Mylar Pouch Tobacco Storage

[blametony]

After considering lots of options for cellaring, I decided to go with Food Grade Mylar pouches. The bags I chose are high quality, foil-based and have a window in the front. They each hold about 4oz. or more if stuffed which I try not to do. I live in New York City, and with space being at a premium, I needed something that was easy to store, access and grow. Mylar was my choice. I've read some good things about it on forums and decided to give it a shot. I do still maintain some 32oz Mason jars for blends I want to keep a lot more of and smaller jars of blends I just haven't got into bags yet. I'm a collector at heart (Cigars, Fountain Pens, Watches, Whisky, Vintage SportsCards and more) so I like to keep things very organized as you can see by my storage bins and labelling process. I also maintain a Tobacco database I build myself in Notion. I posted about it on another thread.

All in all, it works for me. Answers to some questions people generally ask:

1. Aging capability is unclear, but since the bags are air tight, assumptions are they will age tobacco the same as glass.
2. There is no smell from the bags. They are completely air tight.
3. Because they are airtight, there is no mingling of aromas.
4. The cost around $30 for 200 bags.
5. They are available at most office supply locations. Beware of some of the cheaper Chinese brands on Amazon. Quality can vary.

 

[BayouGhost]

I use mylar for blends I have opened, but need to put away for multiple years.

For open tins that I expect to use within the year, I will actually get the small 1 cup size bags and for C&D tins, put the tobacco in them, fold them over several times and put them back in the tin to keep them a lot longer than an open tin would. For Peterson's style tins I will just put the full tin into the pint size mylar and again fold it over or use some metal tape on the seam.

I have a blend of jars and mylar. I use the 5 mil Wallaby brand. Others will argue that you need 7 mil, but I don't move mine around enough to risk puncture. They are in a box. I usually leave a little bit of air in them when I seal them with a food saver device but not too much.

For unopened tins, I just leave them as is. On the square metal tins, I will put metallic tape around the seam as an added protection against losing the seal.

 

[khiddy]

I've seen recommendations against using mylar bags with clear window for longterm storage, only metallized mylar with no window. Quoting an FAQ on tobacco and mylar found on another forum: "Avoid bags that have a clear side to them, this will defeat the purpose. We want metal on all sides to block the light and moisture. Colored or black bags are fine, but not necessary."

The clear window is permeable, albeit slowly - store your sealed windowed mylar bags in a rubbermaid tub for a month, and when you open the tub you will smell tobacco. That doesn't happen with sealed all-metal mylar bags. For longterm storage, all metal is the way to go.

 

[Manawydan]

From the articles on mylar storage I've read, there is no appreciable permeability difference between the clear and the foil-infused. The main difference is that clear lets light (including UV) through. Make sure you keep the pouches in a dark place / bin.

 

[shanez]

Mylar is the plastic component, not the metal foil. Just store anything you put in clear mylar bags in the dark and there will be no difference compared to the bags with foil.

 

[pappymac]

I bought some Mylar bags to use to save storage space.
I know this is probably addressed elsewhere, but I could find the answer to my question.

Do you have to heat seal the bags if you are planning to smoke that blend within a year?
I have a few 100g tins where the tobacco is basically in cellophane pouches and I know that they are going to dry out if I don't move them. I'm thinking about putting half in one Mylar bag and heat sealing it and putting the other half in a Mylar bag without heat sealing.

 

[blametony]

I bought some Mylar bags to use to save storage space.
I know this is probably addressed elsewhere, but I could find the answer to my question.

Do you have to heat seal the bags if you are planning to smoke that blend within a year?
I have a few 100g tins where the tobacco is basically in cellophane pouches and I know that they are going to dry out if I don't move them. I'm thinking about putting half in one Mylar bag and heat sealing it and putting the other half in a Mylar bag without heat sealing.

My strategy recently has been Mylar bags for blends I'm going to smoke within a reasonable amount of time. Less than a year or so. Anything I'm planning to cellar for long term goes into glass jar.

 

[Brad H]

My strategy recently has been Mylar bags for blends I'm going to smoke within a reasonable amount of time. Less than a year or so. Anything I'm planning to cellar for long term goes into glass jar.

I thought about that strategy too, but when I went to Walmart, they didn’t have enough jars for me to implement it

 

[sablebrush52]

I've seen recommendations against using mylar bags with clear window for longterm storage, only metallized mylar with no window. Quoting an FAQ on tobacco and mylar found on another forum: "Avoid bags that have a clear side to them, this will defeat the purpose. We want metal on all sides to block the light and moisture. Colored or black bags are fine, but not necessary."

The clear window is permeable, albeit slowly - store your sealed windowed mylar bags in a rubbermaid tub for a month, and when you open the tub you will smell tobacco. That doesn't happen with sealed all-metal mylar bags. For longterm storage, all metal is the way to go.

Clear windows on Mylar bags negate the benefits of metallized Mylar. Avoid for long term storage.

 

[blametony]

Clear windows on Mylar bags negate the benefits of metallized Mylar. Avoid for long term storage.

I've read the same things, which is why I decided to avoid Mylar for long term storage and stick with glass. There's too much variability with the mylar. Different quality between brands, window, no window etc.

 

[Sobrbiker]

I've read the same things, which is why I decided to avoid Mylar for long term storage and stick with glass. There's too much variability with the mylar. Different quality between brands, window, no window etc.

