I am the proud owner of an MP3 player known as the Sansa Clip+. It is the 4gb size in blue and it has been a wonderful companion on my commutes, walks, and general waiting around times. I have listened to countless hours of music, podcasts and books on tape or rather audio books. It is fairly small, lightweight and has a battery that last long enough between charges not to be a hassle. I am still using the original headphones, which to me means that even though they are not perfect they don’t suck to the point I am willing to put forth the effort to find something else. They don’t shut out the roar of a jet engine on takeoff, and sometimes the wind whistles when there is a good breeze or you are riding a bike but that also lets in traffic noises that you need to hear and that is o.k. with me.
The Clip+ has a small window to navigate from (but at least it has a window) but it is all I need to get to whichever item I am trying to find. It has a simple straightforward interface which means it is very user friendly. That was very helpful for the first-timer that I was. I did not use the provided software or Windows Media Player for synching operations but instead just opened up Windows Explorer and used it like a thumb drive. I was not familiar with the other method and wasn’t ready to take the time to learn although I am sure I could figure it out now. The Explorer method of drag and drop is what I use on a daily working basis and still find it the easiest to operate.
The included FM radio works but I haven’t used it much as there are so many other things to listen to that don’t involve commercials. There is a recording function also which I have not used mainly because I got this unit for other reasons, primarily listening to books and it does that pretty well. There isn’t a bookmark function that I am aware of but it does save your place and starts up there again when you return. In all my uses I have not found a need for more than what this unit delivers…almost.
In fact I only have two things to squawk on with this little gadget in the 20 odd months I have owned it, one small and the other a bit bigger. First the small. I find myself spending too much time untangling the headphone cords. It doesn’t happen all the time (I am just noticing it more often lately) but when I want to put the thing in my pocket, unit headphones and all, I usual just kind of wrap it up and stick it in and carry on. This is fine until you pull it out to use it and find that the cords do not unfold as smoothly. It is a short cord so it doesn’t take long to unravel it but sometimes you are unplugging it to make it untangle faster. I have no idea if there is a better arrangement out there or not but 30 seconds is 30 seconds.
My only real desire that would make me want to get a different player is the ability to adjust the playback speed on the audio books and podcasts. I like to speed things up, sometimes quite a lot. This player will allow you to speed things up with a slow, normal, and fast setting but the fast setting is only about a 15% boost and it does not adjust the pitch so any voices will now have a slight chipmunk effect. The chipmunking is not bad, more annoying really, but 15% is slow on my scale. I searched long and hard for a player that could do better but found very little reference to playback speeds even from e-mailing the manufacturer. Apple has a speed adjustment on their players with a slow, normal and fast setting and they do have a pitch adjustment so that you don’t hear chipmunks. There fast setting is only 40% faster and while that is better in all respects I couldn’t justify paying 3 to 4 times as much and then being a slave to apples system. I still have some items in the Microsoft media player format.
Cost was a factor in picking the Sansa Clip+. I think I paid $40 for mine on sale. Sansa is also a good size company that deals in memory and other items so an MP3 player seemed to match their areas of expertise. And like I said, I could buy 3 of these and still be ahead of getting an Apple.
This brings me to one of the points that led me to the decision to stay on the cost effective end of the MP3 player spectrum. I have talked to several people and read many reports on line that lead me to believe that MP3 players are almost a disposable item in that many users have or have had more than one player over the years. Disposable is not my favorite term when describing something you are wanting to get lots of use out of.
So after all my fond use of a tool that has preformed fully for months without complaint, my Sansa Clip+ stopped dead cold in the middle of a podcasts playback on the way to work a couple of days ago. I was devastated and heartbroken. O.k. that is a little extreme but I was bummed.
I didn’t know why or what would make it stop like that. I had just recharged it over the weekend and knew it had a pretty full charge still. I had loaded it with some new items but kept it 500+ Mb below its capacity. I have heard that you never want to take any memory device to close to its full capacity. True with hard drives so why not small drives? No lights, no screen, no sound…so now what? Was the battery dead, shouldn’t be and as these are sealed units you couldn’t replace it even if you wanted too. Did I pick up a virus somewhere that killed my unit? The only thing I have plugged this into is an AC power adopter and my computer so I ran a full scan on the computer and found nothing.
I figured it was done, like those that I had read about, and I would need to start shopping for another one. I have had good luck with this one up until know so why not stay with Sansa unless of course I could find a new unit that had a better playback speed function. Sansa has a new Clip Zip player that other than a slightly bigger screen that has color appears to be a copy of the Clip+. I went on line to find a copy of the owner’s manual to see if it still had the playback speed function and it did. I was just about to say sign me up when I noticed mention of a reset function. Vaguely I recalled a similar function in my owner’s manual and went in search of it. Eureka a reset is done by holding down the power button for 20 seconds. I had tried that (along with all the other buttons and several combinations and groupings) but not for that long.
