Weston Pro 2300 Review
Pros: Excellent suction power, extra thick heat seals, fast
Cons: Huge, very expensive
Manufacturer: Weston
Our Verdict
Compare to Similar Products
 This Product
Weston Pro 2300 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Awards |  |  | | ||
| Price | $430 List $429.99 at Amazon | $50 List $47.59 at Amazon | $60 List $59.97 at Amazon | $210 List $189.99 at Amazon | $70 List $59.99 at Amazon |
Overall Score  |
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| Star Rating | |||||
| Pros | Excellent suction power, extra thick heat seals, fast | Integrated bag roll and cutter, limited overheating issues, auxiliary suction hose, excellent price | Powerful suction pump, gentle on food, manageable size and weight, great price | Designed for heavy use, easy clean-up, decent ease of use features | Tender with delicate foods, solid value |
| Cons | Huge, very expensive | No drip tray, so-so suction power | Narrow seal, overheats quickly, finicky touch screen | Bulky, a little rough on food, narrow seal | Can't seal a ton of bags successively, slow vacuuming/sealing action |
| Bottom Line | This is a semi-industrial model with great suction power that we recommend for avid hunters or fishers | This inexpensive and easy to use machine can seal bag after bag to just the right amount of suction | This relatively low-cost machine offered a consistent performance across the board and excelled in gentle sealing | If you plan to seal many bags at a go, this machine is resistant to overheating while having convenience features that speed up the process | If you are looking for a decent vacuum sealer that has a deft touch with soft foods, this is a good choice |
| Rating Categories | Weston Pro 2300 | Amazon Basics Vacuu... | Mueller Vacuum Sealer | FoodSaver V4400 | NutriChef PKVS18BK |
| Sealing Performance (40%) | |||||
| Convenience (30%) | |||||
| Delicate Foods (20%) | |||||
| Suction Power (10%) | |||||
| Specs | Weston Pro 2300 | Amazon Basics Vacuu... | Mueller Vacuum Sealer | FoodSaver V4400 | NutriChef PKVS18BK |
| Measured Vacuum Strength | 20 -inHg | 14.5 -inHg | 19 -inHg | 16 -inHg | 18 -inHg |
| Measured Weight | 22.3 lbs | 3.1 lbs | 2.7 lbs | 7.8 lbs | 2.9 lbs |
| Air Suction Hose Included? | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Removable Tray? | No | No | No | Yes | No |
| Built-in Roll Storage? | No | Yes | No | Yes | No |
| Built-in Bag Cutter? | No | Yes | No | Yes | No |
| Measured Seal Thickness | 5.25 mm | 3 mm | 2 mm | 2 mm | 2.5 mm |
| Measured Average Seal Time | 7 seconds | 9 seconds | 6 seconds | 13 seconds | 7 seconds |
Our Analysis and Test Results
The Weston Pro pulls one of the strongest 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 any break at all and being ready to start all 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 some of the other models. However, the Weston Pro won't maintain pressure when you hit seal and will continue to evacuate air until the plastic melts. This 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, if there was a handy way to store additional vacuum bags, the overall size and weight, the buttons, and if there were any accessory ports or hoses, as well as if the lid 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 other sorts of containers and this is 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 quite 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 quite 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.
Value
This product is a pretty terrible value, being one of the most expensive out of the entire group. That said, if you need a powerhouse of a product for things like processing whole animals after hunting season, it may be a good fit.
Conclusion
Overall, the Weston Pro 2300 is far too large and expensive for most people. The vast majority of users won't need the semi-industrial vacuum sealing abilities that this product provides. If you do, this may be a solid appliance to own, though we still think the price is a bit over-the-top.
— David Wise and Austin Palmer
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