Which size of Sandflail is best for me?

The wider the SandFlail the more overall weight it can hold. The wider the Sandflail the more the weight will be at the bottom emphasising the torque. The longer the Sandflail the more torque as well.

Circular Shape Sandflail

SMALL: Designed to be used one handed as a club/short mace style tool. I have wanted to create a shorter club style version for a long time and now it is here. I love club training and this one of my all time favourite tools. You can do Indian club style work when loaded light, load it up a bit and it feels like a heavier club or short mace (buluva), feels amazing! Being shorter it will also work for children/young athletes as a Sandflail starter tool. My 70 year old mum loves it for daily training to keep her self supple and strong. Great for shoulder health & flow work. A tool for any age and proficiency. I use one of these every single day as part of my daily practice. I usually load this anywhere from 2-6kg (2.5-15lbs), I use it mainly for warm up, Mobility & speed work.

MEDIUM: Designed to sit right in between the other two sizes. This one can do it all and is great for most people from beginner right through to advanced. Can be loaded up light or heavy depending on what you need for that session or to match your strength & skill level. Mace & club style swinging is excellent with this size, load up light for one handed or heavier for two hand work. You can do a lot of my hybrid kettlebell/club/Sandflail movements with this but if you’re more looking to only do kettlebell style work then you might want to look at the larger size. You can purchase the optional cork grip stopper/pommel if you want with this product. I like to load this one between 8-13.5kg (17.5-30lbs) for heavier work and between 2-4kg for lighter movements. In Shorty length you can load this to 14.5kg (32 lbs) of sand and still comfortably get a hand on for swinging. Longer length can be loaded heavier up to 16kg/17kg (35lb ish) for swinging and can be fully loaded to use as a hybrid sandbag for carries, squats & presses etc.

LARGE: For circular training this one is a beast, for mace and club style swinging when loaded up heavy it’s best for experienced practitioners who are very familiar with mace and club swinging. You can still load it lighter and slowly progress but if you’re a beginner or never used a Sandflail before do not load this up heavy until your body and strength adjusts to the new stimulus. This will tax your grip much more than the others so start light and let your grip strength build up. For kettlebell style training this one is great as it’s close to the dimensions of a competition kettlebell. So when you put it in the rack position it will feel a bit familiar. In the Shorty length I load this up from 10-18kg (22-40lbs) for heavier work but can be loaded much lighter to do the same movements as the other sizes. Even experienced practitioners find their grip lighting up using one of these at 12kg (26lbs). The long length you can load this up pretty heavy when fully loaded and can work amazingly as a scaled down strongman sandbag.

Standard Original Shape

The 9” is a great strength tool. A great all rounder. Great for mace/club style training and Indian club style movements when loaded light. If you’re only going to buy one this would be it.

The 11” is heavy when it comes to mace/club style swinging, obviously can still load it lighter if you desire but you can go pretty heavy with this and the torque is insane. I love to do kettlebell style work with it as it has enough size to sit extremely well in the rack position. You can fill this to max capacity which makes it great for carries, squats, lunges, pressing etc. Loaded with steel shot this thing can get very heavy.

How do you close the Sandflail and shape the handle?

I supply extra strong durable bands and bungee cord with each Sandflail. You wrap/twist them round the handle material the desired amount of times. I usually twist the bungee cord around 3-5 times depending on how tight I want to pack the sand down but it can vary slightly as I hand tie every single bungee cord myself. In the circular sandflail I tie two bungee cords after the sand to really secure it down. The bands I twist over twice to tie end of Sandflail at opening which also makes a pommel to stop your hand from slipping (just like a mace or club). The bands when wrapped twice at the handle opening will hold the cork ball in place just make sure you have about an inch of material sticking out to allow the band to grip and stay in place. Each Sandflail will be different, the more material of the larger ones may need less wrapping of the bands than the smaller ones. Check out the video in the Sandflail set up page.

What weight should I start with?

I recommend starting lighter than you would think. The non structured handle really increases the torque when compared to a solid handle mace or club, I usually say start with half the weight you would normally use in other circular tools and go from there. Let your body adjust to the new stimulus. Thats the beauty of the Sandflail….you don’t need a lot of weight to get a great training session in.

