When I lived in Alaska in the "80s we had the original FoodSaver. It was basic and we used the cr*p out of it with all the salmon and halibut. When it finally died, Foodsaver was getting fancy with all their features and the usability and quality took a big nose dive they'd gone to China, so I researched and got a different brand that proved to be another workhorse and we used the cr*p out of that one also till it finally died. Probably had it 15 years, so it paid off in spades. That company got absorbed by something else, so I went elsewhere. (Some background here) My scuba dive buddy, his grandson and me spearfish every summer at Neah Bay, the NW tip of WA ST. On four days of diving we load our limits of Ling Cod, Black rockfish, Blue rockfish, Cabezon, Kelp Greenlings. We always get a room that has a kitchenette with a full size fridge. We take the vac packer, process each day's catch at the end of the day, and it goes into the freezer. The machine we're using now, and it's been about three years of this is a Weston Pro-2300. Plus all of the other day to day use for vaccing(is that even a word?) bulk purchases. It has a long running duty cycle, will take up to a 15" wide bag, or multiples of smaller bags and has a 1/4" wide seal bar which none of my others had. Not one complaint about this machine from me. Chamber machines are nice and the bags are cheaper, but they're not very portable. So, my $.02, for what it's worth. Keep the change
