Customer Reviews

Century BOB XL with Base Unit

5 star:		(33)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I use my Bob XL as part of my cardio fitness routine. It's very easy to raise your heart rate with fast punches and combos to poor old Bob.
Mine is located in the garage and is filled with sand and then when i couldn't fit any more sand in i topped off with water. Took a good 2 hours to fill with sand due to the small fill cap, would have been easier if i had had dry, free flowing sand.
It is extremely heavy, i can barely push it along the floor so i wouldn't recommend it if you need to regularly move it out of the way.
I weigh 215 lbs, can bench 315lbs and I can't get it to budge with hard punches. It sits on a concrete floor, may be different on a polished wood surface.
I recommend this model over the standard Bob, it's heavier and has more target areas to hit.
I would advise wearing bag mitts when hitting Bob with any force, especially due to the moulding of the face it is easy to bruise knuckles.
If you are into martial arts/boxing then nothing can replace a decent heavy punch bag for developing punch power but for average hitters like myself or for those who need a quality fitness workout then the Bob Xl comes highly recommended!

I searched the Internet for weeks looking for a freestanding punch bag, I wanted a human shaped bag because it allowed me to practice strikes to vital areas of the body, one of my friends has a human shaped bag made of hard plastic which hurts a lot when you punch it and I was a little worried this bag would be the same.

I checked out some You Tube clips of the Bob bag and it looked really good so I made a purchase, the Bob bag arrived in 4 days. The Bob bag is very broad like a heavyweight boxer, much wider than I expected, when you stand face to face with Bob psychologically because of its size, build and angry face it feels more like you are going into a fight with someone way more powerful than you, which I guess at 6 feet and 300 pounds with no fat would be true.

Bobs skin is really weird, it does not feel like rubber but feels very similar to human flesh, it's soft like ballistics gel but flexes like rubber,it doesn't have the horrible dirty rubber smell, Bobs muscles are also really weird, I thought from the photos they were just little indentations but its a full mold with the muscle sticking out very realistically like someone had just painted a bodybuilder pink. When my dog first saw Bob he thought it was real person, starting barking at it and biting its torso,so he wasn't the only dummy in the room but once he got a sniff he knew it was real.

Bob was comfortable enough for me to punch without the gloves and I am not a boxer. I adjusted Bob to the full 6 feet in height and one thing that I thought was great is that the dummy doesn't rattle as the torso fits perfectly into the stand.

The gloves that came with bob had gel filled knuckles; they look cheap but are very comfortable and allow your hands to breath in long work outs.

The first time I stood bob up I just had to lay into him, I struck his nose which moves with the strike, and it doesn't chip or warp, when you punch him in the stomach you can feel the strike be absorbed by the surrounding material, its exactly like the density and feel of striking a real torso and doesn't have any nasty screws or hard pieces inside to break your hand.

I gave Bob an uppercut to his chin, I expected his head to fly backwards but it moves back only slightly, just like it does on a real person. I decided to then choke him with a rear naked choke, by then I was just having so much fun strangling him I just started laughing at the way his head bends.

Kicks to Bob were easy, the base doesn't get in the way so you don't get caught when you move in close, so if you like kicking you're in luck, the fact that bob has no legs wasn't a problem at all if you're really picky about it you can just wrap the base with pillows.

The XL bob comes with the groin; it's just a pair of shorts not a separate attachment, not that type of doll. The Groin area is great for practicing knee kicks, useful if someone strong grabs you.

I read that Bob tends to tip over when you punch him, this is generally because some people shove when they punch, anyway I filled my Bob with rocks and placed a rubber bath mat under the stand this way Bob is really heavy and doesn't mark the floor. I can punch Bob, choke him and even try and take him down to the ground.

Because of Bobs light colour he gets dirty, it's not a problem because of his smooth surface dirt doesn't stick well to him, washing him with a cloth and water does the trick every time.

I am really glad I purchased Bob. Overall really great fun, a weird item in a good way, I had a good laugh with this. I tend to be really picky about things but this is one of those products that you buy and recommend to everyone.

I own two of these BOB's (Body Opponent Bag) one BOB & one BOB XL. They are great to practice striking specific areas of the body at full power and speed. BOB is a great addition to the heavy bag or better yet Muay Thai bag that every martial artist should own and practice techniques against.