I went racing upstairs to find my Clip+ and try this last resort to restore functionality to my player. I pushed the power button for two seconds and lost count on my way to twenty and let go of the button to start again when the lights came back on. My player was working again. I didn’t need the whole reset. Why…I don’t know. The battery was showing a very low charge so I brought it back to the computer, plugged it in and everything appears to be working just fine. I am so glad. If you have read any of my past post you will know that it took me more than 6 months of shopping to settle on this MP3 player (and I am glad I did) but I didn’t want to be without a working MP3 player for 6 days. I understand now why those that have had them are so willing to have another or more than one, these things are great…when they are working.
I will still keep my eye out for a better audio book player but for now I am glad that I still have my Clip+. This is Ed Nef with a view from the Farr West.
Showing posts with label review. Show all posts
Showing posts with label review. Show all posts
01 June 2012
12 August 2011
You're an idiot
I got a comment the other day that simply said "You're an idiot". After the initial shock wore off (which admittedly wasn't very big nor did it last very long) my thoughts have turned to it on and off a few times over the last few days. What did they mean by this?
The comment was submitted by anonymous on the page about credit consumers beware so I don't have much to go on. Does the fact that they left the comment on that page mean that they had a difference of opinion concerning the coming changes to the credit rules that were set to go into effect shortly after its creation in March of 2010? Did the subsequent 16 months from the time the entry was written until the comment was made make a difference in the intent and meaning of the original article? Was the time of the entry noticed by the commenter? Was the comment even about the article it was left on or was it meant for another article published or just an overall feeling about my blog in general?
The fact that the commenter chose to be anonymous makes me wonder if it was just someone surfing in the night or was it someone that knows me quite well??? The fact remains that He or She (I can't guess from so little information and I know enough not to make any grand jumps in conclusions) thought strongly enough about something I wrote to take the time and energy (which certainly isn't much) to leave me a comment, even one as simple as this.
The comment was spelled correctly and presented properly with the exception of a period at the end of the sentence which any reader of my blog knows that I am certainly not perfect in the area of perfection, so I do not point this out as a point of criticism but as an observation. Anyone that has spent a little time on the net will note that there are many out there willing to leave comments or take part in discussions that have not grasped the better part of the language from spelling to grammar and it shows up pretty quickly, and as I have stated before if the message is strong and valid it will get through those barriers, but judgements are sometimes made based on the care taken.
I have also spent enough time on the web to know that these kind of comments and many more besides are very common and I would be naive to think that I would somehow be bypassed or exempted from them. Quite the contrary, I have been expecting there to be more and much worse, but there is still time.
The trouble is that as a form of criticism this simple phrase does not serve much use. I have nothing to go on. I actually wish I did. Feedback is a very useful tool or at least it can be, and should be. It is very difficult to administer and to accept (especially around job evaluation time). If emotions can be left out of it (hard to do) then change and growth can come from it. In other words it can be a good thing.
The next thing for me to decide is how do I react to this? As all comments come to me to moderate before being added it would be a simple act for me to hit the delete button and move on. Instead of doing that though, as you can see, I decided to write about it and make it the center of an entry. Now that this is done I will probably still delete it but only as it relates to the entry it was submitted on. Anyone who wishes to add these sorts of comments may feel free to do so here on this page, it kind of fits the topic. Too bad whoever left the comment decided to remain anonymous as they aren't able to receive any credit for this but I will gladly attribute this to all who leave such across the entire web.
I had decide long ago when first starting this blog that all comments would be welcome and accepted with the exception of anything vulgar for which I would attempt to censor appropriately if possible and then publish anyway. I have since decided as editor-in-chief that that will still be my policy to the extent that there is a real contribution, that comments offer some validity and are additive in content, they will be included. That does not mean that they all have to agree with me (I am not a talk show host) but they should at least be relevant. I intend to keep the anonymous option available for those that feel more comfortable not leaving trails all over the place in this day and age of security but I will also gladly add your name or identifier to any comments you wish to present.
There are many sites that force you to register with them before they will allow you to leave a comment or rate a video or interact with them in any way. Life is not like that and neither is this site. You may interact here if you like and to any degree you like. I'm not asking anyone to join a mailing list, I'm just asking you to enjoy.
