Best Heavy Bags

Finding the Best Heavy Bag for Your Home or Gym

Heavy bags come in many different brands, sizes, materials, and vary in quality. Here are some reviews and additional information of the best heavy bags. We hope this helps you find the most appropriate bag for you needs!

Tips for Buying a Heavy Bag

Hanging Heavy Bags versus Free Standing Heavy Bags:

Hanging heavy bags are the typical bags you will see in most gyms. The most common size is about 14 inches in diameter and 40-50 inches in height, but a wide range of sizes are available.

Most hanging heavy bags use straps or chains. Straps look cleaner and usually hold up pretty well, but there is still risk of it tearing, whereas chains are strong. This also means you will likely need a heavy bag wood beam hanger, wall bracket, or heavy bag stand, and these don’t usually come with the heavy bag. For more information on heavy bag stands and hangers, please click here.

Free-standing heavy bags are becoming more popular, and are convenient if you are tight on space or don’t have anything to hang bag on. In order to prevent the bag from moving every time you hit it, the bases are usually filled with either water or sand.

For those who are less familiar with free-standing heavy bags, click here to find a nice quick tutorial on how to hit a free-standing heavy bag.

Heavy Bag Material and Filling:

The material that is used to cover and fill the heavy bag will make a huge difference to how it feels when you hit it. Generally speaking most bags are filled with synthetic or natural fibers that is enclosed in a layer of foam, usually about an inch thick. You can also buy soft filled heavy bags that are more lightly packed and enclosed in a thick dense layer of foam (usually about 2 inches).

The covering of a heavy bag is usually leather or canvas. Leather is extremely durable and usually more resistant to tears and cracks, but companies now use high quality canvas, so really, both are good.

Size of the Heavy Bag:

The rule of thumb I always heard for buying the right size heavy bag is that it should be about half your weight. I weigh about 160-165 lbs and I find a 70 lb heavy bag to be fine. It moves around, which I like, while maintaining solid resistance. If I were maybe 20 pounds heavier I’d consider bumping up the weight.

Check out our reviews on some of the best and most popular heavy bags for home or gym. Check back soon for more info about heavy bag hangers and stands!

Click here for detailed information on the difference between heavy bags and other types of bags.

Individual Reviews:

1. Lastworld Heavy Duty Punching Bag

I know it sounds obvious, but like anything else, you should think about what you’re going to sue the product for prior to purchasing. Do you really need a high end heavy bag? Are you going to be using it a lot, learning proper techniques, and need something heavy and sturdy? If so, this probably isn’t the bag for you.

However, if you’re looking for a heavy bag to play around with in the garage, or if you want a heavy bag for kids, this could be a good option.

Not only is it cheap, but you can fill the bag with any material you like. For some this would be inconvenient, but if you want something extremely light, you can fill this heavy bag with something like plastic grocery bags.

Overall, this is great if you want something cheap and/or extremely light. If you want to train in a consistent and serious manner, consider spending more money for a higher quality and more durable heavy bag.

2. Everlast MMA Polycanvas 70lb Heavy Bag in Red

This is one of the customer favorites among the Everlast heavy bags. It’s a little more expensive than some of the others we reviewed, but the saying “you get what you pay for” often holds true.

Like most other Everlast bags, they use a blend of synthetic and natural fibers for resilient shock distribution. It’s a nice standard size and has nylon straps instead of chains, and the double end loop can allow for more customaized workouts.

Previous reviews of this product have been solid. The thing people really like about this heavy bag is the value. Any complaints I’ve seen aren’t so much to do with the bag (e.g. suggested to use proper heavy bag hanger), or that once the customer gets stronger or better punching technique they feel they can move to something heavier.

In any case, this is a great value heavy bag (follow our link for a ton of actual customer reviews). Known for durability and living up to customers’ expectations, it will be tough to find anything better at this price.

3. Century The Original Wavemaster Freestanding Punching Bag

This is a durable freestanding heavy bag that has garnered solid reviews from customers. It’s convenient for storage, has a good price point, and can be adjusted to different heights.

The main thing to watch out for is movement. This bag is known to move around the floor depending on how hard you punch it. Depending on how much space you have, that could be a good or bad thing. It is also a little louder than conventional heavy bags. Therefore, it’s not recommended if you live in a unit above someone else, or you are concerned about the movement/noise in general.

Although I’m personally not too fond of these types of bags in general, there really isn’t anything wrong with them if you don’t care about the above-noted issues.

Overall, it’s a good freestanding punching bag that is known to take punishment well and serve it’s purpose, all for a decent price.

4. Everlast PowerCore Freestanding Heavy Bag

Everlast makes some quality heavy bags, but this one falls short of expectations. Although it’s on the cheaper side, you can probably find a better heavy bag for the price.

For very light training it’s probably fine, but any intense training and the thing won’t hold up. Not everyone reports problems with it, but there’s way too many bad reviews to ignore.

The main problems: This is a low quality heavy bag that is difficult to put together, falls apart easily, sometimes has a leaky base, and moves around quite a bit.

So why include this in our “Best Punching Bags” category? As there are some other great freestanding heavy bags on the market, we feel it’s important for customers to understand that they aren’t all the same, even if they look the same.

Furthermore, Everlast is a good brand that makes some quality products. Don’t let this deter you from buying other Everlast products (this page includes some great ones), just don’t risk buying this one.

5. Ringside Leather Heavy Bag Soft Filled

This is a top rated heavy bag with a great design. The bag weighs 65-70 lbs, has a diameter of 14 inches (most common) and a height of 42 inches. Included in the shipment are chains and a swivel for attachment.

Ringside is a reliable brand in that you typically get what’s advertised. There’s no advanced capabilities and no gimmicks with this one, just a good quality heavy bag.

Don’t confuse “soft fill” with “too much give”. The inside of the outer surface is lined with high density foam, allowing for good force distribution while maintaining a realistic feel. This design is backed-up by one reviewer on Amazon.com, who says “…feels more like hitting an actual opponent versus a block of concrete”.

After a while, if you develop excellent striking technique or are simply getting stronger, it may feel a little bit light. However, this can also allow for more practice with movement and footwork.

Overall, this is a top rated heavy bag for a reason. The high quality, and therefore durable design are what can be expected from Ringside heavy bags, and with this one at this price, they don’t disappoint.

Check out these awesome videos for tips on proper heavy bag technique and workouts:

Check back soon for our reviews on heavy bag hangers, heavy bag stands, and other types of punching bags!