footbag.org

[David Winter (thatguy)]

I would like to know the general guidelines for proper care of a sewn/stitched hacky sack, specifically a 32 panel, but i doubt it matters how many panels it has.

I have a Phobia 32 (facile panel) metal from footbagshop.com, which I hear is disliked by some people, but my hack seems to work fine, except for one or two reasons... first,, i've had mine for about 5 days, and i can already see the stitching on it come out in places, and there has been a couple gaps between the panels, which went away, oddly.

Is that normal? I've already washed it twice in cold, mildy soapy water, as it instructed, with the care guide that came with it, all it said to do was wash it and be gentle with it though... any thoughts would be nice.

[Benjamin Benulis (ironcladben)]

That is pretty bad that after 5 days the stitching is already coming apart. That shouldn't happen.

You are lucky to live near Tulsa. Teddy Monhollon from Tulsa stitches AWESOME 8 panel bags. You can contact his brother here:
http://www.footbag.org/members/profile/33122

I highly recommend his bags.

[Raven Barnwellmccoy (raven_bm)]

im pretty shur that they will take it back and send you a new one with in 15 days of purchase,
just email them,
they have great costumer service.

[Waylon Lew (Wasabi)]

The general treatment for your footbag is like this:

-no toe pickups or scrapes. A gentle roll of the footbag on your toe is welcome, but be careful.
-avoid kicking the bag three times your height. This includes flying kicks and such. Do this with a shitty bag or a bag made for consecutives instead, not the freestyle bags you want to keep alive.
-don't intentional punt the bag at someone with a hard kill, or a roundhouse kick. This hurts your fellow kicker/footbagger and can leave a mark on your footbag due to the impact.
-if it is dirty/sweaty/crusty/everything nasty, wash it immediately.
-if you've had a sweaty session with your bag (the bag is covered and soaked with sweat), and if your bag is filled with a steel filler, WASH IT IMMEDIATELY. Rust can destroy your footbag from the inside out. Aftering washing it completely, dry and pat with a towel occasionally to keep the rusting process at a minimum.
-Keep your bags in an open space, like an eyeglass case, small pouch or a pocket in your travel bag. Putting it in your pants pocket will cause the material to bunch and pill, and will look unsightly. Bunched and pilled fabric also has a higher tendency to burst up holes as well.

There are also instructions for hand-kneading your footbag to stretch out the fabric and loosening up the seams. The videos are out there, so search this site or youtube for more info.