What can I fill it with?

Going by the name I obviously recommend sand but I also use rice a lot but steel shot will work great if you desire. Water bottles and water bladders work great. Weighted juggling balls, wood pellets, smooth stones….if it’s not sharp and has some weight to it….you can use it.

What is the difference in the Handle and feel compared to other tools?

Difference between The Sandflail flexible handle and other tools with solid handles.

The difference comes down to how the tool transfers force and how your body controls it.

A solid-handle mace or club is essentially one rigid lever. A sandflail Introduces a moving joint between your hand and the weighted head, which changes the dynamics significantly.

Here's what the flexible handle accomplishes:

1. It delays the force transfer

With a rigid mace, when you move the handle, the head moves immediately because they're locked together.

With a flexible handle:

Your hand starts moving first.
The flexible section bends.
The weighted head lags behind before catching up.

This creates a "whip" effect where the force arrives later rather than all at once.

2. It forces constant stabilisation

Because the head isn't rigidly attached, it wants to continue moving under its own momentum.

Your:

wrists,
forearms,
shoulders,
core,

must make continuous small adjustments to keep it under control.

A rigid mace is comparatively predictable.

3. It increases proprioception

You receive much richer feedback through the flexible connection.

You can actually feel:

where the head is,
when it's accelerating,
when it's pulling away,
when it's beginning to swing off-axis.

Many people describe this as the tool "talking back."

4. It smooths the acceleration

Instead of a sudden stop or reversal at the end of a swing, the flexible connection absorbs part of that change.

The result often feels:

less jarring,
more fluid,
more circular.

That's one reason many people enjoy using them for flowing movement drills.

5. It punishes poor timing

If your timing is off:

the head swings wide,
oscillates,
or pulls you out of position.

A rigid mace can often be "muscled" through a movement.

A flexible tool requires you to coordinate:

body rotation,
arm motion,
and rhythm.

6. It changes loading during swings

During circular movements, the head develops centrifugal force.

With a rigid handle, that force is transmitted directly.

With a flexible connection, the direction of pull is constantly changing as the handle bends, so the load on your muscles is less constant and more dynamic.

Why it feels "alive"

Many users describe flails as feeling alive because the weighted head has a degree of independence. Your nervous system is continuously predicting and correcting for its motion. This is similar to handling:

a rope with a weight attached,
a kettlebell during certain ballistic movements,
or a medicine ball on a tether.

The flexibility means you're managing an object with its own momentum rather than simply rotating a rigid implement.

Summary

A flexible handle primarily:

delays and smooths force transmission,
creates a whip-like motion,
requires much greater stabilization,
improves proprioceptive feedback,
rewards precise timing and rhythm,
and makes the implement feel dynamic rather than rigid.

That's why swinging a sandflail often feels less like lifting a club and more like guiding a moving mass that has its own momentum. A completely unique experience unlike anything else.

Why Does The Sandflail Feel Much Heavier than equivalent weight mace or club?

The short answer is that the weight itself isn't actually heavier-the distribution of the mass makes a Sandflail feel dramatically heavier than a macebell or clubbell of the same weight.

Here's why.

1: A macebell or clubbell spreads its mass more evenly along its length. A Sandflail, however, has a flexible hamdle with the weight hanging at the end. That puts almost all the effective mass at the greatest possible distance from your hand. The farther the mass is from your hand, the greater the torque (rotational force) you have to resist. Even a few extra inches makes a noticeable difference.

2. The load moves independently

Unlike a rigid mace or club, the Sandflail's weight:

swings
lags behind your movement
catches up unexpectedly
changes direction independently

Your muscles aren't just lifting the weight-they're constantly stabilizing it.

This means your:

grip
wrists
shoulders
core

are working almost continuously.

3. Sand is a "live" load

Because the weight is sand-filled, the sand shifts during movement.

Every acceleration or deceleration causes the sand to move inside, creating:

delayed loading
changing momentum
unpredictable force

It's similar to carrying a bucket of water versus a bucket of concrete. Even at the same weight, the water feels more demanding because it keeps moving.

4. Momentum builds differently

Once the Sandflail starts moving, the hanging mass develops momentum.

