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Best reusable freezer bags
In this article
- The best reusable freezer bags from our tests
- How we test reusable freezer bags
- Types of reusable freezer bags
- PEVA vs silicone freezer bags: what's the difference?
- PEVA vs silicone freezer bags: what's the difference?
- How to clean reusable freezer bags
- Five tips when buying and using reusable freezer bags
The best reusable freezer bags will be durable and won't leak. They'll also be easy to use and clean time and time again - not picking up food odours along the way.
We've put the most popular reusable freezer bags through our tests. These included freezer bags from Joie, Green Island and Mlife, Amazon, Lakeland and The Range.
Find out below how the top silicone and PEVA (polyethylene vinyl acetate) freezer bags fared. One impressed us enough to earn our Best Buy recommendation.
The best reusable freezer bags from our tests
Only logged-in Which? members can view the reusable freezer bag test results below.
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| Freezer bag | Capacity | Durability | Seal strength | Where to buy |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Excellent | Excellent | |||
| Excellent | Excellent | |||
| Excellent | Excellent | |||
| Excellent | Excellent | |||
| Excellent | Excellent | |||
| Excellent | Excellent | |||
| Average | Excellent |
Dates tested: December 2020 and May 2022. Page last checked: February 2023. We're not able to show every retailer, and cheaper prices may be available.
The reusable freezer bags we tested
All the reusable freezer bags we tested are listed in alphabetical order below.
Only logged-in Which? members can view the best reusable freezer bags from our tests.
Join Which? to get instant access to our test results and Best Buy recommendation below.
Green Island Ziplock Bags
Available from Green Island (£9.50 for 1)
Date tested: December 2020
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Capacity: 1L and 1.5L bags
Need to know: Silicone, zip seal, dishwasher-safe
Joie Large PEVA Reusable Food Storage Bags
Date tested May 2022
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Capacity 1.4L bags
Need to know PEVA, press seal, not dishwasher-safe
Kitchen Elements Premium Reusable Food Storage Bags
Date tested December 2020
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Capacity 4x 1L and 2x 1.5L bags
Need to know Silicone, zip seal, dishwasher-safe
Read our expert advice on getting the best freezer to suit your needs
Kollea Reusable Sandwich Bags
Date tested December 2020
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Capacity 6x 0.18L and 6x 0.52L bags
Need to know PEVA, press seal, not dishwasher-safe
Mlife Reusable Freezer Bags
Date tested December 2020
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Capacity 14x 0.65L bags
Need to know PEVA, press seal, not dishwasher-safe
Russbe Reusable Freezer Bags
Date tested May 2022
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Capacity 8x 3.7L bags
Need to know PEVA, press seal, dishwasher-safe
See what we've rated the best cooking utensils from our tests.
Serveup Silicone Reusable Food Storage Bags
Date tested May 2022
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Capacity 6x 0.3L, 6x 1L, 6x 1.5L and 2x 3.7L bags
Need to know Silicone, press seal, not dishwasher-safe
Stasher Reusable Food Storage Bag
Date tested December 2020
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Capacity Available in 0.29L, 0.45L and 1.9L sizes
Need to know Silicone, press seal, dishwasher-safe
Soreli Reusable Freezer Bags
Date tested December 2020
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Capacity 4x 1L bags
Need to know Silicone, zip seal, dishwasher-safe
Xup Zip Food Storage Bags
Date tested December 2020
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Capacity 30x 4.5L bags
Need to know Plastic, press seal, not dishwasher safe
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How we test reusable freezer bags
We test silicone and PEVA reusable freezer bags, picking the most popular bags from the UK's main retailers.
Which? pays for all of the freezer bags we test, just like you would.
If a pack comes with multiple sizes, we test one of each in our seal ease of use and leakage durability tests.
Ease of use
We test the bag seals by opening and closing hundreds of times
We rate how easy the bag seals are to open and close at the beginning and the end of our ease of use test.
Durability/leakage
We fill the bags with water to their capacity and check for leaks throughout the seal ease of use test.
Disappointingly, not all the bags pass this test.