The other thought that ran through my mind is how do I present criticism and could I be doing a better job. I think if I said that the President and Congress are a bunch of idiots that there is enough evidence presented daily for us to have a common ground of reference, but is that enough. Would it be a mere expression of emotion if that was all that was said? Would it be better if it were at least used as a starting point for dialogue and expanded on with specific examples of areas of idiocy and expanded even further with useful suggestions for improvement?
When looking at a movie review do we stop after looking at the number of stars given in the rating or do we look a little further to see if the reviewer has a similar take on things with common taste and interest so that we can relate their scale to our own? There is always a reason for feeling the way we do and trying to express why is sometimes difficult. When I was a child I didn't like peas but I couldn't explain why beyond the fact that "I just don't". Dang it if school teachers didn't expect more from me as I was growing up. And now I expect it of myself and I will be more aware of it thanks to this one commenter.
The last consideration to be taken, and this is one that is actually pleasing in a strange sort of way, is that this blogger has a reader.
Actually I know that there are others out there that read my site and I am grateful and hope you enjoy. I know that there are some who stumble on an entry and sometimes exit just as quickly when they realize it isn't what they were looking for but some will stay a little while and read and perhaps some will even explore. To one and all I say welcome, thank you, and enjoy. I know I have.
This is Ed Nef with a view from the Farr West.
The comment was submitted by anonymous on the page about credit consumers beware so I don't have much to go on. Does the fact that they left the comment on that page mean that they had a difference of opinion concerning the coming changes to the credit rules that were set to go into effect shortly after its creation in March of 2010? Did the subsequent 16 months from the time the entry was written until the comment was made make a difference in the intent and meaning of the original article? Was the time of the entry noticed by the commenter? Was the comment even about the article it was left on or was it meant for another article published or just an overall feeling about my blog in general?
The fact that the commenter chose to be anonymous makes me wonder if it was just someone surfing in the night or was it someone that knows me quite well??? The fact remains that He or She (I can't guess from so little information and I know enough not to make any grand jumps in conclusions) thought strongly enough about something I wrote to take the time and energy (which certainly isn't much) to leave me a comment, even one as simple as this.
The comment was spelled correctly and presented properly with the exception of a period at the end of the sentence which any reader of my blog knows that I am certainly not perfect in the area of perfection, so I do not point this out as a point of criticism but as an observation. Anyone that has spent a little time on the net will note that there are many out there willing to leave comments or take part in discussions that have not grasped the better part of the language from spelling to grammar and it shows up pretty quickly, and as I have stated before if the message is strong and valid it will get through those barriers, but judgements are sometimes made based on the care taken.
I have also spent enough time on the web to know that these kind of comments and many more besides are very common and I would be naive to think that I would somehow be bypassed or exempted from them. Quite the contrary, I have been expecting there to be more and much worse, but there is still time.
The trouble is that as a form of criticism this simple phrase does not serve much use. I have nothing to go on. I actually wish I did. Feedback is a very useful tool or at least it can be, and should be. It is very difficult to administer and to accept (especially around job evaluation time). If emotions can be left out of it (hard to do) then change and growth can come from it. In other words it can be a good thing.
The next thing for me to decide is how do I react to this? As all comments come to me to moderate before being added it would be a simple act for me to hit the delete button and move on. Instead of doing that though, as you can see, I decided to write about it and make it the center of an entry. Now that this is done I will probably still delete it but only as it relates to the entry it was submitted on. Anyone who wishes to add these sorts of comments may feel free to do so here on this page, it kind of fits the topic. Too bad whoever left the comment decided to remain anonymous as they aren't able to receive any credit for this but I will gladly attribute this to all who leave such across the entire web.
I had decide long ago when first starting this blog that all comments would be welcome and accepted with the exception of anything vulgar for which I would attempt to censor appropriately if possible and then publish anyway. I have since decided as editor-in-chief that that will still be my policy to the extent that there is a real contribution, that comments offer some validity and are additive in content, they will be included. That does not mean that they all have to agree with me (I am not a talk show host) but they should at least be relevant. I intend to keep the anonymous option available for those that feel more comfortable not leaving trails all over the place in this day and age of security but I will also gladly add your name or identifier to any comments you wish to present.
There are many sites that force you to register with them before they will allow you to leave a comment or rate a video or interact with them in any way. Life is not like that and neither is this site. You may interact here if you like and to any degree you like. I'm not asking anyone to join a mailing list, I'm just asking you to enjoy.
The other thought that ran through my mind is how do I present criticism and could I be doing a better job. I think if I said that the President and Congress are a bunch of idiots that there is enough evidence presented daily for us to have a common ground of reference, but is that enough. Would it be a mere expression of emotion if that was all that was said? Would it be better if it were at least used as a starting point for dialogue and expanded on with specific examples of areas of idiocy and expanded even further with useful suggestions for improvement?
