Kitsie, I haven't used the Elmer's brand of glue stick. I bought a pack of cheapie sticks at Big Lots and they worked fine for a year, then dried out. I'm using some I got at Dollar Tree now, four for $1. I don't keep them in anything special. They work just fine. Maybe I'll put the ones I'm not using in a ziplock bag. I don't heat-set the glue stick when I use it, I may wait a 15 - 30 seconds, but that's about it. I love using glue sticks.
Tate