So you want to buy your first footbag?

[TylerTarris]

Okay, so your a beginner and you want to buy your first footbag, I can help. Now first off, good websites are,
http://www.freedomfootbags.com/
http://worldfootbag.com/
http://www.footbagshop.com/

Now some basics you need to know-
Edit: I would like to say that you without a doubt need to stay away from crocheted bags, they are big, uncontrollable, and pretty much useless, they can be used for some games like 4 square, and are just fine if your looking to "hack" but if your serious, get one of these.

First off, usually the more panels a footbag has the better, this is because of two reasons,
1. More panels=less likely to have surface holes
2. More panels=a rounder more consistant bag

Common panel counts are 4,8,12,14, and 32

Footbag Material-
ultra suede seems to be a strong, soft, and easily broken in material, you cant really go wrong with ultra suede. Avoid most types of micro suede because it will begin to fall apart. Crushed Panne seems to be sturdy and flexible and is also a good choice considering how soft it is. Facile is also a decent choice. Leather and vinyls tend to be less flexible, and very tough, making them great for net bags, but not so much for freestyle which calls for a soft, flexible, yet durable material.

Footbag Filler-
Metal- Lead, steelshot, etc. this all falls here, its got a different deader feel and adds more weight to the bag, it helps the bag sit and stay, and bounce where and when you want it to. Most modern footbags have a metal/plastic mix or just metal filler.
Pros-
Heavier
Balance out your bag
Help make it sit
Cons-
Harder on fabric
Plastic- Pellets, beads, etc. It is a lighter bouncier fill, older footbags and crocheted bags tend to be filled with this, a bag filled only with pellets usually Is harder to stall, and much more inconsistant and harder to control.
Pros-
Bouncy
Lightweight
Cons-
Harder to control
Tends to want to go wherever
Sand- This is a very dead substance, it is great for beginners, and for stalling, and keeping the bag under control, however its not very bouncy and may take some getting used too.
Pros-
Stalls easy
More consistant kick
Cons-
Less bouncy
Sand may leak out of bags
That covers most filler

Stitching-
Most quality bags will use 100% polyester upholstery thread (Extremely strong stuff) but some stitchers will use dental floss, its a preferance thing, but I personally would go for upholstery thread everytime. Your looking to buy a bag so im not going to get to much into this.

Now getting down to buisness-
Now that your educated this should help,
If your a total beginner, or want an excellent beginners bag for freestyle footbag, look at these, they are made out of durable fabric, and nobody seems to dislike these bags-
http://www.freedomfootbags.com/shop/foo ... r-sandbag/
http://www.freedomfootbags.com/shop/foo ... andmaster/
http://www.freedomfootbags.com/shop/footbags/infinity/

If your looking to step up, but dont want to go for the 30-50$ price point and wheeling and dealing with one of the many excellent stitchers here on modified, take a look at these,
http://worldfootbag.com/catalog2/show/736
http://worldfootbag.com/catalog2/show/7051
http://worldfootbag.com/catalog2/show/8621

Now when your really ready to go for an excellent quality bag, I recommend going to the for sale section here on modified and talk with a stitcher to get one made, theres plenty of excellent stitchers, if you dont want to then check these out, more well known stitchers, and you order from a trusted site,
http://www.freedomfootbags.com/shop/foo ... hire-mini/
http://www.freedomfootbags.com/shop/foo ... urtle-bag/
http://www.freedomfootbags.com/shop/foo ... -footbags/
http://www.freedomfootbags.com/shop/footbags/bear-bag/
http://www.freedomfootbags.com/shop/footbags/bear-bag/
http://www.freedomfootbags.com/shop/footbags/bear-bag/

I like the look of abshire and hania bags myself, the bag im ordering soon is a Abshire Mini A910 in mushy (prebroken in) if that helps at all. Personally im using sandmasters and enjoy them and have no problems with them, but one of these elite bags are going to be a vast improvement.

