Consumer

Travel Bags: Do They Really Do That?

(KDKA) You've seen travel bags advertised on television.

Now, Consumer Editor Yvonne Zanos puts travel bags to the test to find out if it does really do that.

Zanos says that even though the travel bag looks like the space bag, is made by the same company and does the same thing, no vacuum required.

You don't suck the air out.

You ease it out instead.

If you are planning a trip, fitting enough clothes in that suitcase is often a challenge.

That's where the travel bags come in.

They promise to double your suitcase space.

But does it really do that?

To find out, our helper, Camille Mann, packed a large travel bag with all the clothes that filled her suitcase.

You roll toward the bottom of the bag, expelling air through the one way valve and flattening compressible items.

"I can hear it squeezing the air out," said Mann.

We still have more room so we pack up another travel bag -- a smaller bag.

"It leaves you just enough room for an iron," said Mann.

So, what about wrinkles and how well will these travel bags hold up.

We check back one week later.

The bags held up great with no leaking.

The verdict: "A little wrinkly," said Mann. "Nothing an iron can't take out. If you are doing this to travel, it's a wrinkly way to go."

Would Mann use it?

"No, I don't want this wrinkled of clothes," she said.

So bottom line....although Mann loved the extra space the travel bags gave her, when it comes to packing up to leave on vacation she said, "I really wouldn't travel with bags that squished my clothes that much because I wouldn't be able to use them when I got there unless I spent a ton of time ironing which I don't want to do when I'm on vacation."

So for Mann, travel bags get a thumbs down because of wrinkles.

But for on the way home, we give it a big thumbs up.

Zanos says you don't care about wrinkles then and it gives you lots more room for the new stuff you bought on vacation.

Also, these bags can be reused.

So for coming home and for storage -- a thumbs up.

We found they really do do that and they do it well.

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