Suggestion…roll of bagging material?

[Jim Butler]

It would be nice if we could buy the bagging material by the roll, as it would eliminate a bunch of waste by allowing us to cut exactly what we need, like the Foodsaver system.

Just a though.

[Thea]

Hello, Lobstah.

We have had a few folks ask about longer pieces of UMAi DrybagSteak that you can cut to the length you need. Most have been commercial users. We got a few “long pieces,” of about 15 ft. to test with. We are working on pricing, but if you are interested in longer rolls, please just drop us an email. For the record, the cost to us is virtually the same as individual bags.

The trick is to get a good enough seal on both ends. The factory seal is still the strongest “weld” we have. If you have mastered the sealing method, though, this is no deterrent to you “Masters of UMAi Dry.” 😉

–Thea

[Manoj]

On a similar thought, I think it would be nice if you had some bags that were sized for the smaller chamber vacuums. Instead of a 12″x24″ which would be a great size if I had a snorkel vacuum, a 12×16″ or 12×18″ would be nice. I halved and bagged a ribeye subprimal and it was a little annoying that I had to waste so much bagging material because I had to use two 12″x24″ bags.

[Thea]

Hello, and thank you for the excellent insight. I couldn’t agree more that wasting long strips of this precious material is very hard to do.

Adding another item to the mix is certainly something we should consider. It does, however, complicate things. Imagine just the question of how to redesign the webpage so that it will fit and be clear!

Our hesitancy with adding the long “roll” of material has been that people might expose it to moisture while cutting off their desired length, and that would affect the shelf life of the rest of the material. Perhaps more of concern is that fact that sealing this material is not always easy. Losing that one factory-sealed end may increase frustrating with leakage. One further consideration is that the price per actual unit would not change–just the amount of material that you choose to use. Our product is manufactured and priced strictly by weight.

Again, I appreciate you sharing the observation that a lot of material is going wasted–something that we certainly want to prevent. Let us get to work on this and see what we can implement within the next month or so.

In the meantime, thank you for contributing this suggestion.

[Andy Starvaski]

Thea,

In your reply you mention “shelf life” of the material…do these bags have a shelf life? and if so, what is it? Are there noticiable signs/symptons of the bags going bad?

Does getting the bags wet/damp have a negative effect on the bag material?

Thanks
Andy

[Thea]

Hello, Andy.

It is recommended that UMAi Dry be kept away from moisture and sunlight. It is recommended that it be used within two years.

As it is a moisture-permeable material, moisture will gradually be absorbed and make the material cloudy and slightly less easy to seal. Sunlight will simply cause it to gradually turn a yellowish color.

The material will continue to be safe and will work, but will become less “seal-able” as time passes.

It is always best, of course, to keep it in a sealed bag away from moisture and light.

Hope that helps.

–Thea

[Anonymous]

Hi. Is it truly necessary to use the heat sealer function of the vacuum device to seal the bag? I have gotten the hang of it now and I can usually get it sealed on the first try, but it’s still a bit of a fussy and delicate operation.

I was wondering if I couldn’t just evacuate the air with the snorkle, then retract the snorkle and simultaneously tie off the opening very tightly with a bit of butchers twine. If done quickly, I don’t think I’d lose much vacuum.

[Ron Pratt]

What you describe has been done by others with success. A trick to aid in the removal of all air during that method is to submerge the bag with meat inside in a vat or even kitchen sink filled with water that helps expel the trapped air. After you seal your bag with a twisty it is best to then dry off the bag.

Ron

[Anonymous]

Thanks Ron. I will give that method a try then.

[Author]

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