GORUCK Simple Sandbag vs Sandbag Kit – Our Review

In a world of “sand kettlebells“, “sand tombstones“, “sand med balls” and even “sand jerry cans“, sometimes, especially if you’re an advocate of “training with sand”, you just want to get back to basics.

After all, what’s wrong no frills sandbag training?

While the GORUCK sandbag offerings aren’t the most basic options out there (I contend that circular, “Strongman”-style bags are the most basic options) they are a breath of fresh air amongst a lot of the more novelty items that, in all honesty, are really only necessary if you’re training for really specific events.

The GORUCK Simple Sandbag and Sandbag Kit (until recently known as the Sandbag 2.0…we will use these terms pretty much interchangeably in this piece) are our two favorite long/cylinder sandbag options out there at the moment.

Let’s take a look at how they stack up against each other.

GORUCK Simple Sandbag vs Sandbag Kit/Sandbag 2.0

I know it seems pretty convenient that our two favorite sandbags of this type are both GORUCK bags. However, both of them really do a great job of blending durability and functionality (amongst other criteria we’ll get into shortly).

However, there are some key distinctions between these bags which will likely lead you to favoring what one of them is putting out there over the other, depending on your personal needs and preferences…

Let’s keep things “simple” to start with…more specifically GORUCK Simple Sandbag “simple”…

“Simple Training Sandbags

The toughest training sandbags ever built, streamlined. Whether you are just getting started with sandbag training or looking to equip your home gym, the Simple Sandbags are the perfect tool for the job. With two padded handles, you can do hundreds of movements from deadlifts, cleans, & squats, to push press and rows. And the best part, you can train anyplace, anytime.

We took our new, upgraded filler bags that have triple lock Velcro closure and double pass stitching at every seam and added 2 heavy duty padded handles so they can be versatile for training or rucking.

We have tested and proven our simple sandbags and the superior construction prevents sand leakage and seam failure. To back that up, we also proudly offer our Scars Lifetime Guarantee.”

I like that GORUCK doesn’t try to go all cool and tough here and really just breaks down what you’re getting with these bags and what you can do with them. Pay attention to this phrase as it will be important later on: “We took our new, upgraded filler bags that have triple lock Velcro closure and double pass stitching at every seam and added 2 heavy duty padded handles.”

Next, the Sandbag Kit:

“The World’s Highest Quality Sandbag, Guaranteed For Life

We added additional bartacks and significantly upgraded the Filler Bag to prevent sand leakage and seam failure.

We made these improvements on top of our industry best Scars Lifetime Guarantee and our reinforced, neoprene padded handles that, like all the steps we take, require more time — but they’re worth it so that we can proudly say that we build the best, toughest training sandbags on Planet Earth.”

Well…that escalated quickly.

From something so “simple” to something of “the world’s highest quality” is quite the jump…but is there really that large of a difference in overall quality between the GORUCK sandbags…?

Those riveting intros aside…

Functionality

Before we get started with this section, a bit of “full disclosure”:

I like to train with sand…but I don’t “train with sand”.

What I mean by this: I enjoy working sandbags (and other “sand objects”) into my training where warranted/necessary, but I come nowhere close to exclusively training with sand. I know GORUCK really pushes the latter and more or less contends that sandbags and ruck are all you really need to get strong and fit…but no.

I don’t believe this and I don’t know any serious fitness person that believes this. As such, I’m not going to talk about how I use these bags in my daily workouts or how much I enjoy them for some of the dumber exercises I refuse to do…

All of that being said…both of these are pretty functional sandbags…if you have a use for them.

~90 percent of the time, if my programming calls for sandbag work, it’s implied that I’m to use a circular, Strongman-style bag. Even when things like clean and jerks are programmed (which are objectively much easier to do with a Simple Sandbag or Sandbag Kit than with a Strongman bag), I almost always go with the round bags.

However, sometimes I gotta carry a sandbag on my back (which these are perfect for) and other times, I am permitted to use any sandbag I want for cleans, presses, thrusters, and overhead squats (all of which both of these bags are superior options for).

For these types of exercises, the elongated shape of the bags makes them somewhat resemble a barbell, allowing for more even weight distribution over a longer space. However, this fact alone doesn’t do justice to what the GORUCK sandbag options offer.

At the end of the day, it’s all about the handles.

If you compare the interior/narrow handle options on the GORUCK bags to the “exterior”/wide handles on something like the Rogue Feedsack, the difference may not seem that significant on first view…but I can assure you, their positioning makes a world of difference:

Please excuse the muddy dog paw prints!

I get that there is a 20-pound difference between these bags, but I guarantee you that I would much more easily be able to get 100-pound GORUCK sandbags from ground to overhead than I can with that feedsack.

