Do you use a Vacuum sealer?
Which brand?
Which one of that brand?
Do you like it and why or wish you had gotten a different one and why?
I have done some reading.(Now I'm more confused)
Did you get a cheep one and replace it every so often or get a high priced one that can be repaired?
What bags are best and why?
Well...this should get this started...
Thanks in advance,
Mike18
There are really three basic types: internal, "chamber" sealers (like Ultravac or vac master), external, "clamp" type sealers (like most FoodSaver models), and portable, typical handheld, retractable nozzle types (in which you often attach a handheld suction pump to a vacuum suction port on a special bag).
Chamber sealers are the "yoders" (I.e., Cadillacs, pinnacle,...) of the sealers and are used by restaurants, butchers and packaging companies but are typically too costly for most homes. Chamber sealers allow you to place the entire bag with food in it inside the sealer's chamber. A vacuum is drawn inside the entire chamber and the bag sealed while the chamber is under vacuum. Because the bag is inside the chamber, it's contents are not sucked out like they are in external clamp type systems, making them far more versatile than other types, because you can do wet foods like soups and marinated foods without the sealing process removing the liquids from the bag to achieve a vacuum. They also typically have much stronger piston style vacuum pumps and can draw much stronger, often user controlled vacuum strength pressures. They typically run well over $1,000 and are heavy and take up a good amount of counter space. Bags are not ridged and are relatively inexpensive.
With external clamp type sealers, you typically just insert the edge of a special channeled bag into the mouth of the sealer to seal it. If you want to draw a vacuum on it, it sucks as much air out as it can through the ridges in the bags but it ends up drawing liquids out of your bag too--not just air. These work fine for meat and fish and cheese, particularly when dry, but are difficult to use for wet items like soups and marinated proteins. The vacuum pump motors on most of these types of units are inferior to their chamber sealer big brothers and you will not be able to fully remove all the air from most of what you're sealing (though it's good enough for many applications). Additionally, the bags are costly.
I'm not going to spend time on the portable nozzle types.
To answer your question, there's what I want and what I have...I could not justify the 10x price difference between the Ultravac chamber sealer I want and the FoodSaver GameSaver model I have ( my 2nd FoodSaver.). I got the GameSaver because I got a great deal on it and it's vacuum sealing strength rating was superior to some of the more expensive FoodSaver units. None of the FoodSaver products work great on wet and marinated foods in my view so I really want a chamber sealer for both quality and functional reasons. For now, the GameSaver allows me to buy wholesale cuts of meat and cut them into useable home portions and freeze them safely without burning until we're ready to use them later. It's good for smoked items like leftover brisket or pulled pork and also works fine for cold smoked items like salmon and cheese. I have found that both FoodSaver sealers I've had do an "ok" job of removing air from the bags but not great. Definitely not commercial quality, but again they work ok for many of the things I do--they're just not as good as I'd like.
There are tons of these clamp type sealers out there and they can be tough to compare. If you can compare the strength of the vacuum they can pull and the bag sizes they can handle, these are the two most important features in my view. I personally find most of the other features to be gimmicks. Don't be fooled by "wet" sealing features on FoodSaver models. They still draw liquids out of the bags. After the bag sizes and pump strength, it's really cost and warranty.
Cabelas supposedly has some nice units but I have no direct experience with them. I got a good deal on my GameSaver by calling FoodSaver directly. I got it for much cheaper than I could have online or at Costco by going direct so it's worth a call.
Hope that helps a bit. You can definitely do some online research to learn more.
Good luck and let us know what you decide to buy.
Great write up TJ!
I have a Pro260 and a Pro305, both by Vacmaster. These are both suction sealers, like the Foodsaver. They both work well, but the Pro305 is much better and is built like a tank, but requires a longer wait time between sealing multiple bags, because of the dual sealing strips. If you don't let the sealing strips cool down between bags, it will actually melt the bag and damage it, instead of just sealing it. The Pro305 appears to be a 12" version knockoff of the Weston Pro2300, which is the one I would have purchased, but couldn't pass up the pricing on the Vacmaster. If you want to seal whole briskets, then the Weston Pro2300 15" is the way to go.
Additionally, I have found that using a 3.5 mil bag, or roll product, works better for what I do. For liquid, I freeze the product in the bag then vacuum seal it. For things like juicy brisket, I will fold a paper towel and place it in the bag just below the sealing bar, which works well.
I own one of each type: a) VacMaster VP112 chamber vac/sealer, and b) VacMaster PRO305 suction vac/sealer. I use both, but I use the chamber vac most often. Why? It can handle liquids, and the bags are about 10% the cost of suction bags. I do a lot of sous vide cooking, and chamber vacs are much better suited to the kinds of things I like to eat.
Downsides of a chamber vac:
1) They're SLOW.
