Why does my footfighter suck?

david · Post by **david** » 19 Feb 2006 13:13

Dear http://www.modified.ca,

Now while I'm normally quite the pacifist, I recently picked up a FootFighter off of Christopher Miller. He bought it at some hacky gathering, and hadn't touched it at all. So I basically got a brand new footfighter.

I was actually quite happy to get one, because I heard they were pretty sick. I had played with a few bad ones, but I just thought someone broke them in wrong. Anyway, I knew they were supposed to break in fast, so I did some kicking and some hand rolling with it, making sure I was extra gentle.

So anyway, it's now like a month later and my footfighter is kinda like this little light ballon type thing that I try to hit tricks with. It doesn't really collapse, and when I kick it it feels really weird.

Now I thought maybe I should just throw a shitload of shot in it and then it will be okay, but I figured maybe other people have figured out how to make these bags good. I really haven't heard anyone dislike these, but I've played with mine and a few others and they just like, aren't good. I feel kinda stupid because they've worked for everyone but me. I have owned about a dozen 32's in my time made from the best people, and they all have pretty much come around in a month, except this one. So any advice would be helpful. Maybe I just got a dud.

MMMMMbop,

David Clavens

cd · Post by cd » 19 Feb 2006 14:14

I think that washing them is what makes the material poofy. I may be wrong, since I've never owned a Footfighter, but that is what happened to my Lesh which is supposedly made out of the same material.

Skippy! · Post by **Skippy!** » 19 Feb 2006 14:22

I washed my footfighter...it's doing pretty good. Although I don't think with my level of play that I notice as much anyway.

slapdash21 · Post by **slapdash21** » 19 Feb 2006 14:57

i bought a footfighter a month ago and put a few BBs in it right then and there. it is definitely the best bag i have ever played with (im sure not everyone would agree, but just for my personal taste). i have washed it several times (have you?) and it should feel really limp and flimsy when wet, but you're right, if you get it wet and then shake it in your hand, it puffs up a lot and i guess might be hard to play with. i dunno. seems to work really well for me wet or otherwise, perhaps you put too much shot in the bag? fabric softener could also make it even more plyable\playable.

Xain · Post by **Xain** » 19 Feb 2006 15:35

The first footfighter I got, at chilly philly 05, I fell in love with. I used it for a long time, before I broke it, and then once I learned how to stitch, I repaired it a billion times before finaly retiring it.

Now I got another one at Funtastiks, and the whole love thing hasn't happened yet. It seems to break in if I play with it in my hands a little, but everytime I come back to it it seems a little stiff again. So far the best sessions I've had with it are when I play with it while it's wet.

Wasabi · Post by **Wasabi** » 19 Feb 2006 18:27

Just by looking and feeling at the Sonic Footfighter I got from Rochester I've had a bad feeling about it ever since the event from New Year's. It's extremely poofy and plushy, and as I try to break it in it'll come back to it's poofy form again. It's a pretty good stitched 32 I have to say, but even experimenting with a variety of fillers I couldn't find a substantial item to help break and wear out the material.

Not that I want the bag to get holes or anything, but this Sonic Footfighter just won't collapse in it's design. Like Xain mentioned, I have the feeling of break-in with handrolling, but always seem to fail whenever I kick it around in the same regards as David. It's like no matter what I do it's rolly whenever I school with it.

I guess bags like these need some hand break-in in a sink full of cold/lukewarm water, but I try to stray away from this method as it might damage the bag. I don't know.

shredzilla · Post by **shredzilla** » 19 Feb 2006 18:51

I'm convinced that washing bags is good for some, but not for all. I think it depends on the material and the filler. For some bags, washing really works. It appears that for most fabrics, it stiffens the material somewhat after washing. Other adverse effects with fabric such as amaretta, are puffiness.

The funny thing is that Footfighter came sorta puffy. Which makes me wonder if humidity alone is enough to do that. (maybe even the fabric itself was stored in a humid environment before stitching) Also, I think replacing the fill may help. Dave didn't replace the fill in that Footfighter to my knowledge, and I think maybe the Footfighter fill is too light, and doesn't do a good job of softening up the material on it's own. Matt's Lesh was choice, floppy as heck, but he had replaced the fill with BBs and shot. This may have given the bag a shorter lifespan, but increased the playability dramatically.

Washing seems to work for some bags though. I played with a Lonn bag today, and Pete said he washes it if it gets dirty, and the bag seems to do just fine. Ilija and Lonn bags seem to be 'airy' by nature, and washing the bag seems to make the fabric dry out, but not puff up.

Unfortunately, when it comes to my own bags, I am still experimenting so much with fabric and gathering techniques that I can't get the best guage on whether to wash them or not. I know that my best, choicest bag has not been washed at all. I also have the advantage of just making another bag if this one got holes or something, but it hasn't yet.

It's a little off-topic, but I wanted to illustrate how washing or humid conditions could have a bad effect on bags made from amaretta like Lesh or Footfighters.

dontlikespam · Post by **dontlikespam** » 20 Feb 2006 08:51

I just got a footfighter myself and i am having the same problem. I'm thinking it's because of the size of the bag, or more specifically the panels. The panels aren't very wide, so witht he edges all being so close to each other from any given point, the bag kind of supports itself. A bigger bag would allow for more collapse, because you have more material before you hit a stitch. Like i said though i dont own any other 32 panel bags so i couldn't say with certainty that i'm correct but from examining my footfighter it seems kinda obvious to me. Maybe it will fix if it continues to stretch.

mosher · Post by **mosher** » 20 Feb 2006 09:44

David,

Did you get the facile or the traditional ammaretta one?

The facile one is insane tight and little and totally useless and it will never break in.

I think the peak in FF quality was about a year ago.. the filler is shit now.

Most of the problems arise from the fact they are using shitty rough rocks and lead shot. The rocks destroy the material FAST and they grind off lead that coats the bag making it stiff and sucky.

More frequent washings will always help (no need to debate this one Chris) to clean off the shit that is coating the inside of the bag that makes it stiff.

slapdash21 · Post by **slapdash21** » 20 Feb 2006 10:47

this is crazy stuff. i can tell myself that the filler is kinda rough, but its part of what makes it stick to my foot so well. my footfighter has no signs of holes at all, i have had it a month and a half, and washed it a dozen times. its still the best bag i have ever used.

HG · Post by HG » 20 Feb 2006 15:47

my footfighter sucks

Chim-Chim · Post by **Chim-Chim** » 20 Feb 2006 16:24

they're made in under an hour and none of them are the same size and made from cheap material and filled with 'grit'.. you all already knew this.. what do you expect?

for months modified raved about them and now everyone is complaining about them?...