PBL SANDBAGS HEAVYDUTY Photo Video SADDLEBAG 4 Bags Holds 20LBS of Sand New Steve Kaeser Photogrphic Lighting & Accessories

I got a bunch of these to throw on to my lighting truss and stands in the studio. They're good products, but they could stand to be better made. I've noticed a lot of stray threads that make me worry about the zippers failing. It's like the factory's sewers were not paying attention to their machines, and forgot to reload the bobbins while sewing the zippers on a couple of my sand bags.I like that the bags have dual layer opposite running zippers, and rubber inner bladders. That prevents accidental sand leaks on set.At least these bags beat the devil out of the cheap crappy little bag that came with one of my boom lights a few years back. That one had no zippers, just Velcro, and no inner liner. You could only chuck some weights, or tools in that one.At least these will hold a lot of mass, and seem to be able to hold up to in studio work nicely. Since my studio gear does not get moved about frequently, they should be fine as they are for years to come under light duty use, as long as they're set and left alone for long periods in semi-permanent installations of lighting gear. I wouldn't recommend frequent location shoot usage with these bags though. I doubt they'd hold up to the riggers of being used on multiple shoots per day, every day for more than a few months. Time will tell.If you find loose threads, you can stop them running with a little glue. Just don't pull on them.

I purchased these sand bags to hold down the tripod legs of PA speaker stands in outdoor windy condition. I purchased a 50 lbs bag of play sand from Homedepot. I use play sand because they are cleaner, dryer, and finer than other types of sand. I filled eight 1-gallon heavy freezer ziploc bags with about 6 pounds of sand (6 lbs x 8 bags = 48 lbs). I than double bagged the ziploc bag for extra protection. The ziploc bag was easy to fill with sand and the plastic bag easily slip into the double zipper saddlebag. The plastic bags will also keep the sand from soaking up water in case the saddlebags get wet.I ended up with about 12 lbs in each saddlebag. With two bag on each speaker tripod stand I had no problem keeping the speakers stable in windy condition. The bags are not too heavy to carry two at a time. If you need more weight you can fill up to 10 pounds of sand in each side and end up with a 20 pounds weight bag.If the saddlebags get rip from rough handling, hopfully the double heavy plastic bag will keep the sand from leaking all over the place. If the plastic bags get damage you can take it out and either patch it with tape or put another freeze bag over it and it can be reuse.

So far so good.... I got these the next day on standar shipping, then a day or two later hit the beach and filled them up, love the double zipper feature I didn't fill zip locks first) I put the sand straight in each side and that was that. The next day for kicks I put them on my digital scale, and each bag has exactly 20.8Lbs.. Pretty sweat !!! The handles seam pretty good so far I'm thinking they changed the design a bit as they wrap all the way under the bag and over in one piece. I'll post update in a month showing wear and tear. I like the idea of being able to empty the sand and put in something else, but for sure it needs to be on the smaller scale like gravel or small stones. I think lead shot might be to heavy as these are looking like they were sewn in China, so I doubt it's double stitched....Ok now I'm updating my review, the set of 4 I got last year were great, zippers were metal, now March 2012 and the same bags, with cheap crappppppy plastic zippers!!! I will say the sand leaks a bit, so this time I went to HD and got gravel, and that is much better !!! only issue now is why the plastic crappy zips !!!! I'm gonna call the store and find out what is the story with that as I will NOT want another set of 4 if they are plastic zippered!!!

I bought these and filled them with sand. Was great at first until it started leaking. Not due to any defects, just the way the bag is. Double zipper doesn't mean much. A small opening at the end of the zipper is enough for it to leak. It also leak in between the seams. The thread is spaced wide enough for sand to leak if the seam is bent (i.e. setting the sandbag on a flat surface).However, I decided to empty the bags and dump the sand in Ziploc bags. This is a much better idea than putting the sand in the bag itself. I used freezer quarts (double zipper) and snack size bags. I was able to fit one quart bag and 3-4 snack size bag. All bags are double bagged.A bag of play sand goes for under $5 at any big box home improvement store. I used two bags of play sand. The prefill sandbag would just get too expensive so I went this route.The bag itself feels solid but I wouldn't say craftsmanship was anything special. Overall, it works and I do plan on buying another set. Just use plastic bags. If you just put sand it in, you'll regret it like me. Plus, it was much harder to clean out when I decided to go with plastic bags.

Great purchase! Arrived very quickly and the quality is awesome! I love the double zippers, though when I fill them, I'll be sure to put the sand in enclosed plastic bags (maybe even double bagged) to make extra sure the sand doesn't leak out. Not thinking that will be an issue at all, but I'll be sure to update if it does. Honestly, my only complaint is the color. I would be nice to have an all black option because the other colors are a tad bright. I opted for the one I assumed was a bit more on the purple side, but then they arrived they were a very bold blue. My portrait studio is all white and soft earthy tones and these stand out like a sore thumb because of the color. But obviously that has nothing to do with their great quality and budget value, so that's why I gave it 5 stars.