Saddle style sandbags

Looking for sandbags. There seems to be about a dozen vendors on Ebay selling the same striped saddle style sandbags. If you have owned/used them I would like to hear about their quality. I would fill them with steel shot so I specifically want to know about the strength of the fabric and the seams. I don't need to hear about how you made some out of old blue jeans or ankle weights; I already read those threads. If there are other reasonably priced, more durable alternatives in saddle-type bags, I would appreciate a link. Thanks

Bob

Yes, Bob, got 'em and use 'em. Mine are the usual yellow/black bumble-bee style with a white "PBL" logo screened on them in one corner. Double zips on each side but not double thickness pockets, the inner zip is on an inserted flap stitched just below the outer zip. Hence double-zipped but single pocket on each side.

So far they have proved very durable, far better than I expected for the money (as with almost everything else, they're 50% more expensive in UK compared with US - they just change the $ sign to a £ sign and think we won't notice.). One thing which I haven't seen mentioned is that in addition to the double thickness webbing handle, there is a stiffener inside the centre portion. This means that they spread the load better and don't scrunch up at the bottom of the leg. Useful feature but no-one I saw even mentioned it. I've added little velcro loops on mine round the webbing so I can wrap this round the stand centre column but you could use little carabiners instead (I just happened to have some Velcro but no krabs!).

Here's the link to what I bought - but it's in ENGLAND and I don't know where you are. They don't ship to USA from this warehouse but I'll bet they are actually HK/PRC/ROC based so you should find an equivalent for your country. http://www.ebay.co.uk …ageName=ADME:L:​OC:GB:3160

Hope this helps.

Those are the bags I was referring to. I'll go ahead and order a four pack to see how they hold up. Thanks.

Bob

I have 12 of them
All have held up fine so far

I have 5 of them. Problem is if you drag them when moving light stand outdoors they will tear but tear is small. Also little problem if you want them to wrap around center coloumn of c stand. But those nicer bags for that purpose cost lot more.

overall I am happy for what I paid.

Whortleberry wrote in post #14822493
Yes, Bob, got 'em and use 'em. Mine are the usual yellow/black bumble-bee style with a white "PBL" logo screened on them in one corner. Double zips on each side but not double thickness pockets, the inner zip is on an inserted flap stitched just below the outer zip. Hence double-zipped but single pocket on each side.

So far they have proved very durable, far better than I expected for the money (as with almost everything else, they're 50% more expensive in UK compared with US - they just change the $ sign to a £ sign and think we won't notice.). One thing which I haven't seen mentioned is that in addition to the double thickness webbing handle, there is a stiffener inside the centre portion. This means that they spread the load better and don't scrunch up at the bottom of the leg. Useful feature but no-one I saw even mentioned it. I've added little velcro loops on mine round the webbing so I can wrap this round the stand centre column but you could use little carabiners instead (I just happened to have some Velcro but no krabs!).

Here's the link to what I bought - but it's in ENGLAND and I don't know where you are. They don't ship to USA from this warehouse but I'll bet they are actually HK/PRC/ROC based so you should find an equivalent for your country. http://www.ebay.co.uk …ageName=ADME:L:​OC:GB:3160

Hope this helps.

Interesting, I've almost ordered those a few times but never pulled the trigger because I thought they were pretty pricey for an empty bag I've never found anything cheaper (other than DIY) though - do you fill them with stones or sand or do you fill them with whatever is to hand on location?

Recently bought these from ebay..$7.00 and free shipping. very heavy fabric.


http://www.ebay.com …_trksid=p3984.m​1497.l2649

SJRobbins wrote in post #14825111
Interesting, I've almost ordered those a few times but never pulled the trigger because I thought they were pretty pricey for an empty bag I've never found anything cheaper (other than DIY) though - do you fill them with stones or sand or do you fill them with whatever is to hand on location?

Yes, it's pricey for a bag full of thin air! If only we lived in the US, things'd be so much cheaper . I even went so far as to price up DIY, then remembered that domestic sewing machines (OK, OK - they're machines aka tools so it's OK for guys to use them ) do NOT like stitching through even a single layer of webbing. End of that story!

Filling? Wickes Pea Shingle at £2.40 per bag (enough for several saddle-bags). Put it in the garden riddle and hose it through first, it's not exactly clean when it arrives. On location, anything I can lay my hands on but first course of action is a couple of bottles of Tesco Spring Water at 19p per 1½ litres (there's 6½lbs straight away) - plus you've got something to combat that searing heat we aren't having this year (again). The pockets won't zip up of course, but if you're desperate for that then smaller bottles of Evian are only 6x the price. You can't get the weight though.

Without in any way wishing to offend, there's a blindingly obvious solution to that problem!!!
Actually, I haven't (yet) damaged mine; with that denier of nylon I would have thought they'd be reasonably abrasion resistant. Plus, my little Velcro loops hold the bag away from the ground (maximum application of weight).

BufordFZ1 wrote in post #14825135
Recently bought these from ebay..$7.00 and free shipping. Very heavy fabric.

$7.00 = £4.46 at current rates. Not £9.45 as we have to pay in UK.

I ordered four of the yellow/black striped bags. I will be using them exclusively on location when shooting horses so durability is important. I've actually considered having a saddle maker friend of mine make me some out of leather. I may still go that route if it looks like I am going to need extreme durability.

Bob

So that'll be horseshoes for the weight element then? I honestly can't see that durability will be any sort of problem unless you plan on filling them and using as a sort of hobble.

I purchased the one Buford is referring to on Ebay and they are heavy duty, fast shipping. HERE is the thread with other's comments on quality/shipping.

Good luck