Freestanding Heavy Bag...water or sand

[FearlessFreep]

I couldn't find a forum on gear so...I'll put this here

I picked up a free standing heavy bag for my apartment. I'm wondering of there are pros/cons in filling them with water versus sand

Thanks

 

[Kacey]

Well, I filled my class's with water - but it has to be moved periodically. If you will NEVER move it, then sand could be a good choice, but it's hard to get in and harder to get out, when compared to water. And if it ever gets wet, you may never be able to get all the sand out. Water is very dense for it's volume, and has worked well for us.

 

[tshadowchaser]

The other side of the coin is if it get a whole in it sand can be swept up and water may ruin a floor
depending on where you are both sand and water can do strange things in the winter I never want to kick or hit a frozen bag

 

[FearlessFreep]

The water/sand is only in the base, it does not fille the core of what you are striking...if that means anything...

 

[terryl965]

I have always used sand, water is just to messy and if you get a crack in them sand is easier to fix than water.
Terry

 

[tshadowchaser]

the one in my school was given to me because someone had it in their apartment and the water froze cracking the base and then unfroze and flooded the place

 

[Kacey]

Ah... that explains why people use sand. No one I know has used sand, probably because we all live in places where you couldn't leave a wavemaster outside in the winter anyway - and I've never had one crack. When I first got one for my class, there was a hose connection down the hall, but sand would have to have been brought in up a flight of stairs (no elevator) one sack at a time - which was a major consideration. Also, the room we were in at the time had carpet - carpet dries, but sand is a pain to get out of carpet pile. Now that we're in a room with a decent wood floor, I might consider changing the contents of the wavemaster... except that first we'd have to get it up the stairs to the nearest drain, and then haul the sand in through half the building (not too bad with a dolly) and then down a different flight of stairs, with a nice 180 turn in the middle of the staircase... but still, you bring up some good points about sand that I hadn't considered in that context.

 

[FearlessFreep]

I'm currently in Washington DC but the bag is for indoor use only in my apartment, but my apartment is *all* carpet so the ramification of a leak are pretty bad.

I wanted to fill it this afternoong but was uncertain of the right approach that I will read all the replies and make a decision tomorrow

 

[Ceicei]

I fill mine with water. It's heavy. I keep it indoors also. With proper care, there shouldn't expect to be any cracks in it for quite a while. If it eventually springs a leak within a few years or so, I will dry it out and fill it up with sand.

- Ceicei

 

[Sin]

I've got one of those "wave Master" bags in my room that I got for my 18th birthday. I filled it with water because my room isn't the largest and the bag sits in front of my closet. It is a must that I move it aroung, and besides as I am using it with every punch it moves, even just slightly, so I always gotta change up my moves, also it makes my pivot around it to in order to keep it out of a corner.

 

[TigerWoman]

Our school has been using the wavemasters for a long time. They have gone through several changes mostly I think because the seams crack and they leak. Well we do pound them considerably. One thing we noticed though was that if you fill them with water as we do, to roll them do not just twist the bag top. Rather put you hand on the black base and roll that with just supporting the top. This puts less torque on the black plastic frame and it hopefully won't start leaking as fast. But if you pound them down on the floor alot as we do, well....

I had a TKO one with a spring on the bottom and which had a larger base but was really hard to move either by kicking or by hand. It didn't leak except through its fill hole which I plugged with a rubber washer. They are out of business now though. But I filled in with a hose through the window or once by milk jug and funnel-slow. To unfill it use a pump and a hose to your shower drain, hopefully on the same floor otherwise you have to bucket it out as we do in the dojang. TW

 

[Brian R. VanCise]

I have never had a problem using water. The best thing about
water is that you can get the water out easier if you have to
move it.

Brian R. VanCise
www.instinctiveresponsetraining.com

 

[Gemini]

Water is definately easier, and we use it at the school because if it cracks at the seem (which has happened) it's not that big of a deal. If you're going to keep it in your apartment, I would recommend sand. Even though it probably won't crack, the consiquences are too great if it does. There goes the old security deposit and then some.

 

[FearlessFreep]

That did it....the thought of a potential leak or spill in the apartment sent me to sand.

But I only used 120lbs...will probably pick up 60 more tonight if I can

it was messy

 

[IcemanSK]

Mine is outside & I live in L.A, so freezing isn't an issue. Water is easier to get than sand, too. But if I had it indoors &/or in colder areas of the world, sand would be my choice.

 

[oceanic]

sorry to resurrect a dead thread. google brought me here.

how much sand do i need to fill in a freestanding bag? just so it doesn't move too much.

I'm not a heavy hitter, 5foot7inch, no fighting experience. Just bought the everlast pro everflex freestanding punch bag and think i should go with sand to fill it as can't risk a leak. But don't want to make it too heavy that i can't move it around in the apartment from corner to center of room.

any opinions appreciated.

also any youtube channels that could guide me through learning to use the bag. Preferably a practical martial arts style for a novice beginner.

thanks

 

[skribs]

You could have opened a new thread.

 

[JR 137]

I think the sliding around is more of a friction between the floor and base issue than a weight issue. I filled mine with six 45 lbs bags of pea gravel. On a semi-rough concrete basement floor, it still slid a good amount.

I bought one of those industrial rubber floor mats, and it hasn’t moved since. I could’ve probably gotten away with less gravel in it.

I got it for about $20 at Home Depot. It fits pretty good under my BOB XL base. It can be cut down to fit almost perfectly under the base if you’ve got heavy scissors/shears/whatever they’re called and some motivation. I’m not that motivated.

 

[hoshin1600]

It's probably easier to grab it by the top and use leverage to tip it and roll it on its bottom edge than sliding it into a corner. With that in mind the weight is less of an issue.
At one point we did have a fairly comical thread here about different types of sand and their mass / weight in relation to their geometrical shape VS water and stone.

 

[CB Jones]

Why not water and sand?

The right ratio of water and sand will give you a good weighted base with less risk of water damage if you get a crack.