We tried a very cheap off brand from Target about 3 years ago and it's actually held up better than I thought, but it has finally had it. The Food Saver brand seems to be much better constructed, so that's what we'll get next.
My Grandma got us into using ours and she used to use the cannisters and stuff, but frankly, we've never found a use for them, so my experience is all with the various bags.
From what I can tell, all the bags are pretty much the same and work in any machine. Again, the food saver brand ones feel like they might be a bit thicker, but not enough difference to say for sure.
When we bought ours, we got both a continuous roll and some that were about a quart size and some that were about a gallon size. Personally, I didn't care for the roll, because it's a little more difficult to work with (making sure you're cutting it straight, sealing both ends, etc).
We also, at the suggestion of my Grandma, wash and reuse ours. Unless you're doing something to really get the bag funky, they can be washed with soap and water and hung to dry on the dish rack. They work like new after a wash and if you're careful about trimming them, you get quite a few uses before you need a new bag.
As for uses, I think you're only limited by your imagination. As mentioned above, they're great for buying in bulk, then freezing in smaller portions.
They are awesome for camping. Bacon and lunch meat can be sealed then thrown in the cooler with no fear of it getting wet. We've even sealed (without vacuum sealing) fruit and such, and the bubble that's created protects the fruit. We find we can pack more in the cooler and worry less about stuff getting wet. Just be sure you travel with a good pair of sissors. Those bags don't open easy, especially if you're going to save them for reuse.
We've also used them for other odd stuff. For example, on one trip, we started putting a dryer sheet in the bottom of a bag, vacuum sealed it, then added dry laundry soap (enough for one load) to the rest of the bag and vaccum sealed it. This gives you a bag for each load of laundry. It worked so well, we keep a couple in the bottom of our suitcases on most trips, just in case we need to do laundry for some reason.
Like I said, you're pretty much only limited by your imagination, but even if you just use it for food and stuff, they're cool. Especially if you buy in bulk or hunt/fish.
Jeff
