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Yard bags pile up fast during fall cleanup, and not all of them hold together long enough to reach the curb. Quality varies more than the price tags on the shelf would suggest, with some bags failing on the first haul and others holding firm through sharp sticks and wet conditions. Paper and plastic bags differ significantly in real-world durability tests, yet most buyers choose by price or brand familiarity alone.
Consumer Reports ran nine bags through strength, drag, jerk, and absorbency tests to identify the ones least likely to fail. Here are its top picks.
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Priced at 69 cents per bag in a 12-pack (starting at $6.99 for the full pack), these 30-gallon paper bags from Target $TGT +1.32%'s house brand were the strongest across all tests. Consumer Reports found they outperformed every other bag in the puncture test against sharp objects and led all entrants in the drag test, in which testers filled bags with leaves and sticks and pulled them across 25 feet of pavement. Absorbency was the lowest of all paper bags tested, a significant advantage because low absorbency keeps bags from softening and tearing in wet or rainy conditions.
