Which Trash Bags Brand Wins?
In our test we compared 18 trash bags options head to head. Glad Force Flex came out on top. See the measured results, the runner-up, the budget pick, and a link to the full test video.
Glad Force Flex
Price shown in test: $34 for 20 bags or 28 each
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Kirkland and HDX
Price shown in test: $32 for 200 bags or 16 each
Affiliate link. We may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
The quick take
The short version of why each pick lands where it does, built straight from the measured results.
“the best all-around trash bag in The Showdown is the Glad Force Flex”
Best in 1 of 7 measurements, including Drawstring.
The measured results
Every number below is read straight from the test. Products are listed in the order they finished.
Bag Strength Soft Weight
- 1Glad Force Flex65 lb
- 2Kirkland56 lb
- 3HDX64 lb
- 4Ox Plastics74 lb
survived with several tears
- 5Amazon Basics57 lb
- 6Neat62 lb
- 7Hefty Ultra Strong38 lb
- 8EKO74 lb
survived
- 9Full Circle50 lb
(wrapped metal test)
- 10Commander58 lb
- 11Perk74 lb
survived
- 12Steelcoat42 lb
- 13Hippo Sak74 lb
survived
- 14Glad Force Flex Max (Glad Max)71 lb
- 15Reli48 lb
- 16T.Foring73
to 74 lb, survived without blowing out
- 17Tuff Bros
lifted 74 lb (with a tear forming) before eventually failing, exact failure weight not stated
- 18Hold On60
to 62 lb
Bag Strength Nuts Bolts
- 1Glad Force Flex50 lb
- 2Kirkland48 lb
- 3HDX55 lb
- 4Ox Plastics
lifted all the nuts and bolts and refused to blow out even after being bounced off the bottom of the trash can several times, eventually failed
- 5Amazon Basics44 lb
- 6Neat68 lb
- 7Hefty Ultra Strong52 lb
- 8EKO70 lb
almost lifted the entire load
- 9Full Circle35 lb
- 10Commander48 lb
- 11Perk53 lb
- 12Steelcoat54 lb
- 13Hippo Sak
lifted about 70 lb of nuts and bolts, gave up a little sooner than Ox Plastics
- 14Glad Force Flex Max (Glad Max)60 lb
- 15Reli32 lb
- 16T.Foring55 lb
- 17Tuff Bros7 lb
destroyed almost immediately
- 18Hold On53 lb
Leak Test
- 1Glad Force Flex
very well sealed, no leaks
- 2Kirkland
dry, no leaks
- 3HDX
nicely sealed, no leaks
- 4Ox Plastics
holding water without any leaks
- 5Amazon Basics
very small leak in the bottom seam
- 6Neat
still dry, well sealed, no water accumulation
- 7Hefty Ultra Strong
very well sealed
- 8EKO
no leaks
- 9Full Circle
no leak noticed until gently laid on concrete, then a leak appeared
- 10Commander
holding water without any visible leaks
- 11Perk
very well sealed
- 12Steelcoat
pretty bad leak on two different sides of the bag
- 13Hippo Sak
no water leaks
- 14Glad Force Flex Max (Glad Max)
leaking on both sides of the seam, still leaking after several minutes
- 15Reli
leaker, failure at the seam at the bottom of the bag, later described as a very small leak
- 16T.Foring
did not create a puddle within 5 minutes but was leaking, later described as leaking badly
- 17Tuff Bros
very small leak, later described as leaking quite a bit
- 18Hold On
very very small leak, not caught immediately
Puncture Resistance
- 1Glad Force Flex420 G
- 2Kirkland
top area 734 G (most puncture resistant of the top-of-bag tests), main area 468 G
- 3HDX
thicker top area 454 G, main area 402 G
- 4Ox Plastics312 G
- 5Amazon Basics246 G
- 6Neat264 G
- 7Hefty Ultra Strong366 G
- 8EKO312 G
- 9Full Circle352 G
- 10Commander274 G
- 11Perk118 G
last place at that point in the test
- 12Steelcoat430 G
- 13Hippo Sak310 G
- 14Glad Force Flex Max (Glad Max)504 G
took the lead over Kirkland at the time
- 15Reli126 G
- 16T.Foring162 G
- 17Tuff Bros8 G
weakest of all bags tested
