Weston Pro 2300 Review

The Weston Pro pulls one of the most robust vacuums of our entire group and has one of the heftiest heat seals, but it's by far the most expensive, isn't all that convenient to use, and doesn't do very well with delicate food items.

Performance Comparison

Sealing Performance

First, we timed and scored how long it took for each vacuum sealer to seal four types of food — a cup of dried rice, four sausages, a pound of ground meat, and four slices of standard bread. We also rated each one on the strength of the heat-sealed area, the number of times you could use each product in a row, and if it held a vacuum if you had the machine seal the bag early. The Weston did very well in this first test metric, which is responsible for 40% of its overall score.

This sealer is on the speedier side, taking less time than the average to seal our bread, rice, and sausages. It did about average with the ground beef. However, it did exceptionally well in our volume test, sealing 15 bags without a break, and was ready to start over again with less than a minute respite. This model also makes one of the sturdiest heat seals of the entire group, measuring over twice as wide as others. However, the Weston Pro won't maintain pressure when you hit seal and will continue to evacuate air until the plastic melts. This quirk caused the pressure in the bag to change by an additional 2.5 inches of mercury after we hit the seal button.

Convenience

Next up, we assessed the overall ease of use and the level of difficulty to operate and maintain each machine. We specifically scored each one on the ease of cleaning and if there was a handy way to store additional vacuum bags. We also measured the overall size and weight, the buttons, and any accessory ports or hoses, as well as if the lid was locked in place while in use.

This appliance doesn't have a storage location or a cutter for rolls of bags and also lacks a tray that you can take out for easy cleaning. Additionally, the lid does not lock down — you have to press and hold it at the start but can let it go after it starts to seal. There are no accessory ports or pump attachments to seal mason jars and other sorts of containers. It is also one of the largest and heaviest models of the group, weighing in at 22.3 pounds. For comparison, most of the other products we tested were in the 2-5 pound range. That said, the Weston does have a decent interface with push buttons that are pretty easy to operate.

Delicate Foods

Our next metric scored each product on how well it could seal crushable foods without crushing them. As you can't do this in the automatic mode, you need to pulse these appliances on and off to get them right to the sweet spot where the vast majority of the air is gone from the bag without obliterating the food items. Unfortunately, the Weston fared relatively poorly in this testing category.

This product tends to keep vacuuming past when you cancel, then takes a pause and lets a non-trivial amount of air in, making it very hard to precisely regulate the amount of vacuum. We usually ended up squishing the bread we tested, but it still at least resembled what bread should look like, compared to some other products that got squished almost beyond recognition.

Suction Power

For our last testing metric, we measured the suction power of each vacuum sealer. The Weston Pro delivered an excellent performance in this ultimate assessment, pulling a vacuum that measured at 20 inches of mercury on our gauge.

Should You Buy the Weston Pro 2300?

This vacuum sealer is not for everyone. It is a pretty terrible value, being one of the most expensive of the entire group. We don't recommend it to those who plan to vacuum seal only occasionally. However, it is one of the most powerful products we tested, and if you need a powerhouse of a product for things like processing whole animals after hunting season, it may be a good fit.

What Other Vacuum Sealers Should You Consider?

Overall, the Weston Pro 2300 is far too large and expensive for most people. The vast majority of users won't need this product's semi-industrial vacuum sealing abilities. If you do, this may be a solid appliance to own, but it is still costly compared to most other products. If you want a machine that can seal many consecutive bags, but you aren't sold on the Weston, then the FoodSaver V4400 may be a good lighter-duty option for you to consider.