Footbag Review: Mr. Sandman, Sandblaster, Abshire

[Chris Holden]

My first set of reviews includes the three footbag available on footbag.tv
http://www.footbag.tv/

Mr. Sandman: (4 panel)

A classic, inexpensive, and dependable bag, Mr. Sandman is nothing short of one of the best bags there is. For newbies or tripless shredding, it'll do what you need.

durability: average, sandmans' material can leak after around month of tough treatment. After 'death', a Mr. Sandman can be refilled with beads and extend it's life for much longer. At the price, you can't beat a Mr. Sandman.

break-in: outstanding, these bags are pretty much ready to go when you get them. Once the cloth has lost its shine, these bags are perfect.

stalling: great, mr. sandman is probably the best stalling bag there is. Outstanding flow style bag

setting: Can stick in the toe box resulting in a less than straight up set. Not the best choice for technical shred.

kicking: more of a stalling than kicking bag, very quiet and soft shredding: is it enjoyable to shred?

weight: may be a light for some peoples' taste.

Pros: Quick break-in, stalls like a dream, roll-off is not a problem, outstanding beginner bag

Cons: Can be too sticky, material can be easily damaged, some become more oval shape once broken in (aesthetic issue, does not effect game)

http://www.planetquake.com/shattered/im ... andman.jpg





Sandblaster: (8 panel)

Very much the same as the Mr. Sandman bag, only a little bigger yet feels slightly lighter. The main difference is the sand used is not treated in the same way as Mr. Sandman. This means the bag will leak a lot more sand when new. This makes the sandblaster less durable than Mr. Sandman, though break-ins can be faster. By design, the shape can be a bit boxy, this is purely aesthetic.

Pros: good stalls, beginner bag, fast break in.

Cons: leaks sand a lot, toe box sticky, material is easily damaged, shape can be odd.

http://www.planetquake.com/shattered/im ... laster.jpg




Abshire: 32 panel
We got our hands on three abshire bags after hearing good things. These look and feel like any good, 32 panel bead bag.

durability: ok, all three bags blew a stitch before they were ever broken in

break-in: poor, all test bags (3) blew a stitch during break-in, while too rolly to kick. After a couple of months of trying to break in, these bags still suffer from roll-off. Abshire bags require a bit more dedication to break-in.

stalling: it's not Mr.Sandman, and roll-off may be an issue for beginners. Once used to this bag, it can improve one's stalling ability.

setting: crispy, snappy, sets straight-up and is outstanding

kicking: great kicking bag, has that nice snappy sound

shredding: roll-off can be an issue, but great for sets. Technical style is outstanding with this bag.

weight: slightly lighter than I prefer, but this is easily forgettable mid-string.

Pros: technical shredding, increased difficulty can improve one's game.

Cons: break-in, price

At a price of $30 a bag, Abshire bags can be frustraighting at first, but after break-in, it's a very enjoyable bag.

No pic yet, you can find one in the footbags section of footbag.tv


In conclusion, all of these bags are great. You shouldn't have any problems hitting whatever tricks you want. If you don't know what bag to get and are looking at these reviews to figure out what you're looking for, that's great, but I suggest you check them all out and find out what really best for you. And don't get stuck on a particular brand, if you see something new, weird or fascinating, give it a shot! You never know what bag is going to turn out to be the right one for you!

Like my reviews or not, we can all agree, that freestylers should NEVER use crotched bags:

http://www.planetquake.com/shattered/im ... lebags.jpg


More reviews coming soon! Including the mysterious, powerful ovetin bag!

[sand]

sick dude, thanks for doing this

[Fu Xi]

i hate crocheted bags

they give me nightmares

but REAL nice job on that. very informative

[Chris Holden]

When people buy me the gift of footbags, it's always a crotched bag, thats why I have this huge stack of completely unused ones! lol I thought it'd make sense to have a pic there, so people would know, these are useless.

[-solid-]

More reviews coming soon! Including the mysterious, powerful ovetin bag!

aka Nate Bag

well once my bags are complete ill send one toe review

[Tsiangkun]

Abshire: 32 panel
all three bags blew a stitch before they were ever broken in

I would hazard a guess, and say that this is user error more than a function of the stitcher. I have broken in over 25 of these and never blew a stitch. JC has used over a dozen and never broke a stitch, Thomas has had 8 and never broken a stitch, Damon has used over 15 and only broke on stitch. So just between my friends we have over 50 bags, and 1 broken stitch, about a 2% failure rate . . . MUCH MUCH lower than your 100% failure rate. Assuming this is closer to the real failure rate, since it is based on more bags, with genuine use . . . the chances of recieving 3 duds in a row is less than 1/100000. It could have happened, but If you broke three stitches on three different bags trying to do a review, and failed at getting even one of them broken in, perhaps you should examine your bag breaking in technique, I suspect it is harsh. I would be pissed if I spent 90 bucks and bags and broke them all before they broke-in.

