Customer Reviews

Century Wavemaster XXL Training Bag

5 star:		(46)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

If your options are limited.

There's no replacement for a high quality banana bag but if you have no place to hang one or fear knocking the beams down from the ceiling in the garage, this is a really great option.

The bag itself is relatively light & a bit softer than I'd like it to be, but when the base is filled, it definitely stands up to whatever punishment you can dish at it. There is a bit of play (maybe an inch or so) which tends to loosen the more you kick or punch. (Though a quick twist of the bag on the base will eliminate the additional movement) That being said, here is a warning for you... If you like throwing elbows, either have a partner support the bag, or get in closer than you would a typical hanging bag. Reason being, if you stand too far out when you strike, the bag will move an inch or so away from you leaving a nice streak of skin from your now friction burned elbow. Knees are somewhat similar as well but without the burn. At the standard distance, you may as well throw knees at a curtain hanging in your hallway. In order to feel the bag, you'll need to get much closer which is a big awkward standing practically flush to the base. This could be detrimental to your training so it would be wise to grab a partner & hit the Thai pads so you get a little variation.

All in all, it does everything I need it to do. It tends to move all around the mats in my garage, even when completely filled but I don't really mind. Forces me to work the bag from all angles & whack it where I want it to go. I can practice all of my standard Muay Thai drills without a partner considering the fairly large surface area. Low kicks which you'd typically do w/ a partner holding a Leg Kick Pad, punches, elbows, knees, etc... Most importantly, I cannot kick it down. If you can kick this thing down, you should try out for the UFC or potentially as a Placekicker for the NFL. Better yet, go to the Lumberjack World Championships in Hayward, Wisconsin & blow away the competition by kicking trees down w/ your bare shins.

Suggestions: If they could build a non-slip base, eliminate the play & stiffen up the bag to simulate a heavy-bag feel, this would definitely be a true banana bag replacement...Regardless, there aren't any freestanding bags like this on the market & Amazon has the most competitive price with free shipping. Awesome...

I purchased the Wavemaster XXL hoping to improve health through regular exercise, no surprise that it worked wonderfully. To maximize your workout, it is recommended that you learn how to properly perform punches, kicks, etc. without hurting yourself. It is highly recommended that you purchase gloves or handwraps in order to prevent wrist injuries.

Pros:
-High density impact foam. They really mean it by "high", this thing can take a beating whether you're throwing punches, kicks, or baseball bats.
-Height. Easy practice on "different sized opponents" without having to readjust the height.
-Portability. You can move this anywhere you like (provided you empty the base), instead of having to screw it down somewhere.

Cons:
-If you fill this base with water, it will move indefinitely when struck. Water sloshes around inside whenever you hit it, and it can actually generate enough momentum to fall over. It is highly recommended you buy play sand instead. It should be about $5/20lbs.
-Even after it is filled with sand, it may still move a bit. This product is best used in a basement or on cement floors. The energy transfer, while miniscule, can be heard all over the house if you don't have floor studs.

I bought this product because I wanted something to actually hit while practicing boxing workouts. It has turned out to be the piece of fitness equipment I use most. Its great for cardio as well as upper body muscle toning. One thing I like about the XXL wavemaster is its size...you dont have to adjust the height of it for different workouts like my friend's everlast free standing bag, you can just change workouts instantly. It does move around on the floor a bit if you stay in one place and punch/kick it for a while but for me its a good excuse to keep my feet moving and rotate around the bag as I punch...I get even more of a workout that way. It's well made and seems quite durable so far. I'd recommend this product to my friends.

I am a big guy, and it is difficult to find a decent quality stand alone heavy bag, that can stand up to me. I would prefer to have a heavy bag that I can attach to the ceiling, but where I currently live it's not an option.
After 15 years of martial arts, and seeing all kinds of heavy bag fads, I finally found this one, and love it. It has a great base, that is heavy enough that I don't tip it over and the base does not slosh all over (I filled mine up with both sand and water to make it extra heavy). It can take my hardest hits and kicks and still stay upright (no other stand alone bags I have used ever have). Yes it does move a bit, but that just makes you keep up with your footwork, constantly moving around it and making for a better workout. I also like the fact that it is tall, and you don't have to readjust the height.
Of all the heavy bags I have used this one has been the best. Still using it, and so far the bag seems to be standing up to the constant onslaught and abuse, we'll see if it stands up over the long haul.
Yes I would recommend this to a friend.

I could write a very detailed review, but there's plenty of those here. What I do want to touch on however, is the durability of the base (which holds the water).

