Customer Reviews

Century Fitness "B.O.B." Body Opponent Bag

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I'm not too big on free standing punching bags but the BOB is something special, a separate class all it's own. The rubber skin more closely emulates punching a real person than a regular heavy bag. It is comfortable to strike for long periods of time without requiring hand protection yet holds up to serious abuse from fists, feet, elbows, knees, or whatever you want to hit it with. Furthermore, the human-like shape really facilitates targeting. If you are purely a traditionalist you'll probably want a makiwara (striking post). If you're willing to embrace the best in a modern training tool, however, this mannequin bag makes a great investment. There are some really good BOB workouts in books like Loren Christensen's "Solo Training 2: The Martial Artist's Guide to Building the Core for Stronger, Faster and More Effective Grappling, Kicking and Punching." This is a fantastic training tool for any martial artist.

Bob is a great and fun way to work out. So far he seems really tough and shows no signs of wear. I filled the base with water and found that he scoots around and rotates and you have to stop your workout to reposition him. Now I am stuck with the delema of draining the water to put in sand. I recommend that you start by taking the extra time to put in sand instead of water from the start. Aside from that, this thing is really a fun way to work out. I totally disagree with the first review that no hand protection is needed. You definately should get heavy bag gloves unless you want to criple yourself. Don't plan on putting Bob in a room that is used regularly by your family. He can freak out your kids and wife as he looks pretty scary. He lasted less than a day on the main level of my house before being banished to the storage room which is now my work-out room. Think you can get away with it by putting a blanket over him? Think about it - now you have a nightmare inspiring ghost.

Update: 2 years later and Bob is on his last leg. Head is coming off and there is a tear on is jaw. I still beat on him regularly and enjoy it, but the manufacturer needs to strengthen the neck and face with thicker skin. I still give him 5 stars because I am in great shape and pack a mean punch thanks to Bob. Way more fun than a heavy bag. I will buy another when the head comes off.

I love the realistic nature of Bob, which offers a great way to practice techniques in as true to life form as possible. To-date, Bob has proven to be very good at both resistance and durability. The only reasons for going with 4 vs. 5 stars is stability. Even when Bob is full of water, he still bounces around the room too much.

As for hand protection, you'd want to use hand-wraps or gloves. Going bear hands for any significant period of time will result in a bloody Bob (your blood), so while it's a good real life training mode for every now and then, hands-wraps will get you more mileage.

Bottom line, even with it's bouncing around, Bob is a great training mate.

First off, I like and respect the folks at Century. Their products are innovative, they are always working to improve them, and they care about customer service. I bought BOB because I was tired of some of the flaws of my Wavemaster bag, and because BOB just looked like fun. He was. He offers a surprising amount of resistance, so he helps you develop your power, and he offers targets for those exotic shots: head butts (careful), throat strikes, eye gouges. But . . . I hadn't had BOB for even two years before I started to literally tear his head off. Now, I am not a young man, I am not a big man, and though I have martial arts training, I haven't put my fist through any brick walls lately. I didn't even work out with BOB every day. But I figure a couple more sessions and I will have completely decapitated him. A crack extends from his chin to the back of his neck on the right side.His noggin flops around and the stuffing flies out with every strike. I liked BOB as a training tool, but for the money, he should last longer. Caveat emptor.

I shopped around for the BOB and bought in on sale for 200 dollars at sports chalet. I'm an amateur boxer and have switched from hitting the heavy bag to BOB. In my opinion BOB gives a much better, realistic workout then the bag. You can aim for the nose, chin, jaw, temple, liver, etc. Its a lot of fun and will make you a much better striker. I'm starting to see BOB now at most boxing and Martial arts studios. Its a great product.

Ok I got this a year ago and didn't feel I could give a review until I put it through some time and use. I was looking to add to my gym 20 years hitting heavy bags 100lbs - 200lbs I wanted to add a new element to my mma training. This isn't bad but no alternative to the heavy bag you will knock this thing clear over. Don't exchange your tried and true heavy bag for this it's a nice addition though. This is best for concentrated strikes muay thai training knees, elbows etc. and taking it off the stand and doing ground and pound work. They claim 270lbs but it's very top light. I give this a 5 star anyway for the whole idea, also mixed martial arts positional striking training very useful. I wouldn't spend over 150 on this though.

We have three of these "Century BOB" bags at our Dojang and, next to sparring, working out on these is often the high point of my class. The ability to strike a realistic human form at full force is the best way to reinforce a new technique or to try out a combination for practicality.

The upper section is the human form (without arms) and is fairly realistic in size and mass of an adult male. The height is easily adjustable on the stand to simulate a range of sizes, from short to tall.

The bottom section is a hollow base that can be filled with sand (recommended) or water and weighs over 250lbs when full. It is still fairly easy to move around by tilting and rolling it.

Using the BOB (an acronym for "Body Opponent Bag") is easy once you get used to the idiosyncrasies, like it moving and rocking when hit (watch your toes under the base if doing close work), and the lack of arms, legs, or groin striking areas. We actually attach a kick shield, like Ultimate Kick Shield, to shaft (tied with a belt by the handles) and it does a great job of covering the base, allowing for knee strikes and lower kicks.

This is a great "focus" target for working on accuracy and strikes that need human anatomy to perfect (uppercuts, neck chops, headbutts, palm heal chin\nose strikes, etc), but does not replace the heavy bag for general kicking and punching workouts.

These have taken some serious beatings and have held up very well.

Highly Recommended!

CFH

I have a BOB and regularly use one in my martial arts class.

Some observations:

1. Great visual trainer
2. Fun to hit such a mean looking guy
3. Very durable. The rubber is almost indestructible. The one in our class still looks brand new even after all the pounding. The attachment to the base did break however. Bob is now stuck at the lowest height setting.
4. Reasonably stable base when filled with water. However, when Bob is raised high, it does tend to be a bit tippy.

Why only 4 stars? Bob's skin texture is rubbery and catches sometimes. When you hit, the rubber cause friction with your glove/skin. Forget even light punching without gloves. The skin on your knuckle will damage very quickly. Even with gloves, there is still more friction than with a typical bag. I find that my hands and wrist fatigue a bit quicker. Probably not great over long periods of training. I use Bob mainly for targeting specific body parts, but for the rest of my work out, I prefer a regular heavy bag or a wavemaster.

Poor Bob. He takes so much abuse. But he handles the fists, elbows, and knees like a champ. He's been a lot of fun to work with and I found the construction to be of very high quality and versatile with the ability to add water or sand to the base. If you're into martial arts, Bob is worth the money.

we liked it so much!!!!! i will gave it 100 stars!!!!! i good work out partner... release stress.... and so much fun....