GORUCK Sand Medicine Ball – My Review

Sand workouts aren’t always my favorite workouts, but I respect how effective they are.

Every year it seems as though there is a sand workout featured in the CrossFit Games or other major CrossFit event that really throws the athletes off.

Sandbags are awkward, hard to get a handle of, and are constantly shifting around as you work with them

…and the GORUCK Sand Medicine Balls are no different.

I’ve been looking for a sand implement that is as close to what I need for my workouts as possible. Being a fan of GORUCK, it only made sense to give their Sand Medicine Balls (which are essentially the same as Strongman sandbags) a try.

I can’t speak for every bag at every weight, but I can say that I’m equal parts excited and exhausted to finally be able to perform my sandbag workouts without scaling…let’s take a look at my thoughts on these!

Functionality

I think that most people, outside of maybe sandbag training enthusiasts, would agree that most people can’t find quite as much utility from sandbags (to include sand medicine balls) as they can from other pieces of gym equipment.

This is reflected in my own Olympic weightlifting and CrossFit programming where I may do 20 barbell workouts for every 1 or 2 I do with a sandbag.

There is also the obvious loading limitation that is inherent with sandbags…you’re pretty much stuck with that load for that bag unless you want to be scooping sand out to make it slightly lighter for a specific exercise.

Now that we have gotten that out of the way, I want to discuss how functional the GORUCK Sand Med ball actually is. I’ve constantly been surprised during my training sessions when sandbag variations of more popular exercises (such as cleans and squats) are programmed in place of the more popular version of each exercise…

…and they’re really challenging.

When I use my sand medicine ball, I generally get frustrated (but, like, in a “good” way). It’s like all of the technique I have honed during my clean, jerk, and snatch sessions has gone out the window as I have to discover alternative ways to hoist, hold, and squat the bag.

In most cases, and even when the load is significantly lower than what I would use with a barbell, the sand medicine ball makes things much more challenging.

Part of the challenge for me personally has been that I have had a tough time finding a sandbag/sand med ball that was the appropriate size for my training programming. GORUCK’s sand med balls are the closest I have found to the weight(s) (70 pounds) I need; I use an 80-pound capacity ball and fill it up with 70 pounds of sand.

This is “functional” in a few ways. It allows me to perform my sand work “Rx” while also proving that these still work really well, even when they are not filled to their top capacities.

Also, something we’ll hit on later, but deserves a quick mentioning of now is that these balls come in very small-capacity sizes. For trainees who work with ~100 pounds or less (and even less than 50 pounds), there are a number of sizes within this lower-weight range. Because of this, I would argue that for the majority of trainees (especially female athletes), these possess greater overall functionality than what large-capacity bags offer.

Functionality: 90

Durability

Everybody wants fitness equipment that is going to last.

Normally when we think of gear and longevity, we’re talking about not wanting our barbells to rust or bend and for weight plates to be able to withstand multiple drops without bending or warping. With sandbags, though, the standard is set a little higher.

If a sandbag gets a tear or other, even minor abrasion, it’s pretty much useless. There is no amount of taping that is going to repair the damage and, more importantly, nobody wants a room full of sand.

The GORUCK Sand Medicine Balls have risen to the occasion and, at least in my, for now, limited experience, have proven to be durable enough to withstand the usual rigors (mainly drops) of sandbag training.

The bags’ tough Cordura exterior is pretty much standard for higher-quality bags at this point (more on this in the next section) and equally resilient filler bag adds an extra layer between the sand and everything else.

The velcro/lacing-enclosure helps to secure the fill opening, providing an initial layer of enclosure (with the long, lacing system) and the velcro seal to finish things off. These are the “weak points” of the bag since the lacing system isn’t perfect (I prefer zippers) and the velcro is adhesive, but still easy enough to peel back…which is a good and a bad thing.

Still, even the less secure portions don’t give me any reason to think that my bag has any chance to burst or break, nor do I really think the veclro or lace will wither or otherwise become unusable anytime in the near future.