When looking at a movie review do we stop after looking at the number of stars given in the rating or do we look a little further to see if the reviewer has a similar take on things with common taste and interest so that we can relate their scale to our own? There is always a reason for feeling the way we do and trying to express why is sometimes difficult. When I was a child I didn't like peas but I couldn't explain why beyond the fact that "I just don't". Dang it if school teachers didn't expect more from me as I was growing up. And now I expect it of myself and I will be more aware of it thanks to this one commenter.
The last consideration to be taken, and this is one that is actually pleasing in a strange sort of way, is that this blogger has a reader.
Actually I know that there are others out there that read my site and I am grateful and hope you enjoy. I know that there are some who stumble on an entry and sometimes exit just as quickly when they realize it isn't what they were looking for but some will stay a little while and read and perhaps some will even explore. To one and all I say welcome, thank you, and enjoy. I know I have.
This is Ed Nef with a view from the Farr West.
09 January 2010
Julie & Julia – Movie Review
First off let me state that this is a chick flick. I knew I was in trouble when the first thing you see after slipping the disc in the machine is 8 previews for upcoming chick flicks. My wife wanted to see it so I went ahead and brought it home (with another movie that we both could watch together).
Now I will qualify my review by stating that I didn’t watch it completely in real time, that is to say, I speed things up a bit. If you turn on the captions and do a little speed reading you can play the movie at the next higher speed and catch most of it in a greatly shortened time. You don’t always get the same dramatic effect because you are changing the pacing and the background music and some of the delivery of the dialogue but it is amazing what you do get. It is kind of like speed reading through a dime store novel that you just don’t have to hang on to every word.
I also need to state that I am not a fall over myself Meryl Streep fan. She is a very good actress and has portrayed some very strong roles but I have never become infatuated with her the way many critics have. That said she does a fine job of creating an affectionate and loveable Julia Child that melds well with the subject of the film, namely Julie Powell’s adventures with Child’s book and subsequent fascination with the author herself.
Amy Adams who portrays Julie Powell is a remarkable actress, one I am sure we well be seeing more of in the future. The range of her talent is the fact that we had just watched two movies back to back (the other being Night at the Museum 2 where she plays Amelia Earhart) and didn’t even realize it until the ending credits of the second movie.
The movie has its moments some of which you can really relate with the characters but I think that there was a lot of plot lines and story definition that was probably left on the cutting room floor. There were interjections of detail that I was unaware of concerning the character’s lives that added significance to the movie. There were also some self interpretations and philosophies added that seemed out of place and more of the director and writer’s fancy than actual events from real life. That of course is expected to some extent (literary license is the common phrase I believe) and therefore didn’t become too preachy as the film went along.
With all that said I give the film a solid 5 as it delivered pretty much as promised being well laid out and well presented. The story was captivating if not riveting and the characterizations were fairly entertaining. I am sure that women will find this vastly more entertaining than the men will but that is what chick flicks are about anyway. This one won’t have you rolling in the aisles but it won’t have you weeping in them either. By the way, they didn’t take the easy but cheesy Hollywood way out for the ending and I applaud them for that. You’ll know what I mean if you see it.
This is Ed Nef with a view from the Farr West.
Now I will qualify my review by stating that I didn’t watch it completely in real time, that is to say, I speed things up a bit. If you turn on the captions and do a little speed reading you can play the movie at the next higher speed and catch most of it in a greatly shortened time. You don’t always get the same dramatic effect because you are changing the pacing and the background music and some of the delivery of the dialogue but it is amazing what you do get. It is kind of like speed reading through a dime store novel that you just don’t have to hang on to every word.
I also need to state that I am not a fall over myself Meryl Streep fan. She is a very good actress and has portrayed some very strong roles but I have never become infatuated with her the way many critics have. That said she does a fine job of creating an affectionate and loveable Julia Child that melds well with the subject of the film, namely Julie Powell’s adventures with Child’s book and subsequent fascination with the author herself.
Amy Adams who portrays Julie Powell is a remarkable actress, one I am sure we well be seeing more of in the future. The range of her talent is the fact that we had just watched two movies back to back (the other being Night at the Museum 2 where she plays Amelia Earhart) and didn’t even realize it until the ending credits of the second movie.
The movie has its moments some of which you can really relate with the characters but I think that there was a lot of plot lines and story definition that was probably left on the cutting room floor. There were interjections of detail that I was unaware of concerning the character’s lives that added significance to the movie. There were also some self interpretations and philosophies added that seemed out of place and more of the director and writer’s fancy than actual events from real life. That of course is expected to some extent (literary license is the common phrase I believe) and therefore didn’t become too preachy as the film went along.
