Space Bags

I used them when I moved from Boston to Georgia (after hearing the squeals of delight from my roommate as she sucked the air out of her very first bag), and they worked well for me - I checked the other day, and the one I never got around to unpacking (with afghans in) is still shrivled up tight after more than a year.  I do think the small ones and the ones that claim not to need suction are generally useless, though - I've only used the extra-large ones and the garment-sized.

One caveat - if you have an inquistive pet, keep them away!  I bought a couple of sets from Bed, Bath and Beyond during a recent sale and it wasn't two minutes after I'd suctioned the first one that my kitten waltzed in and decided to check out the strange new thing on my bed - with his claws.  It looked like Wolverine had gotten to it.  One Space Bag down, nine to go! 

If you know someone with a big gut and a waist level table, you are set for getting all the air out of the roll up ones 

Yeah I tried leaning on them...didn't work too well 

Well, maybe I will try them. Its going to be hard when we move over to pack for 2 adults and 2 kids. Plus I have a lot of blankets that my gran made over the years and would love to bring those along for the kids when they get older. I know Wal Mart will let you exchange anything at anytime, so if I buy from there I should be ok.

For some reason I couldn't find them at Walmart  I ended up ordering them online but then found Bed, Bath and Beyond did them for around the same price 

Thanks I'll try them then.

When I was packing up to move to the UK, I bougtht a few extra large ones and filled them full of stuffed animals. The movers picked them up and when I received my shipment 3 months later in the UK all the bags were still sealed and animals scrunched!

We bought Space Bags years ago and they still work very well for us. They are the kind that you suck the air out with a vaccum cleaner. It does take a few trys to make sure that you seal/zip them up correctly, or they won't work. My mom bought some not long ago and didn't have luck with them, but I have a feeling that she wasn't doing it right. I would keep in mind though now that you may not want to use them in your suitcases that you take with you on the plane for a couple reasons: first is that the max weight for most flights now is only 50lbs and when you use the bags, it tends to make things quite a bit heavier because you can fit more in! Second is security in the airports. I have had many reports from friends that have just been flying domesticaly that they are checking a lot more bags than usual, and if they have to search your bag and open it, there is no way they will get all of the items back in!
I would recommend them if you get the good ones that you suck the air out with the vaccum, but there are cheapo copy cats out there that don't work nearly as well.

I used the vaccum ones. I didnt realize there were any other kind.