If you are in a hurry and just want to find out what the best sandbag trainer for functional training is, then I’d recommend the Brute Force Sandbags as the best one.
Sandbags are one of the most effective pieces of workout equipment that you can use for at-home workouts or add variety to what you’re doing in the gym.
Aside from taking up minimal space, and being versatile enough to use for all types of workouts and varying intensities, the best sandbag trainer has the potential to significantly enhance your strength and level of conditioning regardless of your fitness level.
Here are the top sandbag trainers we’ll be reviewing:
- Brute Force Sandbags
- Synergee Adjustable Fitness Sandbag
- Rep Fitness Sandbags
- SKLZ Super Sandbag
- Garage Fit Heavy Duty Workout Sandbags
How to Choose the Best Sandbag Trainer?
In order to choose the best sandbag trainer for your particular needs, there are a few things that you may want to consider.
Price Range
Sandbag trainers can be relatively inexpensive.
However, as the quality and features increase the price tends to inflate a bit as well.
Whether you choose to invest in a heavy-duty, brand name sandbag trainer or an off-brand version will also influence the impact on your budget.
There are options for every budget in the product reviews below.
Fitness Level
Your fitness level will determine the size and type of sandbag that will be most appropriate for enhancing your workouts.
If you’re more of a beginner when it comes to this particular piece of fitness equipment, meaning you’ve never used a sandbag trainer before, then starting with a smaller sized, lighter weight bag may be the best route.
However, if you’re familiar with using this type of equipment, then you may want to opt for the larger versions that allow you to pack up to 400lbs and more into them.
Type of Sandbag Trainer
Another consideration is the type of workout you’re planning to use a sandbag trainer for.
There are multiple sizes of sandbags with different amounts of handles and various grip options.
But you can also get an extra-large sandbag trainer without handles for strongman style workouts.
What are the Advantages of the Best Sandbag Trainer?
Versatile
Sandbag trainers are a great tool for all kinds of workouts.
Whether you’re trying to put on size or increase your strength, the best sandbag trainer will facilitate different intensities and elicit a variety of adaptations depending on the type of exercise that you use it for including:
- core focused workouts
- stability training
- functional workouts
- metabolic conditioning
- strength training
- endurance
Adjustable
The best sandbag trainer will allow you to adjust your intensity based on its size and the number of filler bags you use.
Sandbag trainers typically come with 1-4 filler bags.
Each filler bag can also be filled partially or to its full capacity.
One of the most notable advantages of a sandbag trainer is that you can easily adjust the weight, which will in turn either increase or decrease the difficulty and intensity of the workout.
Things to Look for that Differentiate Sandbag Trainers
Handles
Most sandbag trainers come with about 6 handles, but some may have up to 8. The handles provide different types of grips such as:
- neutral grip
- barbell grip
- suitcase grip
- end-cap grip
Filler Bags
The amount and size of filler bags that accompany a sandbag trainer are usually in direct proportion to the size of the sandbag trainer.
You may want to look for filler bags that are well-made in order to prevent sand from leaking out of the bag during use.
Some of them are made with double Velcro closures to ensure security.
Durable Material and Construction
Some sandbag trainers are made of canvas which can be a pretty thick and durable material.
However, some of the best sandbag trainer options come in military-grade nylon Cordura which is a tough material that can withstand a lot of impact.
Nylon Cordura repels water, dries quickly and is highly resistant to rotting, fading, and abrasions or scraping.
The type of material the bag is made from will determine how long it lasts before ripping at the seams or developing holes.
Weight & Size
Sandbag trainers come in small, medium, large, and extra-large sizes. The weight will usually correspond to the size. You can find them as light as 5lbs and up to over 400lbs.
What’s the Best Way to Use a Sandbag Trainer?
Sandbag trainers are fantastic for functional workouts. Functional training encourages natural movement patterns and mimics patterns that you’d use in life.
Unlike using a fitness machine that can lock your body into a specific position and restrict your range of motion, a sandbag trainer will allow you to move with a full range of motion that’s more natural for you.
Here are some movements that you can do with a sandbag trainer:
- deadlifts
- carries
- squats
- lunges
- overhead pressing
- horizontal pressing
- pulling/dragging
- tossing
- slamming
- throwing
While sandbag trainers are often filled with sand, you can also use gravel to prevent leaking and increase the overall weight.
Generally, sandbag trainers do not come with the sand included. It is something that will have to be purchased separately.
The Best Sandbag Trainers Reviewed
Brute Force Sandbags
Brute Force Sandbags are made from 1000D military-grade nylon Cordura, with strong velcro, 100% polyester seatbelt webbing and YKK zippers for maximum durability.
These sandbag trainers also come in a bunch of colors including army green, camo, red, blue, black, pink, and coyote tan.
You can choose from a variety of sizes such as the:
- Mini Brute Force Sandbag Kit: up to 25lbs, comes with 1 filler bag
- Athlete Sandbag Kit: 25-75lbs, dimensions are 30in x 13in, comes with 2 filler bags
- StrongMan Kit: up to 125lbs, comes with 3 filler bags
- Barebone Kit: up to 125lbs, no handles with 3 filler bags
- Heavy Hitter: up to 200-400lbs, no handles with 1 main filler bag
The filler bags are sealed with double velcro closures.
You can purchase a filler mat that rolls up if you want to increase the weight without adding sand.
There are 8 handles that are flexible with soft grips.
