Glad ForceFlex is the best all-around bag in this comparison. It ties Amazon
Basics for the strongest drawstring at 56 lb, holds 65 lb of soft weight,
stayed completely dry under 20 lb of water, punctures at 420 g, tears at
642 g, and is one of only three bags that never let go of the can rim — it
stretched to the bottom of the can at 54 lb instead. Its one soft spot is
loose metal, where it blew out at 50 lb, and even there it rates a B+
against the rest of the field. At 28 cents a bag it is not the cheapest
plastic here, but nothing else combines a strong drawstring, a real seal, and
a rim grip the way it does.
Kirkland and HDX are the two to reach for if the Glad ForceFlex is not on the
shelf. Kirkland costs 16 cents a bag, leaked nothing, punctured at 468 g
through the body and 734 g through its thicker top, and was the first bag to
survive the 74 lb railroad steel lift outright. HDX runs 24 cents a bag and
finished within a pound or two of Kirkland nearly everywhere: 47 lb of
drawstring strength, 39 lb of rim grip, 402 g of puncture resistance, and
71 lb on the seam test. Amazon Basics is the quiet bargain at the same 16
cents as Kirkland, with the best rim grip in the group at 74 lb and 822 g of
tear resistance, held back only by a very small leak in its bottom seam.
For heavy or sharp loads nothing here touches Ox Plastics: 1,586 g of tear
resistance, all 70 lb of nuts and bolts lifted and then bounced off the bottom
of the can, 70 lb on the seam test, and no leak at all. It has no drawstring
and will not hold the can rim, so it belongs on a shop or garage can rather
than a kitchen one. At the other end, Tuff Bros is the trap — $5 buys 13 bags,
which works out to 38 cents each for plastic that punctures at 8 g, tears at
24 g, and gave out at 7 lb of nuts and bolts. Steelcoat and Full Circle are
also worth avoiding under load, with seams that tore at 35 and 19 lb, and
Glad Max is a genuinely strong bag undercut by leaks from both sides of its
seam and a 25 lb rim grip that repeated across two samples.