Avid Armor USVX Chamber Vacuum Sealer Machine for Wet Foods – 10” Seal Bar

I had been wanting to upgrade from my suction sealer for years now, but the price, size, weight, and appearance of chamber sealers had kept me from making the switch. I had considered the smaller unit from Avid Armor for a while, but when the USVX ultra came out, I pulled the trigger. The advantage of the USVX over the smaller Avid Armor unit is that the chamber is larger, to accommodate larger items, and the look was such that I can leave it on the counter permanently without making the space look too industrial. Many people who have visited thought it was a small printer or scanner. I can live with that. Setup was simple, although the first few times I pressed the auto seal button, nothing happened. Since then it has worked flawlessly. It generates a much stronger vacuum than the Foodsaver I have used for years. I can seal a lot of bags at a time and the seal function always works. The Foodsaver would only seal a few and would then need to cool down. I anticipate that foods will last longer in the freezer with the USVX because it creates such a stronger vacuum. My sons have taken a liking to it as well, vacuum packing all manor of things to see what happens. Their favorite is sealing an empty soda can on highest vacuum, to watch it completely crush the can when the vacuum in the chamber is withdrawn. Being able to freeze liquids has been a game changer for me. I like to cook with a sous vide machine, but had to use ziplock bags and the water displacement method for anything with any appreciable amount of liquid in it. For freezing, it's also nice, since I can freeze things in a marinade. The suction type sealers simply don't handle anything moist - by the time you got a vacuum level worth anything, the unit had sucked all moisture out of the bag and into the drip tray. It has been fun to experiment with other things, like compressed fruit as well. The only things I could complain about would be that the black outer casing is plastic and flexible. Doesn't affect the performance or look (and probably cuts down on weight vs. stainless steel). Just when pressing buttons on the control panel, the whole case flexes a little bit. Other than that, the unit seems to vibrate a bit when sealing, which I assume would be less with a steel case, but this, at most, makes it a bit louder. Also, would be nice if Avid Armor sold a filler plate for this model, although I assume there will be one sometime in the future. Overall, I am extremely pleased and wish this model was around years ago. It's a higher price tag for a kitchen gadget, but absolutely worth it.

This vacuum sealer is definitely on the pricier side but if you already have a "more traditional" vacuum sealer you know that sealing up anything that has any sort of liquid in it, it's nearly impossible to keep that from getting sucked in to your vacuum sealer. You can also forget about doing things like chili, etc. unless you freeze it first then seal it up. I really didn't want to turn my food saving into a multi-step process after I've already spent most of a weekend making up meals for next couple of weeks. That is why we invested in this vacuum sealer. This thing works like a champ! It's definitely noisier than some other countertop vacuum sealers but it's not deafening. Your vacuum cleaner is likely far louder than this appliance. This device is a lot larger than other counter top vacuum sealers as well so you will need to plan for counter space. It also on the heavier side so getting in and out of a cabinet may not be something you want to do either. Both of these are small annoyances given the benefit of this appliance. I can make up a couple week's worth of meals and seal them up for the freezer and it doesn't matter what it is. Chili, steaks, mac and cheese, soup (yes, soup), it works like a charm. Avid Armor also designed this device with ease of use and maintenance in mind too. Spilled some food in the vacuum chamber or overfilled your bag and made a mess? No sweat. The chamber is smooth with practically zero crevices for food particles to get into making cleaning it out super easy. The heat element also pops out very easily to both clean it and also clean under it. I imagine that if that element ever burns out, replacing it will be as easy as changing the batteries in your TV's remote control (maybe even easier). I'm super glad we have invested in this appliance. 5 stars all around except on the value because the device is very expensive by comparison BUT the time this is saving us with cooking meals during the week is going to save us money in the end. We are a very, very busy family of four and after working 10-12 hours a day Mom and Dad are not in the mood to spend another hour in the kitchen cooking. Instead of ordering take-out (which has become a habit since the pandemic) we are just heating up food we've cooked ahead of time on the weekend. Given that, we expect this appliance will easily pay for itself in a couple months and we will start saving a lot of money after that. If you have the budget for this and are ordering take-out a lot like we were then I *highly* recommend this. An added bonus, we are no longer filling our trash can with all the packaging that comes with ordering take out either!

Ever since I learned about chamber vacuum sealers, it’s been at the top of my kitchen wish list. After a great deal of research, I settled on the Avid Armor USVX. It’s big enough to handle 99% of my packaging needs, yet it’s barely larger than a 4-slice toaster. At 18.8 lbs, I can move it easily by myself. For the very few items that don’t fit in the chamber, like whole racks of ribs, I still have my old Foodsaver FM2100. I appreciate that Avid Amor kept the focus on function, instead of adding features that most people won’t use anyway. There are no gauges to monitor, and the pump doesn’t require oil changes. If you’re into steam punk, this probably isn’t your machine. If you’re just looking for an easy-to-use machine that does a good job, this is it. You can use chamber vacuum sealer bags, like Avid Armor’s, or you can use regular textured vacuum sealer material. I use both, and they both work fine. The controls are clearly marked and intuitive. A quick-start guide walks you through sealing your first package in just a couple of minutes. The instruction manual is very clear and well-written. I contacted Avid Armor Customer Support with a question, and they were very responsive. It’s always reassuring to see a company so actively supporting their product. The vacuum sealer is quieter than my old Foodsaver, which is nice when doing a lot of packaging. The biggest advantage, however, is the ability to package wet foods, like blanched green beans. No more catch tray overflowing with water, or liquid causing seals to fail. Aesthetics probably shouldn’t be an important consideration in an appliance purchase, but I do place a certain amount of value on appliances that look good. Granted, the large industrial-looking machines work well, but they’re not what I want in my kitchen. This machine is clean, sleek, and modern. It looks like it belongs in a home kitchen. I also purchased the Avid Armor cover to keep it clean. It fits perfectly and looks great. I think all of my research paid off with this purchase. I’m happy with my choice.