If a variety of grips is something that you’re looking for, then this may be the best sandbag trainer for you since the Brute Force sandbag trainers are one of the few products that have this many handles.
Pros
- built to withstand a lot of abuse, holds up very well
- double sealed with strong velcro so if you do use sand it won’t leak out easily
- handles are comfortable and not too hard on the hands
Cons
- weight distribution may feel weird depending on what you fill it with
- stitching may tear quickly if you throw it on concrete a lot
Synergee Adjustable Fitness Sandbag
Synergee Adjustable Fitness Sandbags are one of the lowest-priced items on the list, which may be a good option for beginners because it’s pretty basic and less of a financial investment to start with.
This sandbag trainer only comes in one size and is fillable up to 40lbs.
It’s made with an outer shell that’s constructed from waterproof nylon Cordura, with reinforced nylon that’s been triple stitched for durability.
The 3 filler bags are also secured with triple stitching to prevent sand from leaking out. Each bag is fillable up to about 13.5lbs.
Pros
- multiple handles give you a lot of workout options
- handles and construction seem durable
- filler bags are also made well and can be used outside of the sandbag for more versatility
Cons
- difficult to pack sand into the filler bags
- filler bags don’t fit into sandbag very well if they’re full
- stitching may not be as durable as advertised
Rep Fitness Sandbags
Rep Fitness Sandbags are constructed with 1000D Cordura with triple and cross-stitched nylon thread and YKK zippers, which are supposed to be the most durable.
The filler bags are sealed with double velcro to make sure that sand doesn’t leak out while you’re tossing the sandbag around.
The Rep Fitness Sandbags all come with 6 handles that are soft so as not to create discomfort while you’re exercising with them.
Rep Fitness Sandbags come in 4 sizes:
- Small: 5-25lbs, 1 small filler bag
- Medium: 25-75lbs, 2 large filler bags
- Large: 50-125lbs, 3 large filler bags
- XL: 125-200lbs, 4 large filler bags
Pros
- customer service is great
- spacious handles
- super strong velcro keeps it from leaking or breaking open
Cons
- pulling across concrete may cause holes
- handles may start fraying quickly
- if you don’t fill all of the filler bags it may be uncomfortable to hold the sandbag
SKLZ Super Sandbag
SKLZ Super Sandbag is made with a secure zipper closure and velcro reinforcements which contribute to its durability.
It comes with 4 filler bags that are 10lbs each. The filler bags can also be taken out, filled and used as weights during workouts.
So, if you don’t want to stuff all of them into the sandbag trainer, you can use the filler bags like you would dumbbells.
They may be awkward to grasp, however, since they don’t have handles.
But this can be a good way to work on using a different grip, or switching up your workout to do something completely different and new.
This sandbag trainer is adjustable from 10-40lbs.
Its dimensions at capacity are 13in x 10in x 4in.
This is a smaller sized sandbag trainer, so if you’re 6 feet or taller then this may be too small of a bag, depending on the type of workout you choose to use it for.
This sandbag trainer also features 6 handles that are easy to grip in order to prevent blisters or discomfort throughout various workouts.
Pros
- the lighter weight allows for more versatile use
- durable and holds up well after several months of use
- the velcro is well-sewn and does a great job of keeping it from leaking
Cons
- if you overfill the filler bags they may leak and rip
- stitching on the horizontal handles may not be durable
- may not be a viable option for workouts that entail slamming the bag on a hard surface
Garage Fit Heavy Duty Workout Sandbags
Garage Fit Heavy Duty Workout Sandbags are 1 of the 2 waterproof options on this list.
The bag is coated with waterproof PU coating which contributes to its durability. The outer shell and filler bags are made with nylon Cordura and reinforced stitching.
The filler bags are double sealed with an inner liner that has strong velcro to hold them shut while withstanding tons of force.
Plus there’s a heavy zipper on the outer shell of the sandbag trainer to makes sure that the filler bags don’t fall out.
There are 7 handles which offer some of the most grips compared to the other products listed.
You can choose from size small (5-25lbs) up to extra large (125-200lbs) so this is a good option for all fitness levels.
This product is made with colors that conveniently camouflage dirt like camouflage, black, tan, orange, pink and military green.
It’s also machine washable which makes cleaning it easy and convenient.
Pros
- the filler bags can be filled more than others that only fill up to 10lbs, some of these fill up to 50lbs
- great handle positions
- inner filler bags are long and full length so they don’t shift around as much during use
Cons
- filler bags may burst without being filled to capacity
- handles aren’t comfortable
- the zipper may break after a few uses
And the Winner Is…
While all of the sandbag trainers mentioned above will definitely enhance your workouts, the Brute Force Sandbags are our pick for the best sandbag trainer because they meet all of the criteria for what to look for in this type of product.
They’re made with durable materials and constructed in a way that allows them to take a beating while getting thrown around, dragged, slammed and tossed.
These sandbag trainers are also the only products listed that come with a maximum of 8 handles and feature a soft-grip so they won’t cause discomfort like some other types of handles might.
More handles increase the versatility of the sandbag trainer because they facilitate more grip options, thereby giving you more ways to use them during workouts.
They also provide the option of using secure filler bags or weighted mats that can be rolled up to increase the weight of the sandbag.
Brute Force has the most options for size and weight, and a variety of colors to choose from.
While this brand may be a bit more expensive than others, they certainly offer a significant amount of features that you’ll want to look for when choosing the best sandbag trainer.