When you reverse direction, you have to:

stop that momentum
redirect it
prevent the weight from pulling you off balance

With a rigid mace, the weight follows your hands directly. With a Sandflail, there's a slight delay before the weight responds.

5. Constant deceleration work

Many exercises emphasize acceleration, but Sandflails require a lot of braking.

Your muscles spend much of the movement:

absorbing force
controlling the swing
preventing overshoot

This eccentric (lengthening) muscle work is very fatiguing. For many people:

10 kg clubbell: feels manageable because the mass is distributed.
10 kg macebell: feels heavier because the head is concentrated.
10 kg Sandflail: often feels like a significantly heavier implement because the moving, unstable load continuously increases the stabilization demands.

It's common for experienced users to say a Sandflail feels comparable to a mace or club that's several kilograms heavier, although the exact difference depends on the exercise and technique.

That "heavier" feeling is exactly why they're effective. They develop:

grip endurance
shoulder stability
rotational core strength
coordination and timing
the ability to absorb and redirect force

So while the scale might say 10 kg, your nervous system experiences a much more complex loading pattern than it does with a 10 kg macebell or clubbell, making it feel substantially heavier.

Does the SandFlail come filled?

No I do not supply any filler with the SandFlail.
I recommend sand, whether that be play sand you can buy in stores or simply go to the beach.
I also use rice a lot. It is roughly half the weight of sand so great for learning and teaching with. Steel shot is amazing but is quite pricey but you don’t really need a lot with the way the Sandflail functions.

Gunny Sack Size?

Comes in Small, Medium and Large.

S: Great for scaled down strongman movements but with the ability to fill with a good amount of weight. Fillable up to 63kg/138lbs. Amazing for two hand swings, swipes, hammer swings, pressing and many more movements when filled halfway or below. Great for people of all ages, shapes and sizes. Most of the strongman tools are far too bulky for some smaller stature people, this is such a versatile size, this is the size I use the most.

M: This becomes more of a strongman tool if desired. Fillable up to approx 73kg/160lbs with sand. Can still be used for heavy two hand swings, swipes and hammer swings when filled half way or below. Still great for most people as can be loaded light or fairly heavy depending on your abilities. Probably the best all rounder if you only buy one.

L: A beast of tool. Just pick it up and move it. Fillable up to approx 82kg/180lbs with sand, a bit too big for swings between the legs but you can still fill it halfway or below and throw it over your shoulder….get squatting, lunging, carrying…..get creative.

WARRANTY:

One year sensible use manufacturer warranty. I have ones that are still going strong 8 years later that I’ve used a lot and have travelled the world. Do not slam these on the ground and excessive impact on hard surfaces is not covered in the warranty…that involves punching and throwing. It’s a material based product and even though it’s using the great durable material and extra stitching with bonded nylon thread, any material based product will break or wear down over time if slammed or continually scraped on rough/hard surfaces. Normal drops are fine, I’ve never had one break on me.

Can I buy in bulk?

Yes get in touch via email and I can sort bulk orders out for you with a discount no problem. This is a boutique small business and I do not just mass produce so get in touch to work out the order.

Any questions I haven’t covered here go to the contact page and send me an email into@sandflail.com

Shipping: For Delivery I usually ship out within 1-3 days of purchase. I have a very busy schedule and run this business by myself so I try to get all orders out ASAP but please allow up to 3 days for me to ship your items.

International import fees: sometimes there are import fees/tax for shipping internationally. These are solely the responsibility of the customer as that isn’t covered in the cost of the product.

Returns

You have 14 days to notify me of goods you want to return. If faulty, a replacement can be sent out after investigation and photo/video evidence of the fault. If you have simply changed your mind overseas customers must pay for return shipping and label item ‘returned goods’. To be eligible for a return, your item must be in new and unused condition. Sandflail must never have been filled with sand or any other filling material to qualify for a return. Once a sandflail has been filled, it is no longer eligible for return under any circumstances. After evidence (proof of return postage) can be seen your refund will be issued. You will be refunded through your original payment method. To start the return process get in touch via info@sandflail.com

Military and Emergency Services Discount

Yes I offer a Military/Emergency Services discount. Provide evidence of your service and I can sort out a discount code.

Get in touch at info@sandflail.com for more info