I've owned a wavemaster, and after a long hard summer of daily annihilation to it, the base finally started leaking water around the pressure area (the area that bends when you punch/kick it). It effectively rendered it quite useless since it's not something I could just "patch up" being in the area that is constantly bending and shifting when I hit the bag.

This is why they only give a 1 year limited warranty. I had mine longer than that, so I knew my chances of getting any kind of assistance or replacement were just about zero. It's a bit sad though considering how much this costs. I'd buy another one if I felt I'd get more than a year out of it, but I'm not that confident.

For someone that will only use this occasionally and / or hits very light, maybe it won't break as quickly.

I'm 6'2" and 245 lbs and in excellent condition. I first filled the base with water but heavy hits caused the water to slosh around inside the base and lead to instability, base tilting, and excess movement around the floor. So I decided to try sand. First, for some base padding, I put the XXL on top of a $5 sleeping bag from Goodwill. Then I filled the base with 300 lbs. of sand by cutting the bottom off a large laundry detergent jug and using it as a funnel (fits perfectly, make sure the sand is DRY!). You will have to tilt the base after each sand bag fill to equally distribute sand, then add some sand, tilt, add sand, etc. Took about 45 minutes to complete. I then used a rope to tie the excess sleeping bag material around the base of the XXL (its slightly narrower in the middle of the base, so this works well). WOW! The XXL can take hits without wobbling all over the place, no base tilting, and movement around the floor was greatly reduced (almost nothing). My total investment for sand and sleeping bag was about $25. Set up this way, a big guy can hit the bag without it tilting and moving around. A water-filled base is probably fine for smaller people. One point to remember, it will be a slow difficult process to remove the sand from the base, so make sure you really want to use sand before switching from water, which is easily removed from the base. I've been pounding this bag hard for about a month now and it is doing very with the set-up I devised. I actually like it better than the hanging bag I used to have.

I really liked this bag. It's durable and very good for training. Because it's extra large, it allows you to hit a wider range of areas, which is great for training in a wider range. You can use a much larger variety of blows against this bag. It's extra nice that you won't have to break your foot against plastic and extra-hard rubber (for all you people out there who can't tolerate that...) or adjust the bag so it can be higher for your jumping/flying kicks. The bag itself is tall enough for that. However, if you can jump really high, there is also a feature that allows you to adjust it. Overall, the Wavemaster XXL is a great choice for a martial artist or a boxer. There is so much more you can do with it than most bags you'll find elsewhere!

I own a martial arts studio and we love these bags. They are about as tall as a man, so they are great for a martial arts workout. Unfortunately, you hit them hard enough for enough times and the screw from the top section will break - and then it's garbage. (The top section screws into the base. The screw is hard plastic and goes through the length of the padding.) They will take a lot of abuse before that. We've been buying these for 3 years. We've bought 12 total and have 5 dead ones (which work pretty well for back hand spring spotters when laid on their sides). What kills them is repeatedly kicking them hard enough that they tip over. Specifically, 160 - 200 lb brown or black belt doing flying side or front kicks with a lot of snap force 25 times will probably kill this bag. Now I know this kills the bag, but let's face it - those are fun kicks and the students love getting their kicks strong enough to knock the bag over. So, we're moving to hanging bags for that drill because it's getting too expensive to replace this bag.

If you have a lot of power in your kicks or punches, this bag is for you. Tried the adjustable height one and believe it or not - with the help of a friend - ended up breaking the support column. This one takes a beating like you wouldn't believe!

It may cost a bit more, but definitely worth the extra pennies. Be creative and try it on its side to practice strikes in the mount position. (unscrew the bag part and use it separate from the base if you filled it with water. It shouldn't leak, but just a precaution.)

Speaking of which, it does fill with water, but sand seems to be a bit more solid. Just a side note.

I've had my freestanding bag for about 3 or 4 weeks now and I absolutely love it! You can punch, kick, and elbow this thing until you're out of breath. I put 250lbs of sand in the base and it is very sturdy (cheap too - sand is only about $4 per 50lb bag @ Lowes where I live). There is some minimal shifting if you stand in the same spot and pound away on it, but if you dance around the bag a bit and use some footwork - any movement cancels itself out from side to side (using this movement gives you a lot better workout anyways). I weigh just over 200lbs myself and I can lay into my punches and kicks with all my weight and power and it still holds strong. Delivery was quick and the packaging was appropriate. I would definitely recommend this bag to anyone - especially for use with martial arts and kickboxing training.