Helps keep things fresh in the kitchen (JML Handy Seal)

Member Name: sakura8

Product:	JML Handy Seal
Date:	12/05/09 (70 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Seals plastic bags, quite cheap to buy

Disadvantages: Sometimes the seal isn't perfect

I recently bought a lot of dried fruit and nuts from Holland & Barrett online and on their website they were selling the JML Handy Seal. It was only £4.99 and I thought it was a good price for a useful gadget.

It basically seals bags so that you can keep the contents fresh, which is important if you buy food in bulk and hate things going stale. I hate throwing food away, so I do my best to keep things fresh, but I often run out of clips and food boxes.

The Handy Seal measures 16cm long x 4cm wide, so it fits nicely in your hand and it only weighs 10g so it's not heavy at all. It also has a massive magnet on the back of the main body, so you can stick it on your fridge or other magnetic appliances for easy access.

It takes 2 AA batteries, which are very easy to insert and remove, as is the plastic battery cover. I have to say that I was surprised how quickly it drained the batteries. I used it about 10-15 times before the batteries needed changing, but I was using rechargeables and perhaps normal batteries would last longer.

The batteries operate a small heating pad, which is activated when you squeeze the Handy Seal together. The heating pad has a safety cover to prevent it heating up when you're not using it so that's a good feature.

So to seal a bag you just need to slide the Handy Seal along the edges of any plastic bag, squeezing air out as you go along. You're supposed to place the sealer in the centre of the bag and slide away from the centre towards the side of the bag, then go back to the centre and slide to the other side.

The video on the JML website which demonstrates the product made it look really easy to use, but there is definitely a knack to using it! It's not that it's complicated; you just have to do it slooooowly to give the heating pad a chance to heat up and seal the bag. The detailed instructions provided in the box explain how to use the Handy Seal most effectively and they explain that certain plastics will be easier to seal than others. When used on really thin bags it will seal and also cut through the plastic.

I have used the Handy Seal on a variety of bags, for example:
- dried fruit and nut bags
- fresh vegetable bags, e.g. spinach
- frozen vegetable bags, e.g. peas
- crisp bags, e.g. Kettle Chips
- foil based bags, e.g. polenta
- sandwich bags

There isn't anything that I haven't been able to seal, but I haven't tried it on a bag containing liquids yet as I don't have THAT much confidence in it!

Sometimes I get a tiny gap if I haven't lined up the two seals properly, but it's not a big deal as I just go over it again.

There's something mildly satisfying about using the Handy Seal - a bit like peeling dried PVA glue off your hands (one of the best bits of doing Arts & Crafts at school!).

I'm giving this product 4 stars because it can take a bit of practice to get right, but I do think it's very good value for money and it's a gadget that does work and I do use it a lot. This is the first JML product I have ever bought, but it has given me confidence to buy more things from them in the future.

For more info and to watch the video demonstration please visit:
http://www.jmldirect.com/Handy-Seal-PH4885/

Available from the JML website £4.99, or from the following retailers:
Holland & Barrett £4.99
Argos £4.88

Summary: A good value gadget