With all that said I give the film a solid 5 as it delivered pretty much as promised being well laid out and well presented. The story was captivating if not riveting and the characterizations were fairly entertaining. I am sure that women will find this vastly more entertaining than the men will but that is what chick flicks are about anyway. This one won’t have you rolling in the aisles but it won’t have you weeping in them either. By the way, they didn’t take the easy but cheesy Hollywood way out for the ending and I applaud them for that. You’ll know what I mean if you see it.
This is Ed Nef with a view from the Farr West.
Night at the Museum 2 – Movie Review
I finally got a copy of Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian to watch. If you watched the first one and liked it you will probably like this one as well. Just be aware that this one didn’t have quite the depth that the first one had. No synopsis here because you should already have some idea of what kind of movie it is and what it is about, more so if you’ve seen the first one, so really there is no need. There are some really good performances made by some of the cast and that makes this one worth watching.
Amy Adams as Amelia Earhart did a delightful job and was one of the characters that actually pulled of the period she was portraying with energy, spunk, and vigor. It helped to drive the show forward and added that memorable touch we love so well.
The multi talented Hank Azaria delivers yet again by working with the director to come up with just the right comedic touch of voice and character for Kahmunrah. Be sure to catch the extra “Phinding Pharaoh” to see a behind the scenes look at what might have been. By the way, Hank is also the voice for Abraham Lincoln and the Thinker.
Jonah Hill is surprisingly left off the credits as Brundon the Security Guard (thank you IMDB.com). His scene with the main character Larry Daley is delightful. I honestly thought they were going to include him later in the movie as part of the plot but he only got the one scene. It was a keeper. If you have ever heard the phrase “United States of don’t touch that” and wondered where it came from, wonder no longer.
As I said before there wasn’t a lot of depth to this one, there could have been more cameos though the ones they had were pretty cool. Some of the cameos were pretty quick and short lived which was probably done deliberately to give those that like to watch a film over and over again to see what they missed something to look forward too. That is alright if there is enough reason to watch the film a second time. This one doesn’t.
But it is worth watching once, especially if you liked the first. Also a reason to look for the alternate ending in the extras. Overall I give it a 7 because even if it could have been better, I was still able to sit back and just enjoy and that is what these movies are all about.
This is Ed Nef with a view from the Farr West.
Amy Adams as Amelia Earhart did a delightful job and was one of the characters that actually pulled of the period she was portraying with energy, spunk, and vigor. It helped to drive the show forward and added that memorable touch we love so well.
The multi talented Hank Azaria delivers yet again by working with the director to come up with just the right comedic touch of voice and character for Kahmunrah. Be sure to catch the extra “Phinding Pharaoh” to see a behind the scenes look at what might have been. By the way, Hank is also the voice for Abraham Lincoln and the Thinker.
Jonah Hill is surprisingly left off the credits as Brundon the Security Guard (thank you IMDB.com). His scene with the main character Larry Daley is delightful. I honestly thought they were going to include him later in the movie as part of the plot but he only got the one scene. It was a keeper. If you have ever heard the phrase “United States of don’t touch that” and wondered where it came from, wonder no longer.
As I said before there wasn’t a lot of depth to this one, there could have been more cameos though the ones they had were pretty cool. Some of the cameos were pretty quick and short lived which was probably done deliberately to give those that like to watch a film over and over again to see what they missed something to look forward too. That is alright if there is enough reason to watch the film a second time. This one doesn’t.
But it is worth watching once, especially if you liked the first. Also a reason to look for the alternate ending in the extras. Overall I give it a 7 because even if it could have been better, I was still able to sit back and just enjoy and that is what these movies are all about.
This is Ed Nef with a view from the Farr West.
22 March 2009
Product Review: Vacuum food savers.
I am sure many of you have seen the infomercials advertising home vacuum sealers to preserve food. The idea is to buy in bulk and save money then repackage with the vacuum sealer to use the food in a more suitable manner, either through sizing or just allowing more time to use the food before it spoils. It is a great idea and I was hooked.
I am a great conservative and love to save money and with careful shopping you can find some items that are cheaper when bought in bulk (though that is not always the case, so shop smart and read the labels and calculate and compare) and if not you can always wait for a really good sale and stock up. Problem is when you stock up really big on a really good sale, will you have time to eat it all before it goes bad? When I was single I had a hard time finishing half a loaf of bread before it started growing penicillin in its natural state. Vacuum sealing food sounds like just the answer I was looking for.
