There is no denying that Century Bob is the most quality punching dummy on the market. However what are the qualities of these dummies and will these qualities be useful for you?
Also, should you get Century Bob or Century Bob Xl?
If you want to know all of these definitely read the reviews below.
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Century Bob XL Review
Durability: 9.6 / 10.0
Quality/Price: 9.1 / 10.0
Check It Out: on Here
Exclusive Features
- Realistic Striking Experience
- Quite Sturdy
- Safe Workouts
- Excellent Shock Absorbing
- Adjustable Height
- Provides Different Training Types
Training Types
This dummy has chest, head, chest, body parts and thanks to these it offers a realistic striking experience. So you can target these areas and improve your punching and kicking accuracy. This is why it is called the sparring partner.
If you have a sparring partner it would be better however it is the next best thing. Also, you can start hitting more accurately and pinpoint targets with practice.
So you get a realistic striking experience and you simply can’t get it from any heavy bag. Also, you will not need a hanger as well. This is another plus of having this free standing bag instead of a classic punching bag.
This quality makes Century BOB XL perfect for a lot of different martial arts including MMA, and boxing.
Also, the surface area of the body is big and this provides you to make different punch and kick combos.
When this is the case you can also have a lot of different cardio types with BOB XL so you can lose fat.
If you are interested to see a workout just scroll down and watch the video!
In addition to this, you can increase the weight easily so you can have more intense workouts. You can fill it with water and when you get stronger and start throwing more powerful punches you can empty it and fill it with sand. Also, you don’t need to fill it fully because as you progress you can fill it with more sand. Considering the strength levels of people in martial arts gyms %90 of you will not need to fill it fully.
Protection
You may have questions about the protection and it is normal as you will punch and kick this punching dummy for years.
The skin is not rough and it does not cause any harm to your bones or skin as long as you punch and kick BOB XL with the right technique. Vinyl skin is also good at absorbing shock and it is also sturdy. So there is no surprise that many martial arts gears are made of this material and it absorbs the shock well for cover material.
As a side note, there are some dummies that come with different skin types and these are reviewed as softer though these don’t seem to sell much.
It is filled with soft foam so you can go hard and you won’t have any issues. This is another reason why people go for body opponent bags instead of heavy bags.
Also, the foam is so good that the vibration issue does not exist with Century Bob XL. However, after 2-3 years, you may experience this because after constant abuse padding will start losing its quality however you have at least two years before it happens.
So when you consider two, three years of usage, the durability gets A.
Shortly, the protection is just superb and many people actually train with bare knuckles and if you read the reviews on various shopping sites you rarely will see that someone had a problem.
Height
It has a longer torso and it increases the striking area. So the training quality improves and it is quite sturdy as the tube is larger than usual and there is a decent foam quantity between the tube and the dummy.
You can adjust the height between 60” and 78”. There are seven height selections. It is easy to adjust according to your preference and continue training with it.
So people, who have different heights, can train with it. This is the reason why martial arts gym owners don’t hesitate to buy these.
It comes with MMA training gloves. It can accommodate many different sizes as it has good stretching capabilities and the sides do not cause rashes. Also, you can have cardio workouts, grappling and bag workouts with these gloves. If you need all-around training gloves, this will be ideal for your needs.
What about the Base?
The base can be filled with water or sand. You can roll the base quite easily and this is quite useful for your home, gym… The base is durable and will not leak water or sand. You can be sure that it will not ruin your place as this is a common problem for many martial ars dummies, free standing bags.
I read maybe a thousand comments and not one mentioned this problem. So it is safe to assume that you will not encounter it as well.
It is easy to roll BOB XL and when you finish training you can move it to a suitable place.
Also, it is made of polyethylene and this material is not too hard however it can hold the body opponent bag quite stable without weird swinging. When you kick the base accidentally you probably will not need any stitches and if you are one of the guys who practice low kicks you will need this feature.
The Price
Let’s talk about the price. When you see the price it might seem high however keep in mind that you sharpen your techniques, learn self-defense, improve accuracy and you can even do cardio sessions. The durability is around three years so if you consider that you get what you pay for.
After you get the shipment you are good to go. If you are interested in improving your striking performance and have a fit body get your own Century Bob XL.
This dummy has no cons as even though it is one of the best sellers in its category you will rarely see complaints.
Century Bob Review
Durability: 9.6 / 10.0
Quality/Price: 9.5 / 10.0
Exclusive Features
- Realistic Striking Experience
- Safe workouts
- Excellent Shock Absorbing
- Height adjustments
- Cheaper Price
- Better quality-price ratio
- Cons
- Less Area to Practice
There are not many differences between Century Bob and Century Bob XL. Century Bob is just the smaller model. It has height adjustments, has the same cover material, foam…
You can do every training type which you can do with Century BOB XL including various aerobic training types.
So What is the Difference?
You can do fewer kicking and punching combinations and Century Bob has a smaller area to practice with. Other than this there is no difference. This one has a smaller weight and occupies less space. So you can also move it easier.
Who should Prefer Century Bob?
If you only focus on punching you can prefer Century Bob or have a lower budget and still want to get a quality body opponent bag you can invest in this particular body opponent bag. It is also good for kicking etc. as it has all the body parts. However, it is smaller.
Also, many people wonder about what can they do with the bag. I found a cool workout video that shows how you can punch BOB and what punching techniques you can do with it. There are also tips for how you can sharpen various skills.
Also, these bags generally come with training gloves or hand wraps so you will not need anything else.
My Thoughts
Why people practice with these?
The most important benefits are to have a realistic striking experience and improve striking skills. Century Bob XL is made of quality materials. It does not hurt your hands, shins and you don’t even need to wear shin guards to protect your leg!
