Caroline B

Now I've had a foul day, with 7 days to go :scared: and my house is a tip and my mum's got all emotional.
BUT I have now temporarily cheered up because I have been using my incredible shrinking bags from Argos - you suck the air out of them and everything shrinks. Big quilts go to nothing!
and it got me thinking - I'm coming over on a 457 visa on QANTAS and get a lousy 20 kg allowance BUT what if I was to shrink stuff and bung it in my case? they're a bit lighter but will Ozzie customs get all sniffy? I don't hold out much hope of getting things back to normal size, but I'm on a roll now.....
anyone done this?

phoenixinoz

Although squashed, wont it weigh the same

esperanza

Yes!!

Caroline B

my hubby is a science teacher and says it will weigh less....
It certainly seems to weigh less. But maybe I'm just after an excuse to shrink stuff.........you can fit more cr@p in your case anyway.....

Dorothy

You'll want to hope the security people either in UK or your stopover country don't open your suitcase and want to open those vacuum bags. Everything will be it's original size and won't fit back in your suitcases.

phoenixinoz

LOL.....if anyone weighs more than they should at their medical, they should tell the doc it's cos they're full of air

Good luck with filling the case

lollyno1

Hi

I used them when i sent stuff over, quilts, towels, beding.etc..mind they go as hard as rock. God knows what the stuff will be like when i finally get it...Wish id thought to get some for my suitcase though..mind still have time, i travel sunday..an i can always stick my teenage son in one and suck all the hot air out of him.

good luck with your packing..

esperanza

Technically it will weigh marginally less as you have taken out some air. But the duvet itself (less the air that was making it all fluffy) will still weigh exactly the same as before because it is made up of all the exact same material. So your hubby is not lying, but TBH I don't think it will make a significant difference to how much you can take with you. Sorry!
On the plus side, it is certainly a space saver.

JackTheLad

Yeah, but as its being weighed in atmosphere, it will weigh the same. Think of it this way... If you suck all the air out of a balloon does it weigh less?

No, in a vacuum it would weigh less, but last I looked, Qantas and BA don't weigh bags in a vacuum. They weigh them in the atmosphere, so sucking the air out makes no difference, the volume of air sucked out will be replaced by air from the atmosphere outside the now smaller bag.

JTL

esperanza

Ooooh! Hark at you getting all technical! I will have to do further research....

JackTheLad

I have a brilliant idea but not sure the OP's science teacher husband will agree?!

As there is no limit on the number of bags you're allowed to check in, how about getting 30 (or 60 or 90 or however many you can afford to buy) large super-lightweight suitcases per person, fill each suitcase with lots of helium balloons and a small amount of person effects. The helium balloons should lift the suitcases a fair bit, giving a total weight of under 20kgs.

Mind you if you ever watch Mythbusters, you may end up having to get suitcases size of your house to do the task... Oh forget it, there is a limit on the size of each suitcase...

Mrs JTL

JackTheLad

Forget the 'further research' . Sucking air out of a bag makes no difference to its weight, unless you are going to weigh it in a vacuum.

Or I suppose alternatively if you put alot of air under high pressure (say 3 or 4 times the normal atmosphric pressure) in a bag, and then weighed it, it would be ever so slightly heavier than a bag at normal atmospheric pressure.

But thats just stupid. I'd go with the my wifes Helium balloons idea

JTL

Tiggs+Graz

You can get the same sort of bags that you just roll up to remove the air rather than using a vacuum cleaner - so if you had to open them at customs you could re-roll them to fit back in your case!

Tiggs

canifixit

Dead right.
Wife now knows I'm crazy. I've just conducted this experiment. Same weight as with air.

Bix

You can use any plastic bag or refuse sack to do the same.

I use black refuse sacks.

Vacuum out the air
Twist the top around
Fold the neck over on itself
Put a strong elastic band over it.