Next problem, as many of you may have seen the same infomercial and have been tempted to jump on board, is the price of these popular units. Foodsaver which is the company that made the idea of vacuum sealing so popular has several different units on their web site beginning at $79.99 and running up to $299.99. The one on T.V. seems to have been priced around $129. That rates an ouch in my book and I just couldn’t justify it so I never bothered, though it was always in the back of my mind that if I could find a decent price on one I would probably go ahead and get one.
Years went by, I got married and I came across a Rival brand sealer that was on close out at the local megalamart. Since there were now two of us to share one machine’s usage and the price was around $50 I quickly talked myself into it.
The Rival machine works pretty much the same as the Foodsaver machine as near as I can tell. Looking at the two side by side they look very similar and comparing our usage method to that seen in the demonstrations given for T.V. I would say that they are comparable.
I must say that we did have fun with it…for a time. It was way fun to put food in a bag and suck the air out. We created a mini production facility and went to work sealing away blocks of cheese and family pack purchases of meat for later use. We felt like we were doing ourselves good by our efforts. The packages went into the freezer and the food stayed useable long after other buys would have been tossed. The idea worked.
Mostly..., as I mentioned, we would set up a mini production facility I meant that in a fun way but the reality is that you almost had to set up a small production run whenever you wanted to use the sealer. Because there was extra effort involved in set up and clean up, the sealer got used less and less as time went on.
Also, you had to buy rolls of material and create your own bags in the size you wanted or buy pre-made, pre-sized bags. There are also canisters that you can buy that are supposed to attach easily to the machines and provide a quick reusable platform for storing rice, sugar, pasta and such. Well, the bags were easy enough to make though we sometimes made them bigger than they needed to be thus wasting some material. We seldom did the 'cut open the bag take out what you need and reseal the bag' because it was a pain to retrieve the machine each time for what should have been a simple set up. No wonder they say that many people leave them out on their countertops, it's just easier that way. The special design canisters worked about twice and we were never able to get a seal to hold after that. They are pretty much just like any other canister now.
The sealing of the bags was a wonderful thing to do and watching as it happened…when everything went right. Sometimes it didn’t, or wouldn’t. Sometimes the machine would just whirr away and nothing would happen because we didn’t have the flap just right or there was an uneven cut along the leading edge when we tried to make our own bags. That is my guess anyway. Also if there was any chance of a liquid being involved there was also the chance of a mess being involved. It is hard to suck out air without sucking out the liquid so if you were going to save soup for a later microwave reheat at work, be very careful. That applies to juicy things like fresh fruit, and marinating steaks and chicken breasts like they show on T.V.
Well, we did use it for quite some time (but nowhere near as much as I thought we should) before one day the pump was running like crazy and nothing was happening no matter what we tried. Our machine had given up. We still liked the idea of a food sealer and thought that we would get another one at some point but we never made it a high priority or found ourselves willing to pay the going rates for a new machine. We thought about switching to the Foodsaver brand but still couldn’t justify the price even with two of us using one.
Normally the story would end there but we were walking through the store the other day and came across a hand held battery operated food sealer vacuum pump put out by Reynolds (the same people that bring you Reynolds wrap). The price was a blowout bargain by comparison to the units we had been looking at. The Handi-Vac starter kit with the pump and a couple of bags was less than $10. I think that included the batteries. I could live with that so we bought it, brought it home, broke it out and gave it a try.
I can tell you right now this is the way to go. If you have ever thought of getting a food sealer and you are not going into the business and need a commercial unit, this makes sense. The pre-made, pre-sized bags are a wonderful design. If you can operate a self-locking bag you can definitely operate this system. And its reusable.
Put the food in the bag, press out as much air as you normally would closing these bags, seal the bag with the self locking seal, then apply the hand vacuum pump to the bag at the spot indicated while on a hard flat surface and begin to remove the air with the push of a button. Air comes out, just like the big boys and its done slick as a whistle. If you want to readjust things inside, or get something out, go ahead and open it up at the self-locking seal, pull out what you need and reseal it and put the vacuum pump to it again and your done. I like this, a lot. It works.
I think a big part of the difference is that with the Foodsaver you suck the air out first and then try to seal the bag with a heat source that fuses the material together, while the self-locking stirp on the Reynolds bag is operated by running your thumb across it like we are all used to from using sandwich bags and then applying the vacuum pump after the bag is sealed and ready to go. This simple reversal of steps in the process makes all the difference.
Some things to remember are to not overfill the bag and when filling it be sure to leave the pump corner empty enough to create a flat surface to run the pump on. The bags are a special design with a pump spot that is a one way valve to allow the air to escape but seal tightly after the air has been removed. The bags also have a rough surface inside. This is to allow the air a pathway out of the bag around whatever you are storing when the vacuum pump is working.