Most of the long term collectors I’ve heard from say 7mil (each side) without any windows and heat sealed are as good as glass.

Window/no window isnt complex-if it’s clear that area is not metallic shielded and permeable.

 

[sablebrush52]

I've read the same things, which is why I decided to avoid Mylar for long term storage and stick with glass. There's too much variability with the mylar. Different quality between brands, window, no window etc.

Glass is fine, but Mylar is not complicated. 5 - 7 mil food grade Metallized Mylar is impermeable. Clear Mylar is not. So no windows. Simple as that.

I get mine from here:

https://www.topmylar.com/

more specifically, I use the gusseted stand up bags.

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

I don't recommend mylar with the plastic windows but I do like mylar 7 mil food grade. At this moment, I'm smoking SG BBF I have had in mylar since 5/18. It was in perfect condition when opened.

 

[blametony]

I don't recommend mylar with the plastic windows but I do like mylar 7 mil food grade. At this moment, I'm smoking SG BBF I have had in mylar since 5/18. It was in perfect condition when opened.
View attachment 409419

Do you think it matters how much window is on the pouch? I've seen some good mylar with a thin window strip at the bottom. I liked the idea of that to check for mold without opening the pouch.

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

I wouldn't use mylar that had any window. Your unlikely to see more from a small window at the bottom. And if you do, what does it matter? You'll do the same thing you would do if you see it when you open it, Throw it away.

 

[Peter - CCB]

I have been using Mylar as a partial storage for several years with no issue. After about 150 jars or so, I didn’t have the room so did my research and tried it. Ken Byron uses Mylar for all his blends so I figured why not try. Takes less space up. I go thick as can but not so thick it can crack. No windows or see through stuff. Definitely heat seal them all. I have a hundred or so Mylar bags with various ages to them now and opened several, all great. Downside is open it and the bag is done. I tend to store 2-3.5oz per bag (or jar) so I don’t kill the anaerobic process for the rest. (I stopped storing large amounts together in other words.)

With my thermal printer, the labels look great too. For Mylar and jars. I prefer the wide mouth bags that expand at the base as needed. 7” x 5” I believe. Mine or 6.5-8mm I think though I didn’t look it up. I’ve bought the expensive sealers and tried those $150-200 ones … in the end, my wife’s flat iron hair straightener works the best. Need more heat for thicker Mylar.

Not sure if any of that helps but it’s worked out for me. I prefer jars for stuff I may get to sooner than later but have a mix of both. All good, def saves room. - Pete

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

I have been using Mylar as a partial storage for several years with no issue. After about 150 jars or so, I didn’t have the room so did my research and tried it. Ken Byron uses Mylar for all his blends so I figured why not try. Takes less space up. I go thick as can but not so thick it can crack. No windows or see through stuff. Definitely heat seal them all. I have a hundred or so Mylar bags with various ages to them now and opened several, all great. Downside is open it and the bag is done. I tend to store 2-3.5oz per bag (or jar) so I don’t kill the anaerobic process for the rest. (I stopped storing large amounts together in other words.)

With my thermal printer, the labels look great too. For Mylar and jars. I prefer the wide mouth bags that expand at the base as needed. 7” x 5” I believe. Mine or 6.5-8mm I think though I didn’t look it up. I’ve bought the expensive sealers and tried those $150-200 ones … in the end, my wife’s flat iron hair straightener works the best. Need more heat for thicker Mylar.

Not sure if any of that helps but it’s worked out for me. I prefer jars for stuff I may get to sooner than later but have a mix of both. All good, def saves room. - Pete

I use the ziplock mylar bags and they work reasonably well. What works best for me is smaller bags that will store 2 to 4 ounces. That amount of tobacco lasts a couple of weeks so the ziplock isn't an issue . I use a clothes iron to seal, that has worked well also. Probably around 3 ounces in this one.

 

[blametony]

I have been using Mylar as a partial storage for several years with no issue. After about 150 jars or so, I didn’t have the room so did my research and tried it. Ken Byron uses Mylar for all his blends so I figured why not try. Takes less space up. I go thick as can but not so thick it can crack. No windows or see through stuff. Definitely heat seal them all. I have a hundred or so Mylar bags with various ages to them now and opened several, all great. Downside is open it and the bag is done. I tend to store 2-3.5oz per bag (or jar) so I don’t kill the anaerobic process for the rest. (I stopped storing large amounts together in other words.)

With my thermal printer, the labels look great too. For Mylar and jars. I prefer the wide mouth bags that expand at the base as needed. 7” x 5” I believe. Mine or 6.5-8mm I think though I didn’t look it up. I’ve bought the expensive sealers and tried those $150-200 ones … in the end, my wife’s flat iron hair straightener works the best. Need more heat for thicker Mylar.

Not sure if any of that helps but it’s worked out for me. I prefer jars for stuff I may get to sooner than later but have a mix of both. All good, def saves room. - Pete

Storage is the main reason I switched to Mylar also. So much easier to store and transport.

 

[blametony]

I use the ziplock mylar bags and they work reasonably well. What works best for me is smaller bags that will store 2 to 4 ounces. That amount of tobacco lasts a couple of weeks so the ziplock isn't an issue . I use a clothes iron to seal, that has worked well also. Probably around 3 ounces in this one.View attachment 410100

I haven’t tried to heat seal any yet, but I should try it.

 

[LOREN]

Can you use an ordinary heat sealer, like the kind used for everyday kitchen use?