How to Choose A Punching Bag? [Guide📝]

how to choose a punching bag

Whether you’re preparing for a competition, starting to practice martial arts, or just fitness boxing and decide to buy a punching bag or pear for your home, but with a question in your mind: “How do I choose a punching bag?”.

We have written detailed instructions for choosing a punching bag based on various parameters. We hope you find it useful.

Step 1 – Hanging or Standing Punching Bag?

First, you have to decide which type of punching bag you need based on the type of installation in your apartment or elsewhere. Both types have their own advantages, and it is necessary to choose the one suitable for the installation site.

We are going to take a closer look at the characteristics of both types of bags.

Hanging Punching Bag:

Sling bags, as the name suggests, are classic punching bags that hang from ceilings, wall mounts, horizontal bars via nylon (belt) loops or chains (usually included). There are also special racks on which you can hang your bags as well.

Except punching bag with stand, for all types of hanging bags require you to drill holes and install special brackets. If you already have a boxing bag installed, it will be very laborious to move it to another location. So, choose this type if you are sure it will stay in place for a long time. They have many advantages.

The first is that the bag will shake when you punch, which allows you to calculate the timing, speed and accuracy of your punches. This is a more realistic punching projectile because your opponent won’t be standing still. Second, the weight distribution is better.

Hanging boxing bag manufacturers include Everlast, Twins, Green Hill, Adidas, Title, Fairtex, Cleto Reyes and other famous punching bag brands.

For further differences and options in how to choose a punching bag in terms of weight, material, size, and training focus, we would consider a little lower.

Standalone Punching Bags:

If you don’t have space or don’t want to hang a punch bag, consider a water-filled bag or standalone bag. Standing punching bags are modern types of readymade bags in various sizes. It is attached to a standing platform filled with water or sand for greater stability.

They are easy to move from place to place especially filled with water (after pouring water). All the platforms allow you to work with your hands and feet. They can also be placed on the floor, so you can practice striking at the booth. However, they have a slightly different weight distribution.

The design wobbles when hit hard, which some people don’t like. Most of them can’t kick with full force, which will lead to a rollover. But there are also some heavy stand bags for heavy weight players.

Further in standing bags there are a lot of shapes and types. For instance if you like can read my detailed article about different types of punching bags.

Step 2 – Who Made the Punching Bag and What Did They Do?

Punching bags has number of advantages, but, you need to determine the composition of the people involved (their age) and the direction of training (this only applies to all levels of hands, arms/legs). This is an important step because the size of the punching bag will depend on it.

Punching Bags for Kids:

Children’s punching bags differ from adults only in the smaller size – up to 80cm in length and up to 30cm in diameter. Sometimes manufacturers make them softer so that they don’t hurt the bones of the wrist on impact.

Punching Bag for Classic Boxing [Hands Only]:

This is the most common version of the boxing bag, and in a relatively compact size, it allows you to practice classic boxing techniques. For adults, these are Punching bags with a length of 80 to 120 cm and a diameter of 30 to 45 cm.

This kind of punching bag can also be kicked into easily accessible places, but the bag must be of the right weight. These bags fit easily in an apartment and the weight allows you to attach to any hard surface.

Boxing Bags for Muay Thai or Kickboxing All Levels of Arms/Legs:

This is a special long boxing bag that allows you to practice punching and kicking at all levels. The bags are available in sizes from 150cm to 200cm, with a diameter of 30cm or more. Usually this bag is much heavier than the classic bag.

They can be used for punches as well as low and high kicks and knees. The disadvantage of them is that they are not usually installed in apartments due to their size and are more expensive due to the larger amount of material used. Also, maintenance of heavy bags requires careful attention to keep it in a good condition.

Step 3 – Determine the Weight of The Punching Bag:

The most common question our consultants get asked is how to choose a boxing bag weight. To be honest, there are no hard and fast rules here, but there is an unspoken rule in choosing a boxing bag by weight: it should be about half your own.

Of course, this has to be solved creatively rather than figuring out the weight of the punching bag. Allow 10-15 kg upward fluctuation and 5-10 kg downward fluctuation.

Typically, 15-25kg bags are suitable for women and children. 30-40 kg for a person weighing about 70 kg. If you are heavier, then you need to take care of a boxing bag over 50kg.

Also, in the question – how to choose a punching bag? based on weight, martial arts experience and impact issues. If you’ve been practicing for a long time and you’re punching really hard, value the punching bag because the lungs will shake too much.


There are two types of punching bags that don’t quite fit the weight selection guidelines above:

  1. A bag full of water and a boxing dummy. Their declared weight is significantly higher than the suspended weight, such as 200kg, because it includes the weight of filling the platform. However, the bag itself feels like a classic bag.
  2. Long bag for Muay Thai or kickboxing. They are much heavier than usual due to material and size, they start at 45kg. The heavier and more experienced you are, the heavier the bag you will need.

Step 4 – Choose Punching Bag Filler:

There are many types of filler materials, each with slightly different consumer characteristics. Most common: sand, water, rags, and pressed rubber crumbs. In some bags, a combination of different packaging options is available. Many manufacturers add an outer layer of extra padding, such as gel.

We won’t go into detail about the method of filling a bag, we’ll just say that the most common are options with shredded rubber, rags, or a combination of them. This padding allows you to maintain your hands while feeling resistance when hitting the ball.

Step 5 – Choose the Material of The Punching Bag:

This is one of the most important components in determining the final price of a punching bag. Most punching bags are made from several common materials, each with their own advantages and disadvantages.

These are leather, artificial leather and special fabrics. Personally, I prefer leather bags, but I’ve used all materials, so I’ll explain the difference in more detail.

Leather:

Leather is the most common choice for quality bags, it gives a natural feel and is certainly more suitable for martial arts than other materials. People who don’t like to use gloves usually prefer bags made of leather because it doesn’t hurt the knuckles like other materials.

Leather is also a more durable and stronger material. Their only downside is the price. But, don’t worry due to high competition in the combat sports industries you may find a good leather punching bag in an affordable price.

Faux Leather:

Punching bags made of this material are reminiscent of leather and are a very good choice. However, their quality is usually not up to the quality of leather. These are the most popular boxing bags due to the price-quality ratio.

Textile:

The quality of the cloth bags is generally relatively low, and you can feel it when you touch it. However, they are usually much cheaper than the first two options, which is a considerable advantage when there is not much money to buy.

The cold won’t affect this material much, so hang them outside. We recommend that you always use best quality boxing gloves when handling bags, as skin damage from a fist hitting the surface is common.

Final Verdict

I hope you will find these information to choose a punching bag that can fulfil your workout needs. However, if you still have questions you can read my other helpul reviews or learn how to make your own punching bag at home.

Have a good training!

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