USA Photography Sand Weight Bags Heavy Duty Saddlebags for Photography Video Equipments, Backdrop Stand, Light Stand,Photo Tripod, Canopy Tent, Umbrella Base, Fishing Chair,Picnic Table 2-Pack

I have had many equipment weight systems from sandbags to solid weights and the like but these are the best solution yet. I shoot real estate photography and portraits on location and these are great. they fold down flat, don't weigh much, and are very heavy-duty rubberized bags with a silicon gasket screw-on bottle cap type seal which securely seals in the water. I set mine up to full capacity (about 12 lbs) and left them sitting for weeks without a drop of leakage or evaporation. The vulcanized bags come with a built-in long handle and a nice sized carabineer which works well for attaching to a light stand of center-post hook on a tripod, The saddle bag shape works well for draping over the leg of a light stand and the carabineer can be used to clip it in place. The great thing about them is they're lightweight until you need to use them. I take them in my bag empty and fill them up on-site and it is easy to adjust the weight if you need something less than 12lbs - just dump out a little of the water. (Water weighs about 8 lbs per gallon). I suppose that you could also fill them with gravel or sand if you wanted to but the opening is only about the size of a Gatorade bottle so you'd most likely need a funnel. I have found them to work effectively as boom arm weights and light stand/tripod stabilizers. I take a small towel with me to wipe them dry after I fill them so that water is not on the set. With as convienent and handy as these are, I will likely never use a traditional sandbag again.

Using them to weigh down my stand my portable smoker sits on. My porch is covered but the wind always seems to be blowing. Theses are working well.

Good bags, useful for what i need. I oit sone rocks, for me they are better and less messy than sand.

My mother is 93 and has dementia. We recently installed a bedside commode in her room. I just bought the standard one. One afternoon she was napping. I was not far from her room and I heard her cry out for help. I think her foot had gotten caught in the leg of the bedside commode and it had fallen over on top of her. Obviously, she was scared. It took me a minute to get her “ untangled “ So I started looking at the commode and realized it was not very sturdy. I thought to myself that it needed some weight added to it to make it more stable. I thought of the pop-up tents that people use at the beach and art festivals, etc. and ran across these water filled saddle bags. They have been an excellent solution. I only used two and hung them from the back underneath the seat and it has been a huge help. It created a much more stable bedside commode. Our hospice nurse was very impressed with my ingenuity and I’m just spreading the word if you ever have this problem this is a great inexpensive solution.

They've been holding up well for the few months since I bought them. I put 12 pounds of sand (double bagged first in plastic zip freezer bags) total in each saddle. Design incorporates double zips in each pocket of the saddle. No leaks in spite of my constantly stepping on them in tight maneuvering spaces. Hang well, conform well. I'm quite happy with them.

Right off the bat, I'd like to mention that I am not a professional photographer, but I do appreciate quality construction. I got these to replace a really cheap sandbag I got with a lighting set that I could tell was going to rip in half the first time I used it (I've since returned the lighting set). I'd read good things about these water weight bags and the price was right, so I went for it. I was not disappointed! When they say "heavy duty" in the description, they absolutely mean it. These things feel extremely sturdy and well-made. I filled one up for a shoot well over a week ago and haven't emptied it out yet. It's been moved about and there are no hints of any leaks...no water droplets or wet spots on the ground...nothing. I like that you can decide how heavy to make it by filling it with more or less water. If I want to get them out of the way when I'm done, I can just empty them out in the sink, fold them up, and stash them away! I haven't done any traveling with them, but I'd imagine as long as you have access to a sink, it would be far more convenient than lugging metal weights or sandbags with you. I'm sure there are reasons why the photography industry typically uses other methods to weight their stands, but I'm personally very happy with the purchase. As stated, I'm an amateur, but I can't imagine how these would underperform for a professional as well.

I used these to hold up a photo backdrop at our wedding. I was very worried about leaks especially with so many people around. I am very pleased to say they worked amazing. Held everything in place and absolutely no leaks. The three stars comes from one of the bags being damaged and unusable. The bags have plastic lids that normally seal tightly. However, this one arrived so warped the lid could not be attached making it entirely unusable. I was pressed for time and couldn’t deal with a refund. But luckily 3 of the four were fine. Another issue with these is that they aren’t very easy to empty. The position of the lid helps prevent leaks. But it will take a while if you want to empty and dry them out for storage.

I bought a c stand that came with one of this bags but I thought it was just a silly accessory to add perceived value to the combo, because it also came with a bag, couple of grip heads etc. I’m used to have a crew with me carrying sand bags and had the preconception that those where the real deal and this water thing was just another selling point to make it look like a “complete solution” and that it wasn’t going to be really useful in real life. I was wrong. It’s an amazing idea for small crews and solo shootings. Documentaries and corporate videos mostly. Fantastic product. Now I’ve got five of them, carry them around with no hassle and are always available when I need them.