I bought the USVX is June 2022, shortly after they were released, and should have written this review much sooner. tldr: The machine is outstanding quality and value! Go for it! I’d been using a standard food sealer for many years and really wanted a chamber style sealer but couldn’t justify the prices ($900 yikes). I stumbled across the new USVX, read a lot of reviews and it looked too good to be true. Researched more, then took a chance and bought one in June 2022 when it became available again. This is truly one that of my best purchase decisions! I cook a lot of things, especially barbecue, and I need to vacuum and freeze. I also buy a lot of meats in bulk, and this makes bagging and freezing meal sized portions much easier and quicker than my old FS sealer. The problem with the usual vacuum sealers is that the bags don’t always cooperate so the machine can’t efficiently vacuum the air, meaning I have to babysit the process. And the machine sucks juices up, which wet the bag and sometimes affect the seal quality. The Avid Armor chamber style vacuum sealer fixes all that. Put the stuff in the bag (don’t overfill it), bag into the machine, close the lid, press and button and work on filling another bag while the machine does it’s job. *Woosh* *Beep* Job’s Done! I have been using the Avid Armor for over a year (at least once a month) and have had no problems with it. One time I put too much soup in a bag and found out how easy the chamber is to clean (lol - totally my fault). All the surfaces are smooth and easy to wipe out, and the sealing bar comes out so you can clean beneath it. Thank you, Avid Armor, for making an excellent product to make my life easier!

Absolutely love this machine! Stays out on the countertop and I use it a lot!!

I have used different models of food saver vacuum sealers for many years to add freezer time to venison, bulk meats and vegetables only to find later something in the process failed during storage. You also had to watch and be careful of the sealing area when vacuuming moist products. The Avid Armor price point is high but being a chamber vacuum and it’s easy operation you can vacuum cookies and not crush them to high vacuum for bulk moist meats. You can even vacuum and seal a bag of water. It is compact enough to easily use and store. The reason for the 4 stars is not the appliance but the Manufacturer. They give you a one year guarantee but will extend it an extra year if you take a video or pictures using the product and I think that for $400.00 it should come with a 2 year warranty and not have to jump through hoops to get it.

I've been making/packaging sausage for years. A friend shared a link to a review of the top 5 vacuum sealers. I was unaware that there were now some chamber vacuums available in the $329-$500 range. I went to whatever web sites I could find for each one and prepared a spreadsheet of the top 8 chamber sealers based on my criteria. They are Price, Weight, chamber dimensions, seal bar length, bag sizes. I chose the Avid Armor USVX - Price thru Amazon was $450. With returns accepted . - Weight of the machine was just under 20lbs. I was concerned about this because if the unit is too light it may skitter across the counter. Turns out in testing that the unit is not unbearably loud. - chamber dimensions are perfect for me. 95% of what I package is either 8x10, 8x12 bags. I do have some 10x15 bags that I'll cut down to 13"L - seal bar length was the toughest choice. I really wanted a 12" bar, but I can't recall ever using a 12"W bag. Final notes on choosing the Avid Armor USVX: - The weight is perfect and will be easy to move the unit from kitchen to pantry. - The $450 cost is more that I wanted to pay. The $330 units were just too small to work for me. - The seal bar length of 10" is not a problem. I was able to prep a pork loin for sous vide. Worked perfectly. There were a couple options for a 12" seal bar, but I rejected them on cost and/or weight. - The sealer works perfectly. I don't find it unbearably loud. I've been able to get 15-20 second cycle times - I like the clear glass lid so I can watch it perform. - BONUS. The unit has a marinate function. It's really neat. The air extraction makes it appear to be boiling. but it's the process whereby the marinade is pulled into what you are marinating. I sliced some cucumbers and placed them into dish, then covered with Clausen pickle juice. Ran 2x marinate function. Results are great, but I will let them sit for a week the next time I marinate.

This style of sealer is much better than the cheaper ones. I like to buy steaks in bulk, season, and seal so they are grill ready. Meat stays fresh and no moisture inside the bag once they are done. They look like professionally done after a month in the freezer.

We've been preserving food for the past 3 years; however wanted to "step it up" After extensive research, we decided on the Avid Armor UVX, It offers the best of all world; price point, reputation, bag size capability and the ability to do jars; both in the chamber and out. Easy to use and as per the photo -does an excellent job with mylar. So glad we purchased it.

Did a head-to-head comparison with my VacMaster. This one is superior and for 1/4 of the price. Plus it's much lighter and can be moved around.

Excelente producto, muy buena calidad, compré el accesorio para vacío para recipientes y funciona de maravilla, la comida dura con el sabor del primer día

It is pricy, for sure. So far, it works great, and I use it more often than I thought I would.

Nice sealer however it's hard to find bags that work with this sealer. This sealer requires a large area in order to clip and seal, most bags ziplock seal is too high.