If you’re one of those people who constantly loses twist-ties or the little plastic tag on bags of bread and English muffins, this doodad was invented with you in mind. Meet the OXO Bag Cinch, which promises to clip and grip onto any twisted bag. Unfortunately, while the gadget’s intentions are pure, its delivery falls a bit short.
Gadget name: OXO Bag Cinch
Price: $4.99 for a 3-pack
It looks like: A bright-colored, cylindrical plastic clip. Turn it to the side and hold down the button, and it looks like Pac-Man’s hungry, taller sibling.
How it’s supposed to work: Push the hinged button and the clip opens to capture the end of the bag, then holds on tight after you release the button. The ridged opening gives it leverage, ensuring a sturdy grip.
How it actually works: Pretty well—if you have a bag small enough. The clip opens only 1 centimeter (less than ½ inch). It flawlessly sealed a bag of bread—but only if we twisted the bag tight to make the cinch point as small as possible. Not a big deal (we often use the hold-and-spin technique for closing bags of bread), but when we tried to use it to close a half-eaten bag of potato chips, it left gaps at either end, thwarting an airtight seal.
Drawbacks: The tiny closing mechanism creates a tight seal—but it can only hold so much. Air is bound to get in to any bag that you can’t make smaller than the clip’s opening.
My favorite part: They’re sturdy, simple to use, and easier to manipulate than twist-ties. (If you suffer from arthritis and eat a lot of bread, this may just be the bag cincher for you!)
Overall: This bag cinch is just too small. Worse, it’s going to get lost somewhere in our kitchen drawer, because it isn’t magnetized (like other closers we’ve seen, including one from OXO), which rules out storing it on the fridge. Sure, twist-ties are easy to lose, too, but at least they’re free.
What creative ways do you employ to keep open bags closed?
About the Author: Amy Graves
3 Comments
Leave a Comment
You must be logged in to post a comment.
We use the IKEA Bevara sealing clips–they’re $2.99 for 30 clips that come in 2 sizes and 5 colors. They’re awesome. We use them for snacks, cereal, nuts, rice, chocolate chips…pretty much anything in a bag. They’ve kept things fresh for months and are easy to use.
Clothespins! Fold top corners down (into a peak), then fold the peak down 2/3 times and clip with a good spring-type clothespin. Or go to the Dollar Stores and get decent clips, usually 2/3 for $1. May have to visit several dollar-type stores to get the best buy. I don’t pay $4.99 (plus tax) for 3 clips!
The cheap binder clips sold in any office supply store work just fine for this purpose. They’re available in multiple sizes, and I buy them in multi-packs of 12 per box for just a few dollars. Fold the bags over as described by pbroe above.