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

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.

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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.

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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.

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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.