Our Top Five Choices:
- Title Synthetic Heavy Bag (rated Best Value for money)
- Ringside Leather Heavy Bag
- Title Leather Professional Choice Heavy Bag (rated Premium Choice)
- Ringside Powerhide Heavy Bag
- Contender Sports Leather Heavy Bag (rated Overall favourite)
A pre-filled heavy bag is an important piece of equipment whether you are training for boxing, fitness or any striking martial arts. There are plenty of heavy bags out there but only few can be ranked among the best 100lbs+ heavy bags for boxing.
This is our top five recommended pre-filled heavy bags. They are all good quality and suitable for a high standard of continuous training.
How to Choose a Heavy Bag
It can be a big decision to select a heavy bag especially when you consider the weight and that you are probably going to be using it for the next few years. The following tips should help you choose the best heavy bag possible:
Know your Measurements
Before you choose a 100lbs+ heavy bag for boxing, you need to choose one that fits your measurements. The general rule of thumb is that you should take your weight and divide into two then round it off to the nearest multiple of ten.
Therefore, 100lbs+ heavy bags are popular with boxing cruiserweights and heavyweights. However, they are still very practical if you are confident in your striking. A 100+ bag provides a really good work out.
Knowing your measurements will help to ensure that the heavy bag works well for you once it is hung. If it happens to be short for example, you may not get the most out of the heavy bag than if it were long enough for you. It is also important to consider its intended use. If you are planning on kicking it as well you will want a longer one so that you can practice low kicks as well as high kicks.
Material
The material used in a heavy bag is crucial especially considering how much damage the bag is likely to incur. The material will affect the price of the heavy bag you choose.
If you are buying a 100lbs+ heavy bag, then leather is the ultimate material. It can be expensive but it is not your only choice.
Synthetic leather is still a popular choice for heavy bag material. It is cheaper than real leather and is not as tough as real leather but it does get the job done. It is often suitable for a first heavy bag purchase.
Canvas is a much less expensive material by comparison. Bags made with this material will be the cheapest of the bunch. Most canvas bags are unfilled which adds to their affordability but they are not always the most reliable for continuous striking over a long period of time.
You can find heavy bags made of plastic but they are mostly for intended to be filled with water. Although they are made with thick plastic they are not our recommended choice. If they get a puncture they are useless and you could have a significant mess to clean up.
Shape
100lbs+ heavy bags come in a variety of shapes. The most common one, of course, is the standard uniform heavy bag that is about 4 or 5 feet long. However, even these can differ in their circumference.
This review is of our top five recommended heavy bags that are ideal for punching and kicking.
Yet there are other styles of bags available on the market:
- There is the banana heavy bag which is like a standard heavy bag but slightly thinner and longer. These are often used for kickboxing or Muay Thai training. If you are interested in this type of bag see our recommendations article: Best Heavy Bags for Muay Thai/Kickboxing
- There is the teardrop heavy bag which is shaped exactly as the name suggests, like a tear drop.
- There are two types of angled heavy bags: single angled and double angled.
- There is even a large maize bag that looks like a teardrop bag but is narrower and smaller. They are called maize bags because they are filled with maize and will respond differently than other bags when hit.
- There is also the wrecking ball heavy bag which looks like a wrecking ball. However, these tend to be smaller than heavy bags.
Striking Experience
Heavy bags can be used by all boxers. However, your level of experience and what you want will significantly affect the type of heavy bag that is perfect for them.
If you are a beginner or a smaller framed individuals you may not have the technique and power for a heavy 100lbs + heavy bag. Therefore, a lighter bag is probably more suitable to start with.
But if you want to purchase a bag that you can grow into and hit for the next several years or longer than a heavy bag can work. An intermediate boxer can also use a 100lb heavy bag to develop their power and to harden their bones.
Consider where the bag will be located
Punching bags take up a substantial amount of space. Therefore, the punching bag you select will have to suit the space where you will be placing it.
Since you will most likely be hanging the heavy bag, you will need to buy one that is able to hang from the roof of the space where you will put it and leave enough space underneath for moderate movement.
Also, if you have to hang the bag outside, its size and material, due to exposure to the elements, will require consideration. With limited space, you may not be able to buy a 100lbs+ heavy bag and will be forced to choose an alternative such as a free-standing bag.
Where you place the bag will also affect the material with which the bag is filled. You probably do not want sand or water inside your house where it could leak onto your carpet.
Our Top Five Choices:
- Title Synthetic Heavy Bag (rated Best Value for money)
- Ringside Leather Heavy Bag
- Title Leather Professional Choice Heavy Bag (rated Premium Choice)
- Ringside Powerhide Heavy Bag
- Contender Sports Leather Heavy Bag (rated Overall favourite)
Product Reviews
Title Synthetic Leather Heavy Bag
Title’s Boxing Synthetic Leather Heavy Bag is an economical heavy bag with durability and resiliency. This bag comes in 100lbs and 150lbs.
The dimensions are 14” × 42”. This is not ideal if you want to practice low kicks but great for everything else.
