Well guys they worked :-) one chuffed OH as we could leave the trailer behind for this camp! Lol. So will invest in a new bag for the broken one. Lol. Apart from that a job well done!
Yes ... take a spare bag for your dirty washing ... and you'll take up the same packing space as when you set out.
I find that it's not worth putting linen and cottons into vac bags, as there's very little air in them to extract ... however, wool, duvets, pillows etc are fantastic deflators!
For the return trip we've always, blatently, asked to borrow a vacuum cleaner from the campsite owners, or, (once!) a nearby house!
That made me LOL Kelper! So funny, great idea and may try it next time, but we are chuffed with how well our little pump worked!! But can never rule it out as an idea!
I too like the Lakeland ones, but we were away at the time and all we could find we're Wilkos own, tho apart from one that wouldn't compress down at all and couldn't find a tear anywhere, they weren't too bad!
Need to get some of that tear tape that Gary recommends......especially as we have an inflatable tent!!!!
You should try the branded ones. I got some of them from here and they are a bit more expensive than the wilkos or poundland ones, but you can definitely see the difference in quality.
We vac pack everything, but then again we will take our small dyson as it takes up very little space and saves me getting down on hands and knees with a dustpan and brush to sweep the carpet!
We bought our vacuum bag from Dunelm Mills, it comes with a zip up cover (which help protects the bag and would also keep the items from expanding too much, should the bag fail). We've had ours a couple of years now and have been on many trips and they haven't let us down yet.
I do take a small vacuum (for vacuuming the tent carpet) but I do get two double quilts, 6 pillows, 2 fitted sheets and four bath towels in the pack, which fits nicely in the roof box.
We have vacuum bags that are specifically designed to be used without a vacuum cleaner. You simply roll them up to expel the air which escapes out of one way valves located in the bottom edge. They are great and work really well.
Lost many bags to door handle and roof box while packing up so now put small clothing bags in pillow cases (have pillow cases on pillows in sucky bag ) and the large one in single quilt cover which then is used over sim and pillow cases for dirtys.
Larbea22, I have a Dyson DC35 slim hoover at home, its light, doesn't take up much room so was perfect for out flat. Now, its perfect for camping too as when separated it fits in roofbox/boot easily around all the other stuff. Ill save more space with the vac bags than ill take up taking the hoover, with the added bonus of easy carpet cleaning!