[QuantumBalance]

i agree, i have blown pannels and stiches in abshires, and it was purly due to improper technique, nice reviews tho

[Chris Holden]

Not harsh at all, same tech used on all bags, each was in the hands of 3 different people who have yet to have this issue with any other bags. When 3 different bags of 3 different people come apart, that's something I'm forced to bring up in the review. Keep in mind, we could have just gotten a bag shipment of abshires.
The main point is, for example, some kid gets his his parents to spent $30 on a footbag, and then it just busts open. People need to be aware that these things can happen. To me, it's not a big deal, I'm used it to. If my bag comes apart, I fix it right up. The unbiased view of the reviewer forces me to look at each bag and explain it in the view of the experienced and inexperienced. Little Johnny Underaged has no clue what to do when his bag falls apart, so they need to know what's going to happen. I am also going to make a post about the basics of fixing up a hole in your bag, to go along side these. As for the rate of stitching coming out, from the words of 15 years experienced Daryl Genz, almost all 32 panel bags he's had blew stitches.

[RRendsvig]

Very nice Mr. Holden but a couple of things:

- Size, once broken in.
- Refill-ability, Carol vs. Mr. Sandman

yeah, that's it!

[Chris Holden]

A quick update:
Sandbags, Mr. Sandman and Sandblaster, may lead to weak clippers. If one is completely used to shredding this type of bag, they may get a lot of problems with roll-off using standard bead bags. Sand bags as so easily stalled that clippers can be at past a 45 degree angle and still get a solid stall. Based on this, I suggest that once anyone who is using a sand filled bag begins upgrading thier shred to stepping moves, they upgrade to a bead bag (Abshire).

In our circle, we almost exclusively shred Abshire bags right now. Previously, because of our close ties with Daryl (lives down the street), we'd always shred a Mr. Sandbag. We've learned to keep the clipper strong, stick with a bead bag that has a slight tendancy to roll a bit. This forces stronger stalling for more concistant game. To continue my discussion of the abshire bag: it's awesome.

If a bag rolls off your foot, it's your fault, not the bag.

Coming soon: Carol bag, Lon-Irish, Mirken, Wilson.

I can already say, there is something about that Lon-Irish bag I really like, it feels so well crafted and such a high level of control to it. VERY professionally constructed bag, and a good price.

[Adreniline]

I think every photo of a footbag should be pictured next to a golf ball so people can see what the size of it is.

[Guest]

[quote="Chris Holden"]Coming soon: Carol bag, Lon-Irish, Mirken, Wilson.
quote] Mine too right.

[-solid-]

yeah Nates bag and when will the Jaybag gonna be reviewed ?

[kevin]

I agree. It all depends on how you break it in. You might have been to rough with it. Were you toe scraping it? Or using your toe to drag it onto your other toe? If you were toe scraping an Abshire, for shame. Me and johnny thought it was alright to use your toe to drag it onto your other toe, but it still causes the fabric to get small holes(with a Lon-Irish 32), So we immediately stopped. Just massage the bag with your fingers and kick it to break it in. Anyway, nice descriptions and pros and cons of all of the freedom footbags.

[richardabshire]

I would advise anyone who is reviewing footbags to list their qualifications first. That way someone who truly doesn't know what their talking about can be discounted. If your not at the professional level, then you should train more, instead of leading people the wrong direction. As for the stitcher out there selling bags. ROCK ON. One thing, if your quality doesn't match or exceed the top stitchers, then keep them off the market until you have it perfect and can explain from your own experience how your bag is made. Stitching secrets are the only thing dividing the ranks.

[Flippy]

yeah go richie. but the faqs were pretty helpful.

[LameR]

Good reviews, agree on almost all things. I'm planning on using these as future reference (along with other reviews) for people in my club.

[The~Grim]

definately gunna have to get me an abshire

[christof]

when will the Jaybag gonna be reviewed ?

i have a jay(look at my pic) and would like to hear what others think of it

[FlexThis]