What that means is that all of the above-mentioned exercises are on the table while these bags are also perfectly suited for working into Hyrox training (to prep for sandbag lunge work).

The GORUCK sandbag’s interior handles are actually perfectly suited for mimicking these, although, in many cases, you’d have to only semi-fill them to get the right weights.

So far, I’ve spent all of my time discussing the GORUCK sandbags in a collective sense, without differentiating from them. This is mainly because they are pretty similar in their respective levels of functionality for my purposes. However, the Sandbag Kit/Sandbag 2.0 noses ahead because of its 12(!!!) handles.

In theory, this allows for trainees to perform a more extensive array of exercises while also having a bit more variety choices within the exercises themselves. However, if you look at the “action shoots” from the bag’s page on the official GORUCK website, 8 involve the standard, “neutral grip” handles, 2 involve pronated grip handles, and 1 involves the side handles.

I will contend that a pronated grip is better for things like sandbag cleans and thrusters, but you’re never using so much weight that the neutral grip (which is the only grip the Simple Sandbag allows for) is going to be a huge detriment.

With that being said, just because you may not use these extra handles all that often doesn’t mean that they aren’t functional inclusions. As such, the Sandbag 2.0 gets the nod here.

Winner: Sandbag Kit

Durability

We want to immediately cut through the crap and emphasize that for all intents and purposes, the GORUCK Simple Sandbag is essentially the Sandbag Kit’s filler bag (with a couple of handles).

If you consider that fact alone, the Sandbag Kit has to be the more durable bag. It has an entire extra layer (and, in this case, an extra layer that is of the same materials and general constitution as the filler layer) for double the “protection”.

With that being said, I think the Sand Kit’s external layer has a “weak point” that isn’t present on the Simple Sandbag. It’s zipping enclosure which, in all fairness, is pretty tough (with its YKK zippers and all) could potentially be susceptible to damage in ways that velcro enclosures are not…

…but at the end of the day, 2 layers are two layers.

Now, none of this is to say that the Simple Sandbag isn’t durable. The bags’ Cordura material is perfect for sandbag work, particularly the kind of work you’re more likely to do with a cylinder sandbag (not as much direct contact with the body/possible irritation) and is extremely resilient. It doesn’t tear and even dirt is easy to flick off.

The veclro enclosures on both bags are tripe-stitched nylon (they ain’t bustin’ or popping open) and the handles are neoprene which is less flimsy and feels stronger than some cheap rubber. They are easy and comfortable enough to grip, but don’t feel like they’re going to tear off or anything.

All of this being said, I find both of these sandbags to be very durable and have no doubts about their respective levels of longevity. However, it’s just tough to compete with the Sandbag 2.0’s extra layer (which is more or less just covering a zipping sandbag over a Simple Sandbag).

Winner: Sandbag Kit

Load Capacity

Both the Sandbag Kit/Sandbag 2.0 and Simple Sandbag have similar load capacities. I would dare say that their respective top-end capacities aren’t great…but unless you’re Eddie Hall, I can assure you that taking even 100 pounds for a ride is plenty hard.

20, 40 60, and 80-pound options are available with both bags, although the Simple Sandbag also has a 100-pound option. I’m sure I speak for anyone considering getting their hands on both options in asking” why did you have to make both bags have pretty much the same capacity options?”

(The void into which I have screamed this question more than once still hasn’t responded).

Anyways, it’s not too hard to find cylinder-shaped sandbags that hold up to 120 pounds, and even slightly higher, but as mentioned before, for the vast (and I mean vast) majority of people, 100 (and probably even much less than that), is going to serve you just fine.

As one last side note, when they say “60 pounds” or “80 pounds” on one of these bags, they mean it. It’s hard enough to fill these bags to capacity; no way you’re squeezing even another 3-4 pounds into one of these…so don’t get any ideas!

Winner: Simple Sandbag

Customer Reviews

I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a GORUCK item that received a perfect, 5-out-of-5, cumulative review score. Someone will probably find something to prove that such scores do exist and if so…good for you.

At the same time, despite the score being relatively high (at least compared to other brands’ products), a lot of GORUCK gear scores in the 4.6-4.8-out-of-5 range.

Maybe there is some “grade inflation” going on, but the stuff is generally pretty good.

What I don’t see a lot of is the elusive 4.9-out-of-5 cumulative score…unless I’m reading up on the Simple Sandbag and the Sandbag Kit. Both of these bad boys score a 98/100 on this exam.

As impressive as this is, what really sets these scores apart is the fact that they have both been garnered by tabulating over 600 individual reviews for the Simple Sandbag and well over 1000 reviews for the Sandbag 2.0/Sandbag Kit.

