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I typically will leave brief reviews on the items I purchase through Amazon but this one will be a bit longer.Being new to food storage in light of current events I felt the need to get started and thought this looked to be the best and most efficient way until I learn to preserve and can the food I am growing.I should have done more research so that is on me but wow did I blow it!! I opened the box and discovered some very well manufactured (China) mylar bags, the seal and gusset bottoms (able to stand upright on their own) were so impressive, the thickness and overall design in my opinion, and having nothing else to compare it to, seems quite impressive. Where I got hung up were the deoxidizer packets that are provided for your bags. They came vacuum sealed and I could find no other instructions in the box as to how to use them. Again, I am new to this and had no clue as to how to properly use them.1. DO NOT open them until you are ready to use them!! I filled my bags and as i was doing so I opened the deoxidizers and wasn't quick enough!!! I freaked out when I went to get some to put in my rice and discovered they were all getting HOT!2. Take out what you need, work fast and in the meantime put the unused packets in a clean jar and tighten the lid so they will not be activated by the air! ( I got this off of You Tube so correct me if I am wrong)3. Research foods you SHOULD not use the dioxidizers with!! For example, again You Tube, sugar, brown rice, granola, and more you do not need these packets. Now again I am not an expert this is just what I gleaned after watching some videos on you tube.I am still gathering more information about this and I think as a newbie I would have loved an insert from the company as to how to properly use the deoxidizers and a list of foods NOT to use them in. I take full responsibility for not doing my research beforehand and going forward will be much more careful in this arena of food storage. There is SOO much out there its really hard to know where to start.Anyway hope this helps somebody and again, this information I relay here I gathered from You Tube.UPDATE: I just discovered that the instructions for the oxygen absorbers were on the flip side of the "Thank you for purchase" card!! I failed to turn it over and had set aside to look at later as I thought it was for the offer of an amazon gift card only. My mistake.

Exactly what i ordered to hold my mealworm frass.

Product arrived in nicely packed box with all the Mylar bags - all seal able with heat-wire or zipper with easy tear open notch for future use. Oxygen packets sealed tight, labels, everything is there and was a gift card bonus in the package as well, a super value compared to any other packages I searched for.TIP: Have a glass jar just big enough to fit the oxygen packages with lid ready when you open then - drop them in immediately and seal it to keep them from being used up. this will allow them to last you long time, just have as many bags ready as you can before opening the jar, pull out what you need and immediately close jar up again. Seal packages quickly with packets with as much air pressed out before sealing to get maximum use out of them. If after 10 mins the package isn't solid and tight - you had a bad oxygen pack - redo it. Enjoy :)

The mixed size pack is very helpful in trying to figure out what Mylar bag sizes I need to make sure to have on handPros: price. Expanding bottom improves ease of filling (get a popcorn scoop or a mason jar filler to make it even easier, just make sure you wipe off the ‘zipper’ and bag top before sealing if you get food in that area), zippers are well adhered on these bags (and the zipper makes sealing SO much easier for those of us who aren’t in a position to buy the $$$$ vacuum sealers for Mylar bags), oxygen absorbers that came w the bags have been working well for me.Cons: NOT 8 mil. They are rather thin and do tear easily, even w FD pasta. Best suited for ‘softer’ items; flour, sugar, chili, baking mixes... be careful w anything that has hard edges.Turn your impulse sealer down a tick- you will melt the thinner bag tops if you go with your HR recommendations.The oxygen absorbers are all in 1 bag. Be prepared to separate and immediately use some of the bags to protect them.The zipper will not be air tight for the 02 absorbers or long term storage, you have to seal the bags w an impulse sealer or by another method.Not likely to be re usable (maybe 50%?) because of the thin construction.The bags I bought from HR are not much more expensive, and can be washed and re used without a worry that they have been compromised.I would buy these again for long term storage of “soft” items, but will look for a product that is as thick as advertised in the sizes I need, or go back to HR for the bulk of my long term storage needs.

These were my first experience with mylar bags, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. They do seem heavy duty, and the kit gives you more than enough oxygen absorbers as for long term storage, some things don’t require them. Sugar, for instance doesn’t require an O2 absorber.My plan was to fill all the bags with product first, then open the O2 absorbers, pop them in the bags and seal with the ‘ziploc’ style closure until I could heat seal with my vac sealer. All went well until I got to the heat sealing part. I believe the vac sealer would have worked but the heat required for sealing mylar is higher than standard vac bags which will lead to overheating your vac sealer. I used a standard clothing iron instead. Worked great. Also, once done with the O2 absorbers be sure to re-vacuum seal the extras so they don’t lose their potency.

I’ve been using several different brands of Mylar bags for several years now, and these are by far the most sturdy and durable ones I’ve found. All of the assorted sizes have gussets on the bottom, so they stand up & are easily filled. This was the first time buying Mylar bags with a Ziplock type closure and it worked out great being able to re-seal the bags. I generally don’t write reviews unless an item far exceeds my expectations…. This one certainly did. Highly recommend.

These are perfect for freeze dried items.