ZeroPak HandyVac Vacuum Sealer - Gen 2 product reviews

I do a fair bit of travelling throughout the year, and with the lifting of all restrictions relating to COVID, that only looks to be a growing trend. This often means nights spent parked up on a lakeshore somewhere remote, in the camper with a portable gas cooker and an icebox instead of a fridge. That makes dealing with left-overs difficult. Ziplock bags and a drinking straw will only go so far, a proper vac-packer is an important part of my travel kit.

This unit is the next evolution in the HandyVac range, and it is quite a step-up from the previous model. The design is now smoother, rounder, and easier to grip. The vacuum motor feels more powerful and able to remove the bulk of the air faster and more efficiently. Part of that will be attributable to the new bag and valve design too, I imagine. This unit vents the evacuated air out of a small exit valve on the side, allowing you to tap into that exhaust stream to inflate things too. It's ideal for party time when you have a lot of balloons to inflate - you can give it to an older child and they can add their workload to the collective effort.

This model is also great at dealing with liquids, the new design allows for any liquid that makes it through the valve to pool at the base of the nozzle, not actually entering the motor or pump at all. Under ideal circumstances, anyway. When I tested it on a bag of water, I got a spray of water droplets rise up into the fan area, but it was momentary and it appeared that the fan was happy to just eject the water out the side along with the air. I wouldn't recommend using it as a liquid pump however. Oh, speaking of new design, this new model has an additional nozzle piece that will connect in a number of ways, making it compatible with some other vac-pack bag brands too.

The bags that come with this kit are an older design, and the valve, while ultra-thin and sleek, is not as well-engineered as it could be. However, these bags will still do an excellent job in a pinch. It is highly recommended that you buy a set of the new bags, as they will give you a much better result with a tenth of the effort. They have a pleasing feel to them and are not flimsy, lightweight things that could tear apart if you sneeze hard, instead they have a thickness and slight resistance to them that speaks of durability and endurance. The valve is sleek and unobtrusive, so it isn't going to catch on other packaging in the fridge or freezer. It can also be disassembled for cleaning, which is really important after use if the contents were quite wet. Just pop the top off gently, and you can remove the inner portion of the valve, exposing all the catchment surfaces for a good clean.

To test the toughness of the bags, my first go-to test is the 'hard sharp corners' test. The easiest way I have found to test the durability of the bag material is the vac-pack a big handful of LEGO blocks. Usually the 2x2 blocks, since with them you get good spacing between the corners, allowing the bag to really get a lot of pressure focussed down into a pinpoint space. In this instance, I used a mix of Duplo, LEGO and Flexo to really add some complexity and variation. It's worth pointing out here that this small pump is indeed powerful, but it's not engineered to pull a 'hard vacuum' - at most, it will pull enough air out to give you a relatively decent soft vacuum - maybe 3-5% of normal atmospheric pressure. With that in mind, I proceeded to apply a vacuum to the "Bag of Bl**dy Bast*rd Bricks" (As I often call them at 3am when I have just 'found' one with my inner sole.)

It took a moment for anything to visibly happen, but once my eye caught the slight deflating of one corner, it was almost instantly apparent that this bag was shrinking fast. The pump was pulling the bulk of the air out with incredible speed for such a small unit - I could actually feel the hairs on the back of my hand being stirred by the flow of air ejecting from the exit port on the side of the pump. Incidentally, this little grey hole on the side, just above the seal ring - that's where you plug in the 'inflation' nozzle. Perfect for parties with balloons!

Once the bulk of the air has been removed, you'll notice a change in the sound of the pump as it tries to pull the last possible dregs of air out. Working in a rarified atmosphere like that isn't good for impellor-style pumps, so when you hear it start to get high-pitched, that's your signal to take your thumb off the button. The valve self-seals instantly, preventing any air from creeping back in - no more rushed fumbles trying to slip the bung back in or snap the lid back on to seal the bag.

This test was impressive to me because I usually find that the majority of bags readily available are built for cheap prices, not reliable reusability, so they will either outright fail this test by splitting, or they at least suffer significant but sub-critical damage in multiple locations that leave it weak and probably unreliable. In this case I found myself staring at a vacuum-packed bag of LEGO blocks that was doing its best to pierce the bag... and failing. In a real-world scenario, this would mean that you would feel relatively safe about vac-packing meat on-the-bone and not having to hacksaw off any sharp corners first. You could vac-pack some chicken satay kebabs on the skewer for freezing and not having to be concerned about the sticks breaking through the bag.

Recharging is simple, and quick thanks to the USB-C port. With many affordable powerbanks coming out now that also include a USB-C port, you literally can charge this while on-the-move. I found that I got over an hour of vacuum-active time before I had to pop it on charge, which is pretty good really. I was planning to time the recharge, but I had to dive out the door on an urgent appointment and when I got back it was indicating full-charge so I was left guessing. I was only away for 2 hours, so if you leave it on charge for at least an hour, you are guaranteed plenty of vacuum time before you need to concern yourself with it again.

Overall, this is a lightweight, more powerful than it looks, comfortable to use hand-held food vac-packer kit that will prove itself a boon the first time you go camping or on a picnic. For those who want to do bulk food prep for freezing might want to consider a larger, benchtop unit, but in a pinch of for those every-now-and-then situations, this unit will do you just fine! Pro Tip: If you decide to make and bag soup, sauce or other liquids - put them in a single layer in the freezer and do not stack anything on top of them. Pressure on a liquid-filled bag will cause fluid to seep out of the valve. Let them freeze solid before you stack them.