The BOB XL allows strikes to the upper leg area with kicks, knees and batons for police academy recruit training. The only limit is working the body all the way around 360 degrees, you can not work the rear body, but can work the rear of the head for chokes and strikes.

I have enjoyed the BobXL. It allows you to focus on 'features' that are not on a normal punching bag,ex; uppercut training is there without the need to buy an extra bag. Sand is heavier than the water but much harder to get into the container. All in all I have no regrets on the purchase and give it a 5 star rating. Enjoy your training.

I purchased the body opponent bag (not the XL) to provide motivation and to compare its function to my old reliable heavy bag...BOB is terrific...however, whereas the heavybag is solidly hit when struck, BOB requires a little more finesse...the head gives easily and does not provide the resistance of a heavy bag...but this is good! Additionally, there is at least one DVD available which provides other methods of attack. I find I can practice choke outs on BOB. Overall, I would highly recommend BOB as a tool to add to your boxing/self defense/exercise regimen. (This review was not based on the XL. I would prefer to have the XL, however the guy without the trunks was more affordable!)
Reviewer's boxing experience: 40 years

This Bob comes with a groin and this makes all the difference. When in a fight if your opponent is a male if you strike him hard in the groin you will weaken him greatly. Then punch him in the nose very hard, repeatedly. As a Bob, I am not offended by this product because there are evil Bobs in the world in addition to good ones like myself. Liberate your mind from victim psychology and train hard.

The BobXl is a great training partner for solo practice. I posted a picture of a green funnel to the images above. This funnel is large and can be found for $5 at your local Auto Zone and probably elsewhere. I purchased 250 lbs. of play sand from my local Lowes and the green funnel. I taped around the funnel and the BobXL post to keep the funnel in place and cut a diagonal opening into the bags of sand. The sand pours right in with a fast flow rate. Do not use the little filter that comes with the funnel.....just leave the funnel hole wide open and it is a very easy job. If you are looking for a punching partner the BOBXL from Century is the way to go. I do wonder exactly how much sand you should use to fill the base?? I have read many places on the web that says to fill it with 270 lbs. but the manual from Century Fitness says to fill the base with 230 lbs. of sand and do not use more than 230 lbs. The entire unit weighs about 270 lbs. once it is filled. Even with 230 lbs. of sand the base will hold more but I decided not to put more than Century suggested in the manual.

I like practicing with it .... what's even more fun, is I put a shirt on it to protect it from practice-knife strikes, and I keep it in the garage right next to the kitchen door .... soooooo..... everyone who comes over has to, at least once, "go into the garage and grab us a couple of beers" ... It scares the be-jesus out of them! It still scares me when I go in there to practice with it!

Overall a well designed and well made product. The torso is pretty solid for kicks and punches. The head is a little to floppy for good resistance, but is a good target for practicing precise punching. When the base is filled with water it takes a whole lot of energy to knock it over. And as a bonus it freaks people out if you put him just around a corner.

My biggest misgiving when selecting this product, other than the price, was whether or not it would hold up under heavy training and whether or not the base would be sufficient to keep it upright. The biggest problem I have had with bags over the last 15 years is that they don't hold up. The chains break, the bags rupture, the bases don't hold it down. I have broken every bag I've ever owned and a few that weren't mine. So when I went to purchase the first bag I've owned in 5 years I decided I would put price consideration aside and get something that would hold up to regular use.

I'm a big man and I have a heavy right hand. I weigh 290lbs and I hit hard. That being said I don't knock this thing over. With 250lb of sand in the base a solid body shot puts it back to about a 45 degree angle and it snaps back solid every time. This is something I could not say for any other free standing bag I've ever used. The base will walk back and to the side with series of blows but I don't see that as a bad thing as it forces me to walk up with it a bit.

The mannequin is solid and perfect for indoor use or outdoor under a roof, I don't think I would leave it out without a shelter over it though. The large body is perfect for targeted training and practicing on weak points. After a month and a half I decided to see if it held up to Kendo targeting with a solid oak bokuto and a couple weeks later it shows no sign of wear.

I recommend this wholeheartedly for any big guys out there that have been disappointed with free standing bags. It is well worth the extra cash.