The pump works great, the bags however are another failure all together. Straight from the manufacturer you have about a 50 - 50 chance that the bag will hold a seal. I have had this pump about 3 years now and finally went with food saver because I could no longer afford to buy bags at double the price. Food saver is a better deal for this type of vacuum bags. So far 100% of the bags hold a seal and do not release vacuum after a few days. I would not recommend this product. I gave it three years to improve quality of bags.

Works great. Use with wide mouth jar sealer. Great for storing dried food and plant material. Convent cordless operation

Works better as a wine sealer than a vacuum sealer for my meats. The bags do not retain the suction. Corking my wine bottles on the other hand is perfect.

Works well, I have not ordered any bags yet

I have bought a lot of kitchen tool and gadgets that I don't use very often. I think we have all done that.

I am happy to say that this does not fall into that category.

I have pretty high standards when it comes to items such as this. It has to add a lot of value and actually be worth the effort to use it. It should to be relatively easy to use and perform it's task in spades. This product delivers on all of these fronts. I would even go so far as to say that this is a sort of a revolutionary product for me in that it changed the way I store and maintain freshness in my food and how I enjoy my food. I also believe that this product will more than pay for itself over time by not only extending the life of food items but also increasing my enjoyment of stored food items. Food prices seem to be going up a lot every year lately!

For me personally, I see one of the greatest benefits of having this in the buying and storing of my cheeses. I really do love cheese, and higher priced cheeses seem to be the ones that I like the best (obviously you get what you pay for). Sometimes I buy more than I will eat in a few days and have been disappointed many a time to find a nice piece of good cheese dried out in the fridge. This product has changed that by greatly extending the shelf life of my cheeses. I can by a variety at one time without worry that I won't finish them all before they spoil or dry out. Of course not everyone is a cheese fanatic or even eats lots of cheese, but this is just ones example that happens to apply to me personally. Salumis, prosciutto (to go with the cheeses of course) are other food items that tends to dry out quickly in the fridge (even if you keep them in the separate deli drawer or crisper box). If I were to just use this for cheese and deli items alone, I would be more than satisfied, but it is useful for so much more.

Coffees and teas are of course best stored in air-tight containers and are well suited to be vacuum sealed in order to maintain freshness. Guacamole won't turn that unappealing brown color when it's kept from being exposed to the air. You can seal things like chips if you just remove a little air, but not enough to start crushing your chips. They all also sell hard canisters for liquids and items such as chips, etc.

Other reviewers have ranted that it was made in China. That is OK with me since it does not feel or perform like a substandard product. There ARE quality products made in China, it just depends on the product and the specs that the designing/selling company (Caso in this case) specifies. I am happy with the quality and performance of this product.

Of course I cannot comment on it's longevity since I have only owned it for about a month, but I will provide updates if there are any significant changes or mishaps.

If you own and use this product, please comment on any creative things that you use it for. Perhaps there are novel uses that could be helpful to others visiting the review section. Any questions are also welcome.