The Nesco VS-02 is lightweight, and it doesn’t feel particularly well built or sturdy. However, this fully automatic food vacuum sealer is tough enough to seal large quantities of food easily and fast. And during our in-house tests we saw Nesco seal securely, pulling the vacuum bag close to foods and eliminating air bubbles.
Nesco VS-02: How it performed
To operate this vacuum sealer you open the lid, place the open end of the bag in the vacuum chamber, close the lid and then press on both sides until you hear it click securely closed. The first several times it takes a good amount of arm strength to securely close and lock the lid, but it does get easier over time. Once the sealer is closed, you choose the speed of the vacuum and press the start button. The machine does the rest.
We didn’t have any issues with Nesco sealing bags of cereal, bread, hamburger patties and chicken breasts. But it did have some problems sealing the pineapple rings. This vacuum sealer pulled a lot of liquid out during the vacuum process and the bag couldn’t seal properly. After wiping the bag and trying again, it still didn’t seal properly. This is common among most vacuum seals, so very few are good for sealing juicy foods. We did find the Crenova VS100S is able to handle juicy foods better than most.
The Nesco VS-02 comes with 10 pre-made sealer bags and a decent roll of plastic to make your own bags. This is one of the few food vacuum sealers that has a holder above the vacuum chamber where you can store the plastic roll and easily feed it into the machine to make quick, straight sealer bags. There is also a built-in sliding bag cutter so you don’t have to worry about cutting bags freehand.
One drawback of this vacuum sealer is that it‘s large, which means that it will take up more counter or storage space than other food sealers, but it is fairly lightweight, about 6 pounds without the plastic roll stored.
Should you buy the Nesco VS-02?
The Nesco VS-02 is one of our top food vacuum sealer picks because of its ease of use and good sealing capabilities. It struggles with sealing foods that are juicy and is a little big. However, it’s also lightweight and includes 10 pre-made bags and a roll of plastic for making more. The holder and built-in cutter also help you quickly make straight bags.
