What ACTUALLY makes a good footbag?

maverick-morley · Post by **maverick-morley** » 11 Jul 2009 03:14

Apolagies if this has been covered before........

my qs is if you make a footbag by hand and you wanted it to play well, what would the person making the bag look for? so he/she knew it was decent and playable?!?!

the reason i ask is because i saw a few times an add from someone who made a bag, yet said that it wasnt playable????

surley everything is playable to a certain degree. the saying "a bad worksman always blames his tools" pops into my head.

i have no doubt that this isnt the case, so that being so what makes a good bag?

also lastly why would someone choose, say, a plastic pellet bag over a metal or sand bag for argument sake? i realize sum are faster, heavier, easier to stall etc, but what are the charactristics of these and what are they good for?

i realise this topic/qs is prob very dense one to ask, i just wanna get a better idea of what a stitcher is thinking, and wants out of a bag that he is going to make.

any info on this subject to enlighten me i would very much appreciate it!!!!

thanks all..............

Corey · Post by **Corey** » 11 Jul 2009 06:08

lead- is the preferred filler imo but some people dont like the toxicity
tungsten- is nice but it shortens the life if the bag more then lead and it is really expensive
steel- is nice for awhile but it starts to rust and shortens the bags life if you dont change it after a while

a lit of stitchers combine plastic poly pellets or seed beads to take up space in the bag. sand starts to leak through bleed holes after a while so that is not preffered but it is really all opinion

maverick-morley · Post by **maverick-morley** » 11 Jul 2009 06:48

what about plastic?

how does it differ from metal? play wise?

and what makes a bag un playable? even when its just been made?

Corey · Post by **Corey** » 11 Jul 2009 06:54

plastic is the worst from what i have heard apparently very light and not consistent but plastic polly pellets are often used i think so you can get the gather and weight you want. i have only made 2 bags though so im not that experienced

maverick-morley · Post by **maverick-morley** » 11 Jul 2009 07:13

could you do half sand, half pellet, to give the extra weight?

and stallability.

i duno if this would work im just spit balling here........ what you think that would be like?

PegLegHolly · Post by **PegLegHolly** » 11 Jul 2009 11:54

i use about 2/3 lead, 1/3 seed bead

WyrmFyre · Post by **WyrmFyre** » 12 Jul 2009 01:56

Should be an interesting topic this, it could be interesting to see what kind of "recipies" for filler people have

On topic, jsut to have my two cents worth, Ive been sewing 12 panel sacks out of... well, just about anything realy... and filling them with sand.

shredzilla · Post by **shredzilla** » 12 Jul 2009 07:10

mini- 55g of tungsten
regular- 55g of steel

maverick-morley · Post by **maverick-morley** » 12 Jul 2009 07:39

Should be an interesting topic this, it could be interesting to see what kind of "recipies" for filler people have

i agree, would be intresting to see what people concockt in the bags.

qs though, where do you get the metal filling?

i read a thread, but i think i missunderstood. where do you get it? and do you have to prep it before you can use it?

akalazou · Post by **akalazou** » 12 Jul 2009 09:39

i think the best filler is lead too.

i started making bags with BBs and plastic pellet ... they were light, too full and the filler was way to big.

then, i changed to No4 steel shots (all i could find). it was alot better than BBs but when i found No7 steel shots, i changed because No4 was smaller than BBs and heavier but it was still too big.

in Montreal Spring jam, MC brought me some lead shots (i think its No 8 - 9) and they are better than ever ... small filler, low level of filling and heavy. i dont think smaller is always better ... Hania's bag are filled with way too small filler IMO

but some people think they are the best bags ... it just depends on personnal taste.

and for the sand, when i started playing with a sand filled bag (maybe 10 years ago) and i was just a kicker, i prefered it too plastic pellet just because i thought it was easier to control. but all sand filled bags leak and are light.

so, worst to best:

plastic pellets
BBs
big steel shots
smaller steel shots
small lead shot

i dont have anything to say about tungsten. i emptied my fearless55 just because it was a rock and wanted to refill it with another filler ... still a bad bag no matther what.

so it not only the filler that makes a great bag.