Durability: 100

Load Capacity

If you’re looking for a bag with the highest sheer load capacity, the GORUCK Sand Medicine Balls aren’t going to be your best option. For comparison, Rogue’s fourth-smallest Echo Strongman Sandbag (out of 8) is heavier at 150 pounds than GORUCK’s biggest med ball (120 pounds).

On the flipside, the major advantage GORUCK has is that they offer lower-capacity bags that are, in all likelihood, more appropriate for a larger percentage of trainees. Those who are new to this kind of work can get started with as low as 10 pounds.

Also, these in-between sizes make for loading less common weights (in my case, 70 pounds) easier than they would be in larger bags (in smaller-capacity bags, this is impossible).

If you’re a monster and need 200, 300, or even 400-pound sandbags, the GORUCK Sand Med Balls don’t have the capacity you need. However, if you’re new or prefer working with lighter weights (10, 20, 40, 60, 80, 100, and 120, to be more precise), these might be the exact load capacities you’ve been looking for.

As it is, we measure top-end capacity here. As such, GORUCK drops a few points in this area.

Load Capacity: 80

Materials & Construction

In our experience, sandbags seems to come in two main material varieties:

• Heavy duty Cordura
• Everything else (normally some type of thinner and less resilient ballistic nylon)

Thankfully the Sand Medicine Balls fall into the first category, with only a very small part of each bag being the cord/shoe string material used to seal the bag up when you’re finished loading sand into it.

I know that many prefer that their sand gear does not have a zipper since these can get stuck or break, but I actually prefer these to the lacing found on this bag. It’s tight and secure, but doesn’t seem as secure as the zipper. Plus, well-made zippers are usually pretty indestructible so I feel like they should have opted for one.

Overall, the materials are of good quality and are what you would expect from GORUCK gear.

Materials: 90

Price

Certain brands are generally pricier than others. GORUCK happens to be one of those brands.

Of course, the gear is good and lasts a long time (technically “forever” due to the SCARS Lifetime Guarantee), but there are times when it even outpaces Rogue in terms of price.

The pricing of the Sand Medicine Balls is one of those times.

I understand that GORUCK’s offering is a “sand medicine ball” as opposed to Rogue’s Echo Strongman Sandbag and Strongman Sandbag, but these items are more than similar enough to make comparisons with.

Rogue doesn’t offer the same array of smaller-sized sandbags, but as you can see, even their more premium offerings (the plain old “Strongman Sandbags”) are more expensive than the Sand Medicine Balls while their Echo Strongman Sandbags are way cheaper.

Considering that these bags’ materials and general designs are so similar, GORUCK is definitely charging a bit more.

Taking things a little further, also consider that Rogue is itself a more expensive brand and it isn’t difficult to go on Amazon and find a number of cheaper options. Most of these won’t have the build or design quality of the GORUCK Sand Medicine Balls, but in when we discuss this category, total price is all that matters!

Price: 70

Customer Reviews

GORUCK’s Sand Medicine Balls have been well received by almost everyone who has gotten their hands on one (at least those who have decided to leave a review on the official GORUCK website).

Of the current 202 reviews, there are only three, 3-star reviews and there aren’t any 1 or 2-star reviews. This all works out to a cumulative 4.9 out of 5 which I think most people would agree is a really good score.

Even among the relatively few “neutral” reviews, there isn’t really a consensus on what the customers found to be bad or wrong with theirs. One guy said a seem burst (which is understandably a drag) and another complained about shipping costs.

Everyone is going to have their own experiences with fitness equipment and it’s unfortunate that these people didn’t have the best experiences, but with the other 199 having a better time with their med balls, I would say that the odds are in your favor that you’ll enjoy yours.

Customer Reviews: 98

Customer Service

I have never personally interacted with GORUCK’s customer service department, but Tom has on many occasions. His experiences will largely be where my comments in this section will come from.

GORUCK is always really good with their customer service offering. For the most part, they are responsive, understanding, and willing to bend their own rules to make things right.

…not that we’ve had “not right” experiences with them, but on a few occasions where we needed breaks with some orders, they helped us out.