So what is the cost of these special bags? I was just in the local store looking for some replacements and found packages of the quart size for about $0.23 each and gallon size around $0.30. Not too shabby when you consider what it gets you as well as the easy reusability feature.
There is one other entry level vacuum food sealer competitor and that is Ziploc. They have a system that is even cheaper but it uses a manual pump to create the vacuum function. From my experience, using a manual pump is a two handed operation most of the time and that would mean you would still need a third hand to work the bag. Since I am looking for simplicity and functionality I think the better pick is the battery operated unit Handi-Vac from Reynolds.
Bags from both Ziploc and Reynolds have similar design features. There are some lettering and highlighting differences but not enough to change the functionality of either bag. The Ziploc bags do have a textured inner lining that runs across the whole of one side for the air pathways where as the Reynolds bag only textures a couple inch strip across one side. Both work equally well.
The pricing on the bags seem comparable to so the only difference is in the cost of the manual pump vs. battery operated, or $3 vs. $10 in the starter kits. Since the store I went to was out of the Reynolds bags in the size I needed I decided to try the Ziploc bags and they worked just fine. Both seem to make a quality product and at a whale of a difference in price compared to the popular Foodsaver brand but then again, you don’t have to pay for all that late night T.V. advertising time.
So what did we do with it? We bought a 5 pound bag of shredded cheese at the local Costco for about $2 more than the normal 2 pound bag at the local grocer, broke it down into 5 one pound bags, vacuum packed and put them in the freezer. Then we did the same thing with a 5 pound bag of pepperoni, first wondering how much to put in each bag to cover one pizza and then remembering that it is no trouble to open it up, take out what we needed and reseal the remainder. How cool is that?
Now I know that this is no consumer reports with a comparison done over months of testing with detailed analysis of vacuum rates, seal pressures, freezer burn protection and time intervals, but this is also not a paid endorsement, (if it was I would tell you so). This is just my shared experience and opinion on a pretty good idea. I hope you find it handy.
This is Ed Nef with a view from the Farr West.
I am a great conservative and love to save money and with careful shopping you can find some items that are cheaper when bought in bulk (though that is not always the case, so shop smart and read the labels and calculate and compare) and if not you can always wait for a really good sale and stock up. Problem is when you stock up really big on a really good sale, will you have time to eat it all before it goes bad? When I was single I had a hard time finishing half a loaf of bread before it started growing penicillin in its natural state. Vacuum sealing food sounds like just the answer I was looking for.
Next problem, as many of you may have seen the same infomercial and have been tempted to jump on board, is the price of these popular units. Foodsaver which is the company that made the idea of vacuum sealing so popular has several different units on their web site beginning at $79.99 and running up to $299.99. The one on T.V. seems to have been priced around $129. That rates an ouch in my book and I just couldn’t justify it so I never bothered, though it was always in the back of my mind that if I could find a decent price on one I would probably go ahead and get one.
Years went by, I got married and I came across a Rival brand sealer that was on close out at the local megalamart. Since there were now two of us to share one machine’s usage and the price was around $50 I quickly talked myself into it.
The Rival machine works pretty much the same as the Foodsaver machine as near as I can tell. Looking at the two side by side they look very similar and comparing our usage method to that seen in the demonstrations given for T.V. I would say that they are comparable.
I must say that we did have fun with it…for a time. It was way fun to put food in a bag and suck the air out. We created a mini production facility and went to work sealing away blocks of cheese and family pack purchases of meat for later use. We felt like we were doing ourselves good by our efforts. The packages went into the freezer and the food stayed useable long after other buys would have been tossed. The idea worked.
Mostly..., as I mentioned, we would set up a mini production facility I meant that in a fun way but the reality is that you almost had to set up a small production run whenever you wanted to use the sealer. Because there was extra effort involved in set up and clean up, the sealer got used less and less as time went on.
Also, you had to buy rolls of material and create your own bags in the size you wanted or buy pre-made, pre-sized bags. There are also canisters that you can buy that are supposed to attach easily to the machines and provide a quick reusable platform for storing rice, sugar, pasta and such. Well, the bags were easy enough to make though we sometimes made them bigger than they needed to be thus wasting some material. We seldom did the 'cut open the bag take out what you need and reseal the bag' because it was a pain to retrieve the machine each time for what should have been a simple set up. No wonder they say that many people leave them out on their countertops, it's just easier that way. The special design canisters worked about twice and we were never able to get a seal to hold after that. They are pretty much just like any other canister now.
