FreeStanding Punching Bags

Payday is tomorrow and just was wondering if there are any real good deals? my living arangments cant support a hangup bag so Im thinking a freestanding one would work, is tehre any difference between normal ones and standing ones? and whats teh deal with teh standing ones that look like people?

Hey Brad! I don't know of any good deals. Hanging bags are far better than standing ones. They can be stronger, heavier, and they don't knock over and they have more force when they swing back. If you are set on getting free standing bag, do not get the one that looks like a person. My friend got one and it sucks. The irregularity of it is crap, the shoulders and head make it hard to kick/punch in different spots rapidly. Also, the rubber material that is used to make the person makes your hands/legs/feet/arms stick and it hurts your hands. In a fight, a person wouldn't be completly dry, they would be sweating. I strongly advise against you getting a person shaped one. If you get a standing one, get one that isn't too soft, has a stury base, adjustable height, and make sure the padded part can come all the way off(so you can kick the plastic to strengthen your shins). Choose wisely in what you fill it with. Sand makes a mess, and water can be a nusiance. Also, i suggest getting a red or black bag(seems to help me kick/punch harder).

good luck and good fighting

Hey man! Academy (Sports and outdoors)! They usually have really good deals on punching bags! I got a 70lbs. bag with gloves and hand raps for $80.00! You should try there! Anyways, I would suggest a punching bag! You can't really wail on a standing one!

There was a discussion comparing stand-up bags to hanging bags a while back.

My wife and I have 2 "Wavesports" from Century, and in my opinion they are okay for light punching and kicking (fitness kickboxing stuff), but they will not handle hard striking for long. (The foam will break down). While not ideal, they may be a reasonable training tool in an appartment, just understand the limitations.

A heavy bag is MUCH more durable for heavy striking - not even a close comparison.

I have seen a few metal frames designed to hold a hanging bag - that way you wouldn't have to drill a hole in your appartment. (You might be able to also make one with wood). However the structure could easily be more than the bag.

If you care to risk it, you could drill a hole into a stud or joist and use an eye hook to hang a bag. I've used a spring between the hanger and the bag to minimize the jolts going to the structure.

Good luck.

Martin

[QUOTE]Originally posted by brad262:
Payday is tomorrow and just was wondering if there are any real good deals? my living arangments cant support a hangup bag so Im thinking a freestanding one would work, is tehre any difference between normal ones and standing ones? and whats teh deal with teh standing ones that look like people?[/QUOTE]

Funny you should think to start this thread at this time, since BOB moved into my house last week. BOB XL, that is, which is the new person- shaped free standing bag (It's different than the older one in that it now goes down to about mid thigh, which I want in order to be able to work my thigh level round kick). I've never owned one, I've always had hanging heavy bags, either hanging from the roof or from a frame. I purchased the BOB as an experiment and because I REALLY don't have a choice, since a hanging bag with or without the frame is out of the question due to lack of space.
I'm not going to argue with the folks who posted against it. For one thing a week of light use (I've been busy on other stuff, like getting my old truck back on the road) really isn't enough to give an informed opinion. The one freestanding dummy in the kickboxing gym I go to has it's head held together with duct tape. That may be ominous in terms of durability, but then the 100# heavy bag in the same gym has stuffing flying out of it now when it's hit, and it's fairly new (About 1- 1 1/2 yrs.), so maybe it's the heavy use. Other freestanding bags I've used have a stability problem when you hit them hard, and I've noticed my BOB starts in the middle of my living room (See what I mean about lack of space?) and after about 15 mins. is almost up against the wall, so it DOES slide quite a bit. I'll tell you what I DO very much like about it: The ability to hit the actual target I'm trying to hit, and not, say, an imaginary "jaw" on the heavy bag, which is nothing more than an area of the bag at jaw level. Granted, an opponent moves and dodges, but then if you also work the double ended striking bag, you get pretty good at tracking a moving target. We'll see how it goes.