Hi everyone, this is my first post. My recent research on this topic led me to this forum as a source of great information, so I wanted to share what I have learned so far and see if I can absorb any more wisdom. I am planning on buying the sous-vide supreme. One of my main concerns is the long-term durability of the vacuum sealer that they sell with it and the long-term cost of the bags you are supposed to buy for it. Looking at reviews on Amazon and elsewhere, it seems that there are a lot of complaints about vacuum sealers not working after a while. So I am hesitant to get the normal consumer brands, or the relatively unknown one that comes with the sous-vide. I have found a couple alternative brands that seem to have a good reputation: the Food-Vac or Best-Vac and the Sinbo. The Sinbo has the cheapest bags, but it seems that I can only buy them in quantities of 1000. The bags compatible with the Food Vac can be purchased relatively cheaply in quantities of 100. From reading the forums here, some strongly recommend this commercial quality sealer. There is a great video of it in action. I have found a cheaper version for $350. There is a vacuum sealer e-book I just found, but haven't looked at yet. On storage, the way to save money is to use vacuum jar lids on mason jars. So my other concern is compatibility with food saver (or some other available brand) vacuum jar lids. I am leaning towards buying the Food Vac. I am wondering if anyone else has experiences or comments on it, and if I can figure out if it is easy to use on vacuum sealed mason jars. Also I am wondering if there are any thoughts on the cheaper Cabela's commercial sealer, and if anyone has read the vacuum sealer e-book.