The sealing of the bags was a wonderful thing to do and watching as it happened…when everything went right. Sometimes it didn’t, or wouldn’t. Sometimes the machine would just whirr away and nothing would happen because we didn’t have the flap just right or there was an uneven cut along the leading edge when we tried to make our own bags. That is my guess anyway. Also if there was any chance of a liquid being involved there was also the chance of a mess being involved. It is hard to suck out air without sucking out the liquid so if you were going to save soup for a later microwave reheat at work, be very careful. That applies to juicy things like fresh fruit, and marinating steaks and chicken breasts like they show on T.V.
Well, we did use it for quite some time (but nowhere near as much as I thought we should) before one day the pump was running like crazy and nothing was happening no matter what we tried. Our machine had given up. We still liked the idea of a food sealer and thought that we would get another one at some point but we never made it a high priority or found ourselves willing to pay the going rates for a new machine. We thought about switching to the Foodsaver brand but still couldn’t justify the price even with two of us using one.
Normally the story would end there but we were walking through the store the other day and came across a hand held battery operated food sealer vacuum pump put out by Reynolds (the same people that bring you Reynolds wrap). The price was a blowout bargain by comparison to the units we had been looking at. The Handi-Vac starter kit with the pump and a couple of bags was less than $10. I think that included the batteries. I could live with that so we bought it, brought it home, broke it out and gave it a try.
I can tell you right now this is the way to go. If you have ever thought of getting a food sealer and you are not going into the business and need a commercial unit, this makes sense. The pre-made, pre-sized bags are a wonderful design. If you can operate a self-locking bag you can definitely operate this system. And its reusable.
Put the food in the bag, press out as much air as you normally would closing these bags, seal the bag with the self locking seal, then apply the hand vacuum pump to the bag at the spot indicated while on a hard flat surface and begin to remove the air with the push of a button. Air comes out, just like the big boys and its done slick as a whistle. If you want to readjust things inside, or get something out, go ahead and open it up at the self-locking seal, pull out what you need and reseal it and put the vacuum pump to it again and your done. I like this, a lot. It works.
I think a big part of the difference is that with the Foodsaver you suck the air out first and then try to seal the bag with a heat source that fuses the material together, while the self-locking stirp on the Reynolds bag is operated by running your thumb across it like we are all used to from using sandwich bags and then applying the vacuum pump after the bag is sealed and ready to go. This simple reversal of steps in the process makes all the difference.
Some things to remember are to not overfill the bag and when filling it be sure to leave the pump corner empty enough to create a flat surface to run the pump on. The bags are a special design with a pump spot that is a one way valve to allow the air to escape but seal tightly after the air has been removed. The bags also have a rough surface inside. This is to allow the air a pathway out of the bag around whatever you are storing when the vacuum pump is working.
So what is the cost of these special bags? I was just in the local store looking for some replacements and found packages of the quart size for about $0.23 each and gallon size around $0.30. Not too shabby when you consider what it gets you as well as the easy reusability feature.
There is one other entry level vacuum food sealer competitor and that is Ziploc. They have a system that is even cheaper but it uses a manual pump to create the vacuum function. From my experience, using a manual pump is a two handed operation most of the time and that would mean you would still need a third hand to work the bag. Since I am looking for simplicity and functionality I think the better pick is the battery operated unit Handi-Vac from Reynolds.
Bags from both Ziploc and Reynolds have similar design features. There are some lettering and highlighting differences but not enough to change the functionality of either bag. The Ziploc bags do have a textured inner lining that runs across the whole of one side for the air pathways where as the Reynolds bag only textures a couple inch strip across one side. Both work equally well.
The pricing on the bags seem comparable to so the only difference is in the cost of the manual pump vs. battery operated, or $3 vs. $10 in the starter kits. Since the store I went to was out of the Reynolds bags in the size I needed I decided to try the Ziploc bags and they worked just fine. Both seem to make a quality product and at a whale of a difference in price compared to the popular Foodsaver brand but then again, you don’t have to pay for all that late night T.V. advertising time.
So what did we do with it? We bought a 5 pound bag of shredded cheese at the local Costco for about $2 more than the normal 2 pound bag at the local grocer, broke it down into 5 one pound bags, vacuum packed and put them in the freezer. Then we did the same thing with a 5 pound bag of pepperoni, first wondering how much to put in each bag to cover one pizza and then remembering that it is no trouble to open it up, take out what we needed and reseal the remainder. How cool is that?
Now I know that this is no consumer reports with a comparison done over months of testing with detailed analysis of vacuum rates, seal pressures, freezer burn protection and time intervals, but this is also not a paid endorsement, (if it was I would tell you so). This is just my shared experience and opinion on a pretty good idea. I hope you find it handy.
This is Ed Nef with a view from the Farr West.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)