Century Bob XL (With 8173 Base)

I like practicing with it .... what's even more fun, is I put a shirt on it to protect it from practice-knife strikes, and I keep it in the garage right next to the kitchen door .... soooooo..... everyone who comes over has to, at least once, "go into the garage and grab us a couple of beers" ... It scares the be-jesus out of them! It still scares me when I go in there to practice with it!

I purchased the body opponent bag (not the XL) to provide motivation and to compare its function to my old reliable heavy bag...BOB is terrific...however, whereas the heavybag is solidly hit when struck, BOB requires a little more finesse...the head gives easily and does not provide the resistance of a heavy bag...but this is good! Additionally, there is at least one DVD available which provides other methods of attack. I find I can practice choke outs on BOB. Overall, I would highly recommend BOB as a tool to add to your boxing/self defense/exercise regimen. (This review was not based on the XL. I would prefer to have the XL, however the guy without the trunks was more affordable!)Reviewer's boxing experience: 40 years

I own two of these BOB's (Body Opponent Bag) one BOB & one BOB XL. They are great to practice striking specific areas of the body at full power and speed. BOB is a great addition to the heavy bag or better yet Muay Thai bag that every martial artist should own and practice techniques against.The BOB XL allows strikes to the upper leg area with kicks, knees and batons for police academy recruit training. The only limit is working the body all the way around 360 degrees, you can not work the rear body, but can work the rear of the head for chokes and strikes.

Overall a well designed and well made product. The torso is pretty solid for kicks and punches. The head is a little to floppy for good resistance, but is a good target for practicing precise punching. When the base is filled with water it takes a whole lot of energy to knock it over. And as a bonus it freaks people out if you put him just around a corner.

I have enjoyed the BobXL. It allows you to focus on 'features' that are not on a normal punching bag,ex; uppercut training is there without the need to buy an extra bag. Sand is heavier than the water but much harder to get into the container. All in all I have no regrets on the purchase and give it a 5 star rating. Enjoy your training.

I'm not too big on free standing punching bags but the BOB is something special, a separate class all it's own. This one is a little longer than the original, including the thighs and groin areas. 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. If I didn't already own the original I'd purchase this version.