Ask Lemmy

I don't think the zip-lock got stronger, I think the bags got thinner and weaker. But either way, they do tear more than they used to.

There is actually a trick to open them. Just slide the two halfs of the zip along each other and (between your fingers) the ends will pop open. This is a trick I use in my retail job almost every day.

Hope I explained that well enough.

The greatest lie ever told is "pull here to open".

I sometimes get fresh tortillas from the grocery store bakery, and the bags they use are the absolute worst. The zip-locks are fine, but the plastic the bag is made of is so thin that it can't withstand the pressure needed to open the zipper, inevitably tearing the bag open and defeating the entire purpose of the zip-lock.

I've noticed this on zip top food packaging; it's as if the zipper is a separate piece of plastic that is very weakly glued to the bag itself and it doesn't extend to the outer lips where you pull it open, so you end up separating one side of the bag from the zipper.

Yeah I keep buying bags of cheese where the zip just rips off the bag when I pull the zip open. Really annoying.

Ziploc, the OG name brand, seems about the same as ever. The trouble is in thousands of knockoffs for niche uses. They haven't benefited from decades of tweaking the design to be strong enough, but not too strong, and easy to get back together.

Legal weed bags are the worst.

I only notice this with weed baggies from legal weed. Not only is it not an official Zip-Lock™ system, they're made specifically to be hard to open as a child safety feature. But it's too good at that, being difficult for an adult to open too.

Most others are so weak, they never actually snap shut properly or they're just incredibly thin and tear right off the bag when you try to open it.

I switched to the store brand. Ziplock name brand bags got too hard to open.

You r still in tha matrix neo

Yeah this is just noticeable because most products weren't even resealable, they just expected you to seal em yourself with a clip, twist em, put em in a container, etc.

Now they are adding cheap resealable zips to the bag, which is nice in theory but the bag material has to be strong enough to support it.

Actual ziplock baggies themselves are made of thick plastic that can take a bit of abuse.

But cheap paper plastic hybrid materials a chip bag us made of can't handle that sort of load, so it becomes the fail point.

I've noticed a lot of Zip-Lock bags i use at home tear at the seams sometimes, and the resealable bags from store bought food generally just sucks. Some bags of cheese or "deli meat" bags have a hard time resealing properly, and i find i have to keep opening and resealing before i feel every part of it snap together.

But honestly it all just generates more trash to toss out.

It's part of inflation - in this case the cost may stay the same (or even go up a bit) but you receive a cheaper product in return for that similar cost than the past.

The important thing is that people will continue to purchase the product regardless, not knowing any better, and thus the manufacturer pockets the profits. Always remember that the goal of any corporation is to produce short-term value for its shareholders, and... no, that's it, period.

I rage nearly every day when a bag either rips beside the seal, or has such garbage perforations that you have to use scissors on it regardless of their presence.

I exclusively use Hefty brand (because they have the best zippers) freezer bags (because the bags are stronger). I'd suggest trying those.

Are you using the name brand bags? Ziploc is one of the few products where buying the actual name brand makes a big difference.

I buy thick reusable and washable ziploc-like bags like these instead.

I still have a couple of disposable ones in case I need to give it to someone and don't expect to get it back.

The stretchy blue ones they make now are awesome. Unfortunately awesome, I buy them sometimes now after years of avoiding them and just reusing whatever bags. The ones that cheese slices come in do seem to have ziplock that is too strong/tight for the bag, I agree. Whether it's a function of the zipper changing or bags using less plastic, I don't know.