In all, he compared 10 tall kitchen bags from big-name brands like Hefty, Kirkland Signature from Costco and Great Value from Walmart.
Karpel built a contraption to measure just how much weight each bag can hold. Once he loaded the bag with weights, he lifted it higher and higher.
While the Glad bag stretched, it didn't break and held about 50 pounds. But the Member's Mark bag from Sam's Club broke with only about 35 pounds.
Karpel also tested how well the bags work for lifting the garbage bags out of a trash can. He put 20 pounds of small cans into each bag and then loaded more weight on top.
Again, the Member's Mark bag did the worst. But the best bags were Hefty The Gripper for 16 cents a bag and the new Glad bag for 15 cents. Both brands held about 50 pounds. The Glad bag is also the one that promises it is stronger with less plastic.
So the Glad bag is good for heavy kitchen use and may just be better for the environment.
One more thought: If you don't load your bag with a lot of heavy garbage, Consumer Reports says consider Costco's Kirkland Signature drawstring trash bags. At 7 cents a bag, they're half the price and still did a pretty good job.