Those are some pretty good sample sizes!

With so much social proof and praise from so many users, it’s safe to say you can rest easy with these purchases.

What’s more, the 1-star reviews don’t really knock the bags themselves, just the shipping/delivery process:

(You also can probably notice the dates on those reviews…looks like GORUCK has gotten their logistics figure out over the last couple of years!)

No separation between our contenders here, but it should be very nice to know that you are all but guaranteed to be happy with your purchase if you opt for one of these.

Winner: Tie

Price

For the first, and really the only time, in this review, we get some true separation.

As I mentioned before, the Sandbag Kit used to be called the Sandbag 2.0 (implying an upgraded/updated product) and as we’ve discussed, it has significantly more features than the Simple Sandbag does.

Of course, GORUCK was going to capitalize on all of these “extras” with product that demands a higher price point.

It’s not always possible to completely “apples-to-apples” with these bags, but the Sandbag Kit is always at least twice as expensive as the comparable Simple Sandbag (if you opt for the largest, 80-pound variation) and for the smaller ones, it’s almost 3 times the price.

You can be the judge on whether the slightly higher durability and functionality of the Sandbag 2.0/Sandbag Kit justify this…but I wouldn’t be too quick to write off the more expensive option on price alone.

I know we’re focused on these two as they square off head-to-head, but you could do “worse” on cylinder sandbag pricing. You want an OG Rogue Sandbag (the cheapest option, besides their Feedsack) with a filler, their smallest option approaches the Sandbag Kit’s price. Opt for a Sandbag 2.0…and…you probably will appreciate GORUCK’s price!

As far as cylinder-shaped sandbags go, especially ones that do not have “variable” load capacities (Ex. “Small” = 25-45 pounds of loose, unwieldy sand in a bag), GORUCK’s Simple Sandbags are actually a pretty affordable option compared to all market options.

Winner: Simple Sandbag

Overall Winner

According to our metrics, we have a tie ballgame!

We include 5 contested categories for a reason…and we still manage to keep screwing this up!

Whatever; when you get a couple of contenders that are really popular with the masses…so much so that they both receive the exact same high score/high praise…this is the end result.

Anyways, what this has really boiled down to is a (slight) “Functionality/Durability” edge vs. a “Price” edge (Load Capacity only really factors in if you need a 100-pound bag).

Truth be told, I have zero complaints about my Simple Sandbags, but if you plan on really getting into GORUCK Tribe training (or if you’re preparing for “higher-level” GORUCK events), the Sandbag Kit might be the better option (mainly since it is programmed more/used more in these contexts).

You decide.

Our Testing Process

Before I got my first Simple Sandbag, I actually wasn’t that into sandbag training.

Coming off of a 6 months of dedicated Olympic lifting and ~18 months of HWPO Training (where I rarely had sandbags programmed into training). I got my first Simple Sandbags around the time when I was transitioning into Sentinel Training (where we use sandbags at least every other week) and it’s been happily ever after ever since.

EMOMs of Echo Bike, Rowing, and Sandbag DT aren’t all that common, but I’m ready when they do come around.

In recent times, the Sandbag Kit has worked itself into rotation, although, due to its relative newness, it hasn’t gotten as much attention/play/use, but it certainly gets similar attention/play/use (although I use it more for deadlifting than for cleaning…80 pounds is heavy for me!)

Frequently Asked Questions

Do you have any additional “simple” questions about these bags? If so, we have some pretty direct answers for you:

The GORUCK Simple Sandbag vs The GORUCK Sandbag Kit…a Great Bag vs 2 Great Bags…

As you can probably tell by this point, I’m pretty high on both of these GORUCK sandbag offerings.

The Simple Sandbag is more than functional and durable enough for the majority of trainees while the Sandbag Kit offers some extras (extra filler bag, a lot of extra handles) that may make it worth the (rather significant) price difference.

The only kinda unfortunate thing is, there isn’t that much to say to really differentiate between the two.

The Sandbag Kit really is just a Simple Sandbag (without handles) inside of a zippered, “bartacked” Simple Sandbag with a bunch of (in many cases, superfluous) handles.

You want to make a collection of things, you certainly can, but you probably can just opt for one type or the other. Of course, I have not taken this advice, even though the cheaper options are in line with my personal preferences…

Ultimately, I currently have 3 Simple Sandbags (40, 60, 80-pound capacities) and one Sandbag 2.0 (80 pounds). Even being short on smaller, Sandbag Kit options, I don’t really have a desire to get any more of these, if that tells you something…

…but I’m also pretty pleased that I do have that one big one!