Regards to shoes-
Most people involved with footbag Swear by Laver's, you can get them here, http://worldfootbag.com/catalog2/showgroup/clothing, there are a great deal of mods you can do to these shoes to make them preform even better, and do not get me wrong, there great shoes. However, you can get by with skate shoes, but you are much better off with these. If you cant get Laver's, look for shoes that have wide flat unobstructed areas to hit and stall the bag, and flat soles. I personally use and swear by Docksider's, but may very well one day use Laver's.

I hope this helped, have a great day.

Edit: For people who just want to "hack" and want a great circle ball, or people who want a ball for kicking high, and that style of play, I recommend one of these,
http://worldfootbag.com/catalog2/show/803
http://worldfootbag.com/catalog2/show/804
http://worldfootbag.com/catalog2/show/805

I do not know much about net, so I cant really help there, sorry :'(

Note: I would also like to put that in no way what so ever is this article for people looking to just "hack" I wrote it for people serious about entering and enjoying the sport of Freestyle footbag. If your looking to hack, your skate shoes are fantastic, and your crocheted bag is just fine, go play in a circle, just do not go around on the forum telling people that Lavers blow, your the best in the world, and better then pros, and "Hacky Sacks are a toy"

[Corey]

but one of these elite bags are going to be a vast improvement

edit: You may want to check out some of your observations. Also I believe facile and ultrasuede light are the same. Docksiders are terrible. The "filler" section is so broad. There was no steel, lead, tungsten breakdown or combination or review of how they play with different degrees of fill. Also i think most stitchers use floss but that might not be true. In my opinion fourkast is a good place to buy footbags. Oh and btw surface holes are not that bad. They are easy fix unlike other problems. Microsuede is a good fabric and is actually pretty durable.

[Jiffy]

Yeah, I find this is a common problem, new people with small amounts of experience try to answer other new peoples questionsnand then u end up with multiple confused people, and actually he didn't say ultra suede light, he said ultra suede which is terrible for foot bags while facile and ultra suede light are indeed the same. And what you are thinking of is common synthetic sued not microsuede, microsuede is an amazing fabric that makes mushy bags when combined with facile. And also I would agree that most stitchers use floss but that is really more of a guess and not factual evidence. I am also fairly new so to avoid the problem stated above I will shut up now

[Alf]

I like that discussion!!!

[TylerTarris]

In all ernest, I was just posting up things ive learned through my research, etc. and I was hoping that what was wrong, someone would point out, so I can fix it, and it would eventually be a well written factual thread to help noobies, as about 2 weeks ago I would have loved to have a post like this but well written, ill research more into the thread, read your suggestions, and edit it later tonight. Sorry if this is causing more of an issue that its worth.

[lotus]

freestyle footbags ... www.elementalfootbags.com/html/freestyle.htm
circle kicking bags ... www.elementalfootbags.com/html/kicking.htm

player run site ... selling high quality hand-stitched footbags to players from all over the world for over 11 years ... footbags for all levels from hackers to beginner to advanced freestylers ... affordable quality bags.

i know there are respected players on this forum that will vouch for the playability and value for money of my products ... i didn't want to be left out of the equation, simply because i'm not based in the US [meaning i don't pop up on US google searches].

[brianbear]

+1 for lotus bags
the flight and the freestyler are the best models for freestyle IMO.
and i usually sell 2-stitch 32's for the cheap price of $20
the point is there ARE awesome, inexpensive bags out there. much less than the $30-$40 range.
perhaps this should be added to MC's sticky post:
http://modified.in/footbag/viewtopic.php?t=21392

[cd]

Yeah I agree with Brianbear.... and there's already a topic that addresses this question, and the info comes from a well regarded source. Matt has 10+ years of playing and has stitched over 500 top-of-the-line bags so his advice comes with high cred. The Bag Buying FAQ he wrote is clear and concise and it answers most of the questions a new player should have, including what was mentioned in this thread.

In order to minimize duplicate topics and centralize useful information, I would post additional research in a reply to that thread.

[Alf]

Sorry guys, I wasn`t making fun about someone in particular, I just loved the discussion!

but I agree with the rest!
if you want your first "real" but cheap footbag, get a elementalfootbag!!!!!