Wasabi · Post by **Wasabi** » 12 Jul 2009 14:17

Fillers I like to use, rated best from top and worst at the bottom:

-Lead
-Tungsten
-Steel
-Sand
-Poly

Lead is the most versatile filler out there. It's soft, stays heavy, and won't wear out your bags from the inside out. Wash your hands after a hard session when cusping/handling the bag, because dirt and lead particulars tend to stick on the fabric.

Tungsten is great. Non-toxic and heavy like lead. Pretty expensive per pound, however. Hevi-shot is probably the best filler I've used on bags, and it's a combination of tungsten/iron/nickel compressed into shot form. It's VERY expensive, and it performs like lead in that it doesn't wear out the bag from the inside out (no rust). Tungsten/iron shot, however, does rust, and I think that's what is being provided at Freedom Footbags. It's still a step above steel. And I think tungsten shot that is without a supportive component like iron or iron/nickel is a really soft and malleable shot, like the fill that is in Abshire bags. It can get really gunky after several hard sessions for a bag with that filler.

Steel sucks. It can rust after one sweaty session, and although heavier than sand, it's still way too light than most conventional fillers. Planetfootbag steel (the filler that is used in Footfighters and Hania bags) is great though. Even though the fill is very light, it won't rust. Ever. Very useful as a supportive fill.

Sand leaks. And it's light and messy.

Poly is great for supportive filler in your mix, but sucks in any footbag by itself for freestyle.

And whatever you put in your bag is your own personal mix. Experiment, and be creative in your bag's performance. I personally like to use shot, other than steel, as the bulk fill of the bag, and add some poly pellets in for body. For steel, I just fill the bag in to however heavy I want it to be.

shredzilla · Post by **shredzilla** » 12 Jul 2009 21:36

Steel doesn't necessarily suck. Yes, it rusts, and produces a reddish color when washing, but if the bag is rocking with it, then it's a small price to pay. I agree with wayway that Tungsten is optimal, but for bigger bags I find that it just doesn't fill the bag enough, there's just too much empty space in the bag. And rather than fill it with poly, I keep it steel.

It's all preference, and when you get deeper into bagging and/or stitching, you'll come to the conclusion of what you like.

Stay away from rocks though (Too absorbent and will give your bag a dry, crunchy feel). Metal is your friend. Poly isn't too bad, but after a few years I've found that you can get what you want out of just metal, fabric and nothing else. Good luck.

mc · Post by mc » 13 Jul 2009 06:24

I find that it helps to put numbers on them.

consistent stitching, shallow bite (distance of stitches from edge of panel), medium gather, heavy fill, 60-70% fullness.

The consistency isn't even completely necessary to make a playable bag, but it helps a lot for prettiness. I've had some uuuugly bags as great shred bags, though.

maverick-morley · Post by **maverick-morley** » 18 Jul 2009 10:20

i just bought a sand bag, a phobia-butterfly! its really nice, but when i get a new one, what should i get? metal or plastic? im pretty new at the sport!

akalazou · Post by **akalazou** » 18 Jul 2009 11:15

id say, mr sandbag again ... if you like it, why would you change ... you said :"im new to the game" if you still wanna get stalls down or basic tricks, i think you should stay with it ..

shredzilla · Post by **shredzilla** » 18 Jul 2009 15:32

I'd say when you have a lot of your basics down, and are at a kickless/approaching tiltless level, go ahead and spring for a 32 panel filled with metal shot. I remember it was so weird transitioning, but once you get used to 32s they're the only way to go.

It seems so odd to me that Penske played so long with a Mr. Sandman.

Alf · Post by **Alf** » 19 Jul 2009 01:38

I think your next bag should be a metall filled one!!!

In my oppinion the best filler is different sized rustless steel shot!!!
for minis it's tungsten mixed with steelshot!!!

maverick-morley · Post by **maverick-morley** » 19 Jul 2009 11:08

mmmmmmmmmmm that hasnt helped that much, seems very drawn between the two.

ok, let me change the qs, would you recomend getting a broken in bag, or one you break in yourself?

Corey · Post by **Corey** » 19 Jul 2009 12:27

a lot of handstitched bags require no break in

but if i had to choose one i break in

Wasabi · Post by **Wasabi** » 20 Jul 2009 08:47

These are senseless questions. Get a Mr. Sandbag or one of the many great bags on this website, and start having some fun!

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What ACTUALLY makes a good footbag?

What is the best filling?

What ACTUALLY makes a good footbag?