I think the bubble bags are totally worth it, even for small amounts.
The 5 gallon ones are fairly cheap and work great. A friend of mine has the 35 gallon ones and they fucking rock, but he also processes alot more than I do and I can't see spending that much money on them just yet.
Go for the 8 bag set if you can, the 3 bag ones are a rip off I think. You don't need an expensive mixer just use a cheap electric kitchen mixer. I bought mine for like $15 - and you don't really need a press, just roll it out super thin while it is still wet in between some parchement paper with a rolling pin, then after it dries I like to fold the thin sheets up into hash cubes.