2) They're BIG.
3) They're EXPENSIVE. (to begin with)
If I'm doing a high-volume bag job, I go with the suction vac if it works with the contents. Much quicker. The only downside to the quickness is that I've burned through a few bags sealing them because the sealing element stays hot (a quick wipe-down with a damp cloth works great, IF you can get to the sealing element (like you can on the PRO305)).
That said, the PRO305 is in a cabinet and the VP112 is on my kitchen counter next to my Sous Vide Supreme.
If you can afford the list price of the VP112 ($699), you won't regret it. The PRO305 lists at $299, a heck of a lot more than a FoodSaver, but built and works like a tank. Awesome piece of kit.
One comment on the newer FoodSavers (models starting with a '3' or a '4') have have the auto-sensing feature...
It does work, but you need to pay careful attention to the orientation of the bag when you insert it (the bag must curl down, not up, and then sometimes you still need to play with it). I gave my FoodSaver 3880 to a friend when I bough the VacMaster.
One comment on bag cost...
Suction bags cost in the neighborhood of $0.20 each, where the chamber bags are a much more reasonable $0.02 to $0.03 each. If you do a lot of bagging like I do, you'll start recovering the cost of a chamber vac very quickly.
One final comment on the VP112...
One nice little extra feature is the inclusion of a suction port. I kept the suction gizmo you can get from FoodSaver for sucking the resealable zip bags. Works GREAT with the VP112. I use it mostly for resealing bacon.
If your requirements for bagging are light, you'll probably find it very difficult to justify the cost of either VacMaster. But...they are real, heavy-duty tools. Can't say the same for the FoodSavers of the world.
A-Maze-N Tube Smoker (6" & 12")
I still have my eye on either a Vacmaster VP320 or an Ultravac 250... 
One of these days!
I do some sous vide cooking too and, while the GameMaster does an ok job, it definitely leaves lots to be desired for sous vide...but, as indicated above, its cycle time is quick. I find that sometimes I need to do a double seal w/ the FoodSaver sealers too, just to be sure the seal is really good. I do this often if I'm planning to put something in the freezer for a while. I'll do a double seal on both ends with a small air gap in between each seal. Seems to work better than singles for me. If I had known that Vacmaster did suction-type sealers (like the FoodSaver style), I probably would have gone w/ one of those for the $$. Agree w/ Herb that the Weston is a great unit too.
I have the baseline FoodSaver...
Had it for about 2 years, and never an issue. I will say this - if you are sealing a lot of food and want to do it quickly, you can overheat the machine, and a red light will flash until it's cool enough to work again. But this has only happened once to me, and was not a real hassle. Just had to wait about 20 secs.
I also cook sous vide, and a good seal is absolutely essential, or your food will be ruined by a leak, and I've never had any issues.
For the price, I can't see how to beat it, but I also haven't tried anything else at this point.
I will say this - don't buy Foodsaver brand bags. Very pricey. But these instead.....they've never failed on me, and $16-20 for 50 feet.
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I have a FoodSaver Vac 350, I received it 6 or 7 years ago as a Christmas gift. Its still going strong and its one of the most practical gifts a person could get. Its not good for wet foods so I freeze the food first then vacuum seal it the next day. I found that Ziploc makes the same quality bags as the foodsaver.
Thank you all for your time and responses. This has helped with my Christmas present choice. 
If anyone else has any input please chime in no matter how old this post gets.
Thanks,
Mike18
foodsaver gamesaver,,, works fine an we use it a bunch...
bought at cabela's on sale a couple years back during the holidays...
even came with 3 or 4 rolls of bags besides the ones normally included...
bulk meats,,, venison,,, jerky,,, summer sausages,,, and dehydrate some...
~20" Yoder "Swiss Army Knife" Stick Burner~
There is more than one model Foodsaver Gamesaver . Are the Foodsaver Gamesavers better than the other Foodsaver models?
Here's my 2 cents, as a GameSaver owner and 2 time FoodSaver owner. I have the Gamesaver Deluxe and, IMO, it's just ok. FoodSaver used to publish the vacuum strength of its products but I can't find any real "specs" on their website at this point. The Gamesaver Deluxe works, but leaves a lot to be desired IMO, at least for my uses. If I had to buy another suction type sealer (which I hope I don't have to do...if I buy another one, I really want to get a large, chamber sealer), I agree w/ Herb, I'd buy a VacMaster or Weston. Check out Vacuum Sealers Unlimited website. They have pretty good pricing on VacMasters and I'm sure if you look around, you'll find even better deals. Think VacMaster and Weston both make a better product. VacMaster is really a commercial vacuum sealer co that makes a few home use units whereas FoodSaver is purely a retail and big box outlet. low end company. The VacMasters aren't much more expensive, but I think you get more for your $$.
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