Seal strength
We place weights from 0.5kg to 1.5kg on each bag to mimic the items the bags could be underneath in your freezer.
Not all bags could keep their seals shut when weighted down.
Freezing ability
We put tomato pasta sauce or tomato soup into the bags and store these in a freezer for 21 hours.
We note any freezer burn or damage.
Cleaning
We wash all the bags according to their instructions.
We then rank them from the most stained to least stained, and the most smelly to least smelly.
Labelling
We label each bag using an appropriate black marker pen to see which is the easiest to label and also to see if the ink stays on for the duration of the 21 hours in the freezer.
Types of reusable freezer bags
Food-grade silicone – a popular choice because of its impressive durability. A silicone freezer bag should outlive your average resealable plastic food bag by years. You can even put silicone freezer bags in the oven and microwave.
PEVA (polyethylene vinyl acetate) – the material is commonly used as a safer substitute for PVC (a mass produced plastic that contains harmful chemicals). You'll often find shower curtains made from this material. Unlike silicone, PEVA is biodegradable which means its lifespan is shorter but it's also easier to recycle.
All the reusable freezer bags we test can be used to store all foods: from meat and fish to fruit and veg.
PEVA vs silicone freezer bags: what's the difference?
While a number of the silicone bags do well in our tests, the PEVA bags we test do a lot better on the whole.
Based on our testing alone, we’d recommend PEVA bags.
Plus, it's an added bonus that PEVA bags also tend to be cheaper than silicone bags. Here are some other differences:
- Functionality – silicone is able to withstand more extreme temperatures, and can be used in the oven or microwave, unlike PEVA.
- Lifespan – silicone isn't biodegradable, whereas PEVA is. This does mean that silicone freezer bags will last longer.
- Recyclability – both types can be recycled (though silicone recycling centres are more limited) so both are an eco-friendly alternative to standard resealable plastic bags.
- Seal type – while not a hard and fast rule, we've seen press seals (where you push the bag's sides together) are more commonly used on PEVA bags, while zip seals (where you pull a plastic bar across to close the bag) appear more often on silicone freezer bags.
- Odour – our tests have found bags of both types can have residual food smell after being used and cleaned. But on the whole, we found silicone tends to hold more smell than PEVA.
PEVA vs silicone freezer bags: what's the difference?
We found some key differences in our tests that Which? members can log in to read. Not a member? Join Which?
- Functionality – silicone is able to withstand more extreme temperatures, and can be used in the oven or microwave, unlike PEVA.
- Lifespan – silicone isn't biodegradable, whereas PEVA is. This does mean that silicone freezer bags will last longer.
- Recyclability – both types can be recycled (though silicone recycling centres are more limited) so both are an eco-friendly alternative to standard resealable plastic bags.
- Seal type – while not a hard and fast rule, we've seen press seals (where you push the bag's sides together) are more commonly used on PEVA bags, while zip seals (where you pull a plastic bar across to close the bag) appear more often on silicone freezer bags.
- Odour – our tests have found bags of both types can have residual food smell after being used and cleaned. We found one type of bag tends to hold more smell than the other though.
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How to clean reusable freezer bags
Washing your reusable freezer bags correctly is vital to getting the most use out of them.
- PEVA bags should be hand washed to avoid the seal warping at hot temperatures.
- Silicone bags can be washed in the dishwasher, but don't put in any with zip seals - despite what advertising may lead you to believe.
It’s best to let reusable freezer bags air dry where possible.
Even after following these instructions we still found that most silicone and PEVA bags had some residual staining and still smelled.
Five tips when buying and using reusable freezer bags
- Not all bags in a pack are guaranteed to be of the same quality. We found several leakers within some multipacks we tested.
- It's best to label silicone bags on the rigid outer sides. Their main body wasn't the best base for the marker.
- Seal type makes a big difference. We found big differences in usability between the press seal (on the right) and the zip seal.
- Stated capacity isn't always the true capacity and in many cases you will only be told the dimensions of the bag not the capacity.
- Some plastic freezer bags might be sold as 'reusable' but that doesn't necessarily mean they are.
Read our best cool boxes reviews to find the perfect travel container to keep your food cool while on the move