Free Standing Heavy Bag Buying Guide

The free standing heavy bag has become increasingly common as mixed martial arts have become popular. These bags offer a number of benefits over a hanging heavy bag. Even boxing studios have discovered these benefits and only the boxing purists scoff when they see this type of boxing bag at a boxing school.

One of the big benefits this type of bag has over the older hanging boxing bag is the additional striking surface area. For the mixed martial arts crowd, this is critical as punches are often combined with kicks and knee strikes. A free standing bag not only accommodates to but withstands those varying attacks better than most hanging bags do.

Even a double mounted hanging bag will sway quite a bit if kicked, which is the second advantage of the standing bag. For strength and durability, a free standing heavy bag weighs a lot more. On average, standing bags filled with water weigh in at about 275 pounds, but you can replace that water with stand for even more weight. This extra weight results in a more stable bag, which is ideal for punches and kicks.

To counteract the lack of movement, the padding on these bags is designed to cushion the blow quite a bit more than a hanging bag. The feel can still be altered though. For example, fill your bag with stand (as opposed to water) to get a more firm and substantial feel. Checkout your local gym if you are unsure what filler to use because they should have both bags filled with water and sand; use your visit to try out each bag to see which results in less movement.

Another benefit of a freestanding bag is the portability. The ability to move around a freestanding bag with ease is just one reason why fitness centers, schools, and boxing centers like using these bags; they can roll in and out. When there is not enough space for a permanent mount of a hanging bag, the standing bag becomes the obvious choice.

Another benefit is the cost; you might be surprised how affordable these bags are. Because the end user simply puts water or sand into the bag, the amount of materials needed to produce each unit is dramatically lower than most of the hanging bags. The amount of labor to build one is dramatically less as well. Most of the labor of a hanging boxing bag is in the sewing of the pieces together by hand. Because of the design of most standing bags, there is much less hand sewing need.

Finally, the purchaser of a standing bag also saves on shipping. Since these boxing bags are shipped without filling, you will find the shipping costs to be a lot lower than your typical heavy bags. Many of the heavy bags have shipping limits as to where they can be shipped. Many more destinations can be reached by a standing bag.

For most people, a free standing heavy bag is a good choice and a wise investment. Between the cost, space saving design and the fact that multiple styles can use them they become increasingly popular at not only sparring centers but even gyms.