Pacum Multi-Function Handheld Vacuum review

The Pacum handheld vacuum is a deceptive little device for compressing vacuum luggage bags but can also function as a pump for inflating items like a football or a pool inflatable.

After a successful Kickstarter and Indiegogo campaign which had 5,101 backers and over $270,000 raised, the Pacum is now retailing at €54 for the general public.

The manufacturers, Masterspace, have sent us over a review unit to try out and review and our thoughts on the device are below.

What’s in the box

The Pacum comes with a number of accessories for use with generic vacuum bags or for assisting with inflating items. You get a USB C cable for powering the device but you need to use your own power adapter. You also get a Pacum Bag included (more on that below), and a small pouch for holding the accessories.

Powering the Pacum

The included paperwork states that the Pacum requires a 5V/2Amp supply to power it properly. The Pacum seems to be fussy about what adapter you use as it took me about 5 attempts to find one in my drawer that it was happy to work with. The winner was a Samsung charger for a Galaxy S10+. The included cable is fairly short, as are most of the USB C cables I have, so if you are compressing a large vacuum bag you will either need to be next to a socket or use an extension lead of some description.

The Pacum

The Pacum weighs just 145g and measures only 87 x 46 x 43 mm. It is a very small device and far easier to use than the usual vacuum cleaner you would be using for this job.

For fun, I have been asking people what they think the device is and no one has guessed correctly. Its small size confuses everyone.

On the front face of the device, there are three buttons and an LED light. The top two buttons are for the pump speed when deflating something and the third button is for use when inflating something. At the top of the device, you’ll find the USB C port for powering the device. On the bottom of the Pacum there are two ports. One for inflating and the other for use when compressing the vacuum bags.

On the high speed, the Pacum is capable of compressing a large clothes vacuum bag in 90 seconds. During our tests, the smaller Pacum Bag took around 60 seconds to deflate completely.

To use the device you attach it to the Pacum Bag (or hold it with its attachment to the port on generic vacuum bags) and select the required pump speed by pressing on the of the two buttons. The Pacum automatically compresses the bag and shuts off by itself when complete.

In the example below, we placed a cushion in the Pacum Bag, sealed it up and compressed it with the Pacum.

It took around 60 seconds to complete, which seemed like a longer time than if you were using a vacuum cleaner, but the Pacum kept compressing the bag further than what most vacuums will. I was very impressed with the end result which you can see below.

One of the other advantages here clearly is that you can take the Pacum with you in your suitcase when on holidays and compress your clothes back down when returning home. While Dyson handhelds have gotten fairly small, I won’t be bringing one them with me on my holidays!

The inflating feature is just as easy to use. One of the accessories included is a needle for pumping up balls. I tried it out on a few balls that were lying around the house and it worked without issue. Obviously, if you were to bring the Pacum with you on holidays, it would come in handy when blowing up the various inflatables for the kids.

The Pacum Bag

The Pacum Bag is 50 x 50 cm vacuum bag sized to fit in your suitcase. The claim is that you can fit 4 days worth of clothes into one bag. If you pack carefully and you are not on the larger side then you may manage it but in any case, the amount you can fit into each bag is impressive considering how little space the bag takes up when compressed.

The Pacum bag is obviously designed to work hand in hand with the Pacum. The port that you attach to the Pacum has a male part that mates with the port on the bottom of the Pacum so you don’t have to push it against the port to get a seal, like with other vacuum bags. There is also a valve in the port so when you remove the Pacum, air doesn’t rush back into the bag as you struggle to get the cap on!

The Pacum Bags can be purchased in a set of 5 for €26.

Conclusion

I have used vacuum bags for storing seasonal clothes in the attic for years. Using a vacuum cleaner to compress the bags is a tedious and often frustrating task as many modern handhelds aren’t strong enough to work well.

Masterspace have created a tiny handheld unit that works better than any setup I have tried before and I was left impressed. It is simple to use, you can bring it with you on holidays and it just works.

You can purchase the Pacum here for €54.