-brand bags and says these work just the same, even though they don't feel as thick.

That thinner feel is the main complaint, and it is a mild one. The same reviewer misses a white label area for writing on the bag, which these do not have. You will need a marker on the film itself.

The written reviews we read are nearly all praise, and none reports a failed seal. About 84 percent of all ratings are five stars, and about 7 percent are three stars or below.

The fixed mix is both the strength and the limit. One reviewer says the pint bags suit small items that used to get lost in the larger bags they had before. Another used the three sizes to portion butchered pork for a deep freezer.

But if you only seal quart-size portions, you will end up with 100 bags in sizes you rarely use. The longest bag stops at 16 inches, so odd shapes need a roll.

We would buy this one for a countertop sealer and a household that freezes in standard portions. We would not buy it for a handheld pump. We would pick a roll if you want bags cut to size.

This set gives you two plain rolls: one 11 inches wide and one 8 inches wide, each 20 feet long. That makes 40 feet of film in total. You cut each bag to the length your food needs, which Syntus says keeps waste low.

The brand states a temperature range of -4°F to 212°F for the film. It says the bags suit the microwave, fridge, freezer and sous vide cooking, and calls the material BPA free. Those are Syntus's claims, as is the single-side embossed dot pattern that it says boosts suction and helps stop bones piercing the bag.

On compatibility, Syntus says the rolls work with all vacuum sealer machines, so you don't need to match a brand. Buyers back it in part. One reviewer says a different brand of bags did not seal correctly in their Nesco machine, and these rolls fixed it.

Another reviewer says the bags have worked in multiple sealers with no issues. A third compares them with the bags of a name-brand maker and says they are better, and that they have used them for over a year. We read no report of a machine that rejected them.

The written reviews here are short. Several are one line long, like "Good price and good product." The detailed ones talk about durability and the size options.

One reviewer says items sealed in these bags sat in the freezer for over a year and stayed as fresh as the day they were sealed. The same reviewer says you can write on the bag with a permanent marker, which the precut box buyers miss.

We found no real complaint in the written reviews we read. The star breakdown tells the same story, with about 79 percent five stars and about 7 percent at three stars or below. With only a few long reviews, we treat the praise as solid but thin.

The real tradeoff is effort. A roll does not come as a bag. You cut it and seal one end in your machine before you can fill it, which one buyer of the cutter-box roll describes doing in batches.

The set has no cutter box and no sizing marks. If you hate cutting straight, buy the keeper below.

This set suits a cook who wants to try the bags before committing to a long roll. It also suits someone who seals odd shapes, like a rack of ribs or a half loaf of bread.

This is one 8-inch roll, 150 feet long, sold in a box with a cutter. You mount the cutter onto the white area of the box, pull out the length you want and slice it. Syntus says that gives smooth, straight cuts, flat openings and fewer wrinkles and air leaks than scissors.

The box measures 9.45 by 5.39 by 5.31 inches and weighs 4.2 pounds. Give it a spot near the sealer. The film is 4 mil thick with a single-side embossed pattern, which Syntus says boosts suction and helps keep bones and sharp edges from piercing the bag.

The brand calls the material BPA free and says it suits the microwave, fridge, freezer, boiling and sous vide cooking. This is also the one page that tells you how to load the bag. Syntus says to set the bag with the smooth side up and the textured side down, and insert the open end evenly into the sealer, leaving at least 3 inches of space at the top.

Then you press the button. Syntus also advises pre-freezing moist or oily foods so liquid does not affect the seal. Those rules are Syntus's for this roll, and the other three pages give no such rule, so don't carry them over.

Syntus says the roll works with all vacuum sealers. A buyer with a name-brand machine says it sealed well, even around bones, after cutting venison. One buyer adds that you cannot put the whole roll inside a food saver, and that the box and cutter are the way to handle it.

That is the buyer's account for their machine, not a rule from the page. Buyers like the cutter. One says they precut and seal one end on 10 to 15 bags at a time, so the bags are ready for next time.

The complaints are mild and specific. One reviewer says the bags are not as thick or tough as the name-brand ones, though they still gave four stars. Another wishes the film had white label areas and measurement markings along the edges.

That reviewer adds that once in a while a bag did not seem to seal right, though the name-brand bags did the same. The width is fixed at 8 inches, the same as the quart bag in the precut box.

If you need a gallon-width bag, this is the wrong product. For a household that seals every week, the long roll and cutter are the tidy choice.

These are not the disposable bags of the other three products. The set holds 60 reusable bags with a double zipper and an air valve: 20 at 8 by 10 inches, 30 at 10 by 13.8 inches and 10 at 11.8 by 13.8 inches. A zipper clip comes with the set.

One reviewer counts five clips in their box. They add that each bag carries an S, M or L mark, so you don't confuse the sizes.

The film is described as nylon and polyethylene. Syntus says the smooth side is up to 3.15 mil thick and the dotted side up to 3.95 mil, and that the bags are BPA free.

The silicone valve is the selling point. Syntus says it is adhesive-free, so the bag can be fully submerged for sous vide cooking, unlike older valves with a glued patch that must stay above the water line. It also says the valve comes off for cleaning.

This is the only set whose page promises handheld support. Syntus says the bags use standard valve calibers and work with traditional vacuum sealer machines and handheld vacuum pumps.

Buyers match that. One reviewer says the bags work well with their Chef Preserve handheld sealer. Another says they work with both electric and hand pumps, and a third says they work great with their FoodSaver sealer.

One more reviewer writes that they understand the bags are compatible with most sealers, except the big brand name one. That conflicts with the FoodSaver buyer, so treat it as hearsay and check your own machine before you buy.

Reuse is the other reason to buy. Buyers say the bags are easy to wash, and two say they hand wash them.

One says a marker note washes off. The page does not say the bags are dishwasher safe, so we don't say it either.

The complaint is the zipper. One reviewer says it can be difficult to close. Syntus says you close the bag with the included clip after vacuuming.

Buyers like the sizes. One says a bag holds three one-pound packages of frozen hamburger. Another freezes sliced sourdough bread in them, and one has frozen cooked beans.

This set has far fewer ratings behind it than the others, about 857 of them, though about 86 percent are five stars. We would buy it if you own a handheld pump. We would pick a roll if you freeze a lot of meat and want something you can throw away.