Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

First time tried, works as expected. Has buttons for Speed -- Fast or NORMAL, and Food -- Moist or DRY (default = Normal/Dry); also, Auto Vacuum & Seal (i.e., Start), Canister (for using the hose port), and Manual Seal (no vacuum). Does NOT allow you to manually vacuum for as long as you want (I thought this might be useful for sealing other types of bags). Will not VACUUM bags which are SMOOTH inside. I bought mylar bags (which I think are polyethlyene inside) because mylar is more impermeable than poly (even super-tiny helium molecules can't get through it). The bags that came with it are CORRUGATED on the inside of one side. This allows the air to bleed out during the vacuuming process. Smooth bags seal too tightly under the pressure of the clamp bar, and can't be evacuated. This is not a defect of the machine, but is something you may want to consider if you want to VACUUM seal mylar bags. It does however manually seal the mylar, so for now I will rely on oxygen absorbers in unevacuated bags. One more thing: When it does vacuum seal a bag (e.g. dry navy beans) the package seals up hard as a rock. This meant we were unable to get the beans into a plastic jar intended for easy stacking on a shelf. Plan ahead! Tip: Seal bags at the end (leave a gap), not up tight against the food, if you want to be able to open and reseal the bag later. If anything changes this review after we get more use out of the unit, I will add updates. 8/31/11 UPDATE: After using the unit for a full hour (22 heat-seals), it had to cool down (heat seal light flashing). No big deal--just an indication of what kind of duty cycle you can expect. Also, found this video on YouTube: "How to Vacuum seal Mylar bags in a FoodSaver" (versions 1 and 2)--Both excellent suggestions for sealing mylar bags. After watching his videos, I am glad I got the Gamesaver, because it evacuates more quickly, and can heat seal without running the pump (for additional seals)! Sealed only about a dozen bags so far. 3/10/12 UPDATE: Sealed dozens of bags so far and it still works great. Gave up on triple-sealing bags, but I do still double-seal them, just in case something gets in the seal area and compromises the seal. Cutting back on the triple sealing allows me to seal pretty much continuously, though it does overheat occasionally. I use a damp cloth to cool the heating strip if it overheats. Not an issue often. The video I mentioned seems like a good way to seal mylar bags, but I found it difficult to execute (the strips of vacuum seal bag material are more difficult to hold in place than you might think). I gave up on this idea, but I am still hopeful that some mylar bag-makers will start offering vacuum-sealable bags.