Title Boxing Synthetic Leather Heavy Bag has a 2-inch poly rubber liner which is more than sufficient padding needed for your protection. We like that it ensures an even punching surface from the top to the bottom of the bag.
The D ring on the bottom is useful for controlling the swing of the bag.
There is the potential to harm your knuckles if you consistently punch the sewn Title Boxing patch that protrudes on either side of the bag. This should not be much of an issue with a good pair of heavy bag gloves but we thought it was worth mentioning.
Title has done a decent job with the Title Boxing Synthetic Leather Heavy Bag. The quality and durability is good for a synthetic leather bag. The bag feels light for a 100lb bag. The interior liner and filling help to ensure the weight is uniformly distributed.
You will certainly feel its toughness even when wearing gloves. Other feedback has suggested that it does not harden after a few months of hitting which is comforting to know.
We think this heavy bag is good value for the money. This is why we have included it our top five heavy bags to recommend.
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Ringside bags have been used by professional and serious amateur strikers for a long time. This is a well-established brand so you pretty much know what you are getting.
This leather heavy bag is comes in 4 sizes: 100lbs, 130lbs, 150lbs and 200lbs. Regular training sessions with the larger sizes will certainly develop the arms and upper body.
Title has provided a useful option. The 200lbs bag comes with a weight of 140lbs. It has an internal plastic cylinder that you can fill to a desired weight up to 200lbs. The bonus is saving money on shipping.
The bags are filled with a soft textile filling which helps avoid injuring your hands with
The Ringside Soft Filled Heavy Bag dimensions are 16” × 48”.
A heavy bag is meant to improve your striking power and strength. But it should do so without hurting your hands. This bag uses soft textile filling makes really hard punches more comfortable. There is not the pain that you get with some heavy bags.
The only downside to the Ringside Soft Filled Heavy Bag is that, like many heavy bags, it hardens at the bottom with consistent hitting. This is more likely to happen with the 200lbs bag with sand is added to increase its weight.
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Title Leather Professional Choice Heavy Bag
This Title heavy bag is a great choice for serious amateurs and professionals alike. Title claims that this bag is fitted and stuffed by experts. They may well be telling the truth.
This bag comes in 70lbs, 100lbs and 150lbs.
The dimensions of the 70lbs and 100lbs bags are 14” × 42” and for the 150lbs bag they are 14” x 48”. The smaller size is not ideal if you want to practice low kicks.
The bag has a foam liner inside a thick cowhide leather exterior. This would be an impressive bag to hang in any training facility or home gym. It really is beautiful.
This heavy bag comes with mounting bracket equipment, heavy-duty chain and swivel for hanging from the top. It also has a D-ring at the bottom to control the swing of the bag.
The Title Boxing Leather Professional Choice Heavy Bag is pricey compared to synthetic bags. But if you are prepared to spend the money then you will be rewarded with a bag that gives a great workout. You can also expect to get a lot more use out of this bag before you need to replace it.
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Ringside’s 100-pound Powerhide Heavy Bag is a boxing gym favorite. It is a really nice, well-shaped, heavy bag made from a good quality synthetic leather.
The dimensions are 14” × 42”. This is not ideal if you want to practice low kicks but a good size for everything else.
Firstly, we really like that Ringside is confident enough to provide a ten-year warranty. They seemed to have hedged their bets with some really good stitching of the seams. Feel free to pound the daylights out of this bag as often as you want.
This heavy bag has a 2-inch foam liner that is very soft and provides a soft hitting surface. The soft fill helps avoid sore knuckles or strained muscles so that you can hit it longer for a better workout. It is always much nicer to hit something that feels more like an opponent than a brick wall. However, it is still a firm bag and only suitable for use with gloves.
The bag is made of strong leather straps that are held together by cross stitching and metal rivets. This seems to work well and looks good with the hanging chain.
It also has a D-ring at the bottom to control the swing of the bag.
The one drawback is the bag’s Powerhide exterior can be slippery. This is not a problem for well targeted strikes, but if you get tired and your aim is off you will find your punches glancing off the bag.
You can also purchase this bag unfilled.
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Contender Sports Leather Heavy Bag
The Contender Fight Sports Leather Boxing Punching Heavy Bag (Filled) measures 14″ by 42″ for the 70- and 100-pound versions and 16″ by 48″ for the 150-pound version. It has a strong leather exterior and dense foam paddings.
We really like the color design and logos which is much nicer than the usual all black heavy bags.
This is a heavy bag that feels like it is made to withstand continuous pounding. The leather bag is a tad hard to start but will soften to a good feel once it is broken in. The foam lining inside feels just right.
This is a good looking bag and by all accounts it lives up to expectations. We think this is the bag you are most likely to buy again once you have spent several years adequately wearing the first one out.
The chains and swivel are really sturdy as is the stitching that holds it all together.
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Conclusion
After reviewing the available pre-filled heavy bags we stand by these five as our top recommendations. These bags will provide a great workout and last a long time.
You will need to decide whether you would like to pay more for a good leather bag. Personally, we think leather is worth the extra cost. Saying that, the synthetic bags that we have recommended are still good quality and value for money.