I believe that if you don’t have a sparring partner or prefer learning martial arts at home, a body opponent bag is simply a must. You can sharpen your striking skills at a fast rate with it. Considering the myriad of reviews on various forums, in my opinion, if you train martial arts, learn self-defense this should be in your basement.
I have been in many martial arts gyms and almost all of them have some kind of body opponent bag and this alone shows you how important this punching dummy is for your striking skills.
So whether you are a gym owner or looking to improve your skills, Century BOB XL will be a good investment.
Also, there are different brands out there however many of these are reviewed as tough on the skin and many of these brands don’t offer any warranty period.
If you are interested, you can check out this amazing martial arts training dummy.
If you have any questions regarding the review of Century Bob and Century Bob XL feel free to comment below.
I have seen a punching bag like this. I never thought that I would use it until reading your review.
I thought a human like punching bag may injure your hands or feet. You may miss-hit it and injure yourself. Especially, if you are punching the head. But you said that it will increase accuracy. I have to agree with it. Now you can focus punching in the nose!
I think I might buy this one just for venting out my anger. 😀
It improves precision, however I recommend you to use a pair of boxing gloves for punching bag when you let out of your anger. Have an intense training Arief
Thanks for the review! I had no idea you could adjust the height and resistance so drastically – I think the punching bag my parents had growing up must have been a low-tech version. It definitely seems heavy-duty enough for serious training and it seems to be made out of very high-quality materials. Do you think this is a good value for the quality you are getting with this product or is there a significant difference in quality if I were to buy a higher-end, more expensive model? Thank you!
Actually, the higher-end models don’t have better reviews and I personally used Bob Xl. If it is used for a while and doesn’t have too many complaints, you can go for it.
Even hough there are lots new punching bags on the market right now most of them will not be produced a couple of years later. You are welcome Audrey.
Wow, I thought this is something that I see only in movies, I didn’t know it is a real item. This seems like an interesting buy for to practise. Do you have a cheaper alternatives to recommend?
Hi, I have trained with it for a very long time and the punching experience is still smooth and the bounce rate did not seem to change much. Century XXL Wavemaster has a cheaper price tag. Even though it does not have a torso, head and it provides a good bounce rate, the leather can withstand repetitive kicks for many years. You can see its review on Century Wavemaster XXL review
I hope that helps Will.
I think that boxing workouts are the absolute best way to gain cut, lean muscle. It is not only fun, but much easier on your joints than using heavy weights. When i was younger i used a combination of a heavy bag, speed bag and free weights to get into the absolute best shape of my life. Bob looks like he would be much easier on the wrists than a traditional heavy bag. Great review on Bob!
Jamie
Exactly boxing helps you get fit in no time.
It seems a bit unfair on Bob, he has no arms to hit back!!
Seriously though, this is a really clear review and more importantly, it is from personal experience.
You say the warranty is one year, which I assume is standard. But how long can a person who trains on it for an hour a day expect that a product like this will last?
Thanks
Brian
It is standard warranty for all Century products, it always gives 1 year for heavy bags. I train at least 2 hours in a week and I assume it will last more than 3 years if you train everyday. After 3 years I am sure you can use it but it can have tougher or softer spots
Interesting post. I ended up on your site after having searched about boxing for beginners. How is this “Bob XL” for someone just starting out and wanting to learn more about boxing? Do you have any other recommendations for beginners? Thanks in advance for your response!
I am glad you found this post. It is great for everyone and you can learn basic punches like hooks, cross with it and you can get used to land your punches on targets like the gut. I am sure you will improve your skills faster with a body opponent bag.
You can have a look at these articles and start from there. There are articles about boxing training tips, benefits and more on that page.
Bob seems to be some serious bit of kit, is there anything out there that tops him (it!) or would you say this is as good as they come?
Thanks in advance.
Bob is perfect for any striking martial arts and considering the quality of materials and benefits for striking skills, there is not any other product that can match the quality.
This would be great for the novice or the expert. Thanks for the post. very informative.
Exactly this punching is ideal for everyone and can improve a variety of skills related to striking including timing. Hard punchers or advanced martial artists can fill it up so it can be heavier and it will still be useful.
I wanted to start working out this way!! i did many sports but never boxing and recently I’ve been taking some classes and wanted to practice at home do you reckon this is the right thing for me? if not anything you can recommend?
thank you!
Bob XL is just perfect for home. It is very easy to fill and you can move away when you finish punching it 😉
I didn’t know it has a name…BOB. 🙂 Thanks for the very interesting article. I used to train a bit of Muay Thai and we didn’t have this. Apart from training use, if you position it at the right place in the home, it can stand in as a security.
Well I never considered BOB as security but it may work lol, he looks angry too.
Great post! I have seen the older version of Bob when my kid was in TKD.
I was wondering if this is a good product to have for a family with younger children – I mean will it adjust for a younger child of about 6 years old as well as for adults?
You might want to prefer the smaller version for children which is Bobby Bully. You can check out this writing for everything you need to know about it.
The base of Bob seems kinda big. My concern is that when I’ll want to try some close-up kicks and punches it might get in the way.
From your own experience? Is this the case?
Best Regards!
Matiss
Actually, the base is not so big and it does not prevent you from striking at all.
Okay, I could see myself using this. I could picture it as someone I wanted to take my frustrations out on LOL. Does this replace getting a bag then? What would you consider the best for someone just starting out, something like this or a punching bag? Or do some people have both?
It also offers resistance training and you can practice punches with it. However, hanging bags also benefit you in other ways like improving footwork more as it swings and offers a bigger area that you can practice it. So It can’t totally replace classic heavy bags.