Nothing has ever been perfect, though. There has been the odd slow response, the need to resubmit an entire order, and a return slip that wouldn’t properly scan, but none of these scenarios resulted in any significant hardship or trouble.

Minor annoyances that anyone can live with.

Dealing with human, U.S.-based representatives doesn’t hurt, either!

GORUCK is good for an almost flawless customer service experience every time; we’re more than pleased with their efforts in this area.

Customer Service: 95

Who are GORUCK Sand Medicine Balls really for?

All sandbags aren’t created equally…and everybody shouldn’t be lined up to tangle with the same types of sandbags. Let’s take a look at who the Echo Sandbags are and aren’t best for:

Women who want to go Rx

I took a little bit of a gamble, opting for an 80-pound sand med ball when I knew that I was only going to fill it with 70 pounds of sand. However, to me, this seemed like a better option than getting a 100-pound sandbag and a much better option than getting a 50-pound sandbag.

70 and 80-pound sandbag work is commonly programmed into CrossFit and other similar types of workouts as the “Rx” women’s weight. Before I had my sand medicine ball, I would usually scale down to a 60-pound GORUCK Simple Sandbag or a 50-pound strongman sandbag. Now, I have exactly what I need to complete the workouts as they are written.

Those who want a light sandbag

Before I started using the GORUCK Sand Medicine Ball, I wondered why it was called a “medicine ball” as opposed to the more standard “sandbag”. Even after I started using it, I didn’t really understand the name.

Then I looked more closely at size options and it all made sense.

These bags go as light as 10 pounds each, making them legitimate medicine ball size (I would say “wall ball size”, but I don’t actually suggest them for that kind of activity!) so if you want to “train with less sand” these are probably your best options.

Not for athletes who need “normal” Strongman sandbag sizes

I really like the quality of my GORUCK Sand Med Ball, but don’t think it is that much better than Rogue’s Echo Sandbags or exponentially better than my Workout.eu sandbag. Both of these companies focus more on “normal” sandbag sizes (ex. 25 pounds, 50 pounds, 100 pounds, 150 pounds, etc.) so they’re not great for the “in-between” size(s) I need.

If you stick to the sizes that these companies specialize in, you’re going to be able to get a very similar bag for a bit cheaper than GORUCK’s option. Plus, if you plan to go big, GORUCK isn’t really an option at all (unless you opt for a Sand Tombstone, discussed in further detail below).

How we reviewed the GORUCK Sand Medicine Ball

Although I don’t use sandbags on a daily basis, or usually even on a weekly basis, I had a few workouts programmed that let me start using my bag right away. One involved sandbag/sand med ball cleans to shoulder and box step-ups while another one was just a long (1-mile!) carry.

Despite not having this for the longest time, it has already made major improvements to my previous sandbag training experiences. Having an appropriately sized and shaped sandbag really is a gamechanger.

Sand Medicine Ball Alternatives

There aren’t many proper “sand medicine balls” on the market, but let’s take a look at three options that will serve you almost, if not just as well.

Frequently Asked Questions

I don’t know everything about these bags, but I will try to answer as many questions about them as I can!

GORUCK Sand Medicine Balls…Do what you need them to do…

There are quite a few circular sandbags on the market today and it’s not too hard to find a number of different options on Amazon. I mentioned earlier that a lot of these are actually quite inexpensive and appear on the surface to be intriguing options.

In my experience, “adjustable” sandbags with too large of a range (for example, an “adjustable” sandbag that claims to be able to handle between 50 and 120 pounds of sand) never end up working very well. Also, being on the lookout for a more niche sandbag size/weight made the search even more difficult.

Although I’m not using GORUCK’s offering “properly”, only filling my 80-pound bag with 70-pounds of sand, it has proven to be a solid option for me that has allowed me to finally do my CrossFit program’s sandbag work with the proper Rx weight.

There are probably cheaper, perfectly round 70-pound sandbag options out there, but I’m content with mine…even if it isn’t perfect for me.