- 18Hold On120 G
Grip Strength
- 1Glad Force Flex54 lb
stretched to bottom of can, one of only three bags that maintained grip and outlasted the bag
- 2Kirkland40 lb
- 3HDX39 lb
- 4Ox Plastics
not designed to grip the top of the trash can
- 5Amazon Basics
top never let go, bag stretched to bottom of can at 74 lb, one of only three bags that maintained grip and outlasted the bag
- 6Neat33 lb
fell into the can
- 7Hefty Ultra Strong35 lb
- 8EKO2 lb
gave up almost immediately
- 9Full Circle4 lb
struggled to gain a grip
- 10Commander5 lb
- 11Perk19 lb
- 12Steelcoat34 lb
- 13Hippo Sak5 lb
not designed to grip the top of the trash can
- 14Glad Force Flex Max (Glad Max)25 lb
tested twice with the same result
- 15Reli44 lb
- 16T.Foring
essentially failed immediately, fell into the can without registering on the scale
- 17Tuff Bros3 lb
- 18Hold On27 lb
Tear Resistance
- 1Glad Force Flex642 G
- 2Kirkland546 G
- 3HDX464 G
- 4Ox Plastics1,586 G
dominated this test
- 5Amazon Basics822 G
moved into the lead at the time
- 6Neat804 G
about eight times the tear resistance of Reli
- 7Hefty Ultra Strong554 G
- 8EKO720 G
- 9Full Circle442 G
- 10Commander472 G
- 11Perk484 G
- 12Steelcoat52 G
(figure as transcribed, appears possibly truncated/mangled in the auto captions)
- 13Hippo Sak330 G
- 14Glad Force Flex Max (Glad Max)876 G2nd
moved into second place
- 15Reli92 G
- 16T.Foring34 lb
(34 G) (very light duty bag)
- 17Tuff Bros24 G
- 18Hold On346 G
Seam Strength
- 1Glad Force Flex66 lb
tore along one seam
- 2Kirkland74 lb
first bag to survive the seam/railroad test without failing
- 3HDX71 lb
barely edged out Amazon Basics
- 4Ox Plastics70 lb
tore without benefit of a drawstring
- 5Amazon Basics70 lb
performed by far the best yet at that point, tore at the seam
- 6Neat53 lb
- 7Hefty Ultra Strong36 lb
seam ripped, about half the strength of Kirkland
- 8EKO50 lb
tore on one side of the seam
- 9Full Circle19 lb
very light duty
- 10Commander34 lb
tore along the seam on both sides
- 11Perk41 lb
- 12Steelcoat35 lb
both seams tore
- 13Hippo Sak56 lb
- 14Glad Force Flex Max (Glad Max)74 lb
bag itself performed very well despite a weak drawstring
- 15Reli42 lb
both sides failed at the seam
- 16T.Foring37 lb
- 17Tuff Bros32 lb
- 18Hold On64 lb
Drawstring
- 1Glad Force Flex56 lb
(tied with Amazon Basics for best)
- 2Kirkland48 lb
- 3HDX47 lb
- 4Ox Plastics
no drawstring on this bag
- 5Amazon Basics56 lb
(tied with Glad Force Flex for best)
- 6Neat23 lb
gave up very early
- 7Hefty Ultra Strong36 lb
- 8EKO34 lb
- 11Perk42 lb
- 12Steelcoat19 lb
gave up the earliest of all bags at that point
- 13Hippo Sak
not applicable, uses plastic handles instead of a drawstring; handles gave out at 60 lb
- 15Reli37 lb
- 16T.Foring
no drawstring, bag is torn away from the roll
- 17Tuff Bros
advertised as having a drawstring but the bag does not actually have one
- 18Hold On16 lb
gave up the soonest at that point
- 9Full Circlenot tested
- 10Commandernot tested
- 14Glad Force Flex Max (Glad Max)not tested
How it was tested
- drawstring strength (metal wrapped in a towel)
- bag strength with soft weight (metal wrapped in a towel)
- bag strength with nuts and bolts
- leak test with 20 lbs of water over several minutes
- puncture resistance with a 16 penny nail on a drill press, measured in grams of force
- grip strength on the top rim of a trash can using a sledgehammer ram
- tear resistance on a single layer cut section, measured in grams of force
- seam strength lifting a roughly 70 lb piece of railroad iron wrapped in a towel
“the best all-around trash bag in The Showdown is the Glad Force Flex”
