Picking The Best Cornhole Bags For You

We get it. Buying Cornhole bags can be overwhelming. There are different series, different fabrics, different designs, different fill materials, and there are so many Cornhole bag brands. It can be confusing! For those of you who are interested, we decided the pull back the curtain a bit and give you more than enough information to make an educated decision when buying your next set of Cornhole bags.

THE ELEMENTS OF A CORNHOLE BAG:
It's probably best to start with a quick tour around a Cornhole bag to let you know what to look for, and what separates one Cornhole bag from another.

FABRIC:
The first, and most obvious thing to consider is the fabric. While many bag makers use similar fabrics, there is no set fabric for Cornhole bags. That said, duck cloth is commonly used. In fact, we use duck cloth for many of our Cornhole bags. To the touch, it feels a little like canvas. Duck cloth is extremely durable and comes in many colors, so it's a great option for Cornhole bags.

Some bags, usually very cheap ones, sewn by someone who only sells them locally might be made of a cotton fabric. Almost like a more sturdy version of pillowcase fabric. We advise against purchasing these bags. That type of fabric simply can't stand up to the wear and tear that Cornhole bags go through.

In addition to duck cloth, many bag makers, including us, use suede in order to offer duel-sided Cornhole bags, which we refer to as Glide & Grip Cornhole bags. Another popular name for these is Slick and Stick Cornhole bags. Generally speaking, one side is some form of duck cloth, and the other side is usually suede or a synthetic fabric.

The benefit of having two different fabrics is each behaves differently. The duck cloth side will glide more on the board, while the suede side will grip the board. Some players find they have a side that works better for them, so they'll just stick with that side. Other players, use this versatility tactically throughout a game. If the board is open, they'll use the glide side and shoot for the hole. If they feel the need to throw a bag and have it stop on the board to block their opponent, they'll use the grip side.

To further complicate matters, some bag manufacturers have various fabric offerings they rate based on the speed the bag slides. Obviously, this is for very serious players who are really fine-tuning throws. At the time of writing we do not offer speed-rated bags. We do offer professional Cornhole bags that are of the highest quality possible, but every one of our pro Cornhole bags has the same fabric as every other pro Cornhole bag we offer. We think that consistency should trump variety when playing at the highest levels.

FILLING:
The next thing to consider is the filling material, which thankfully isn't nearly as complicated as fabric. Generally speaking, there are two types of filling used in Cornhole bags; corn and resin.

Corn-filled Cornhole bags are generally cheaper than resin. That's really the only benefit of corn. There are some pretty big drawbacks. First and foremost, if corn-filled Cornhole bags get wet, they can be ruined. Corn simply doesn't standup well to moisture.

The second drawback is dust. As you toss corn-filled bags the corn breaks up and the bags start getting pretty dusty. A lot of people are bothered by this.

Finally, the last major drawback is that a lot of critters love eating corn. There's no shortage of stories of people who go to get their Cornhole gear out, only to discover some rodents made a meal of their Cornhole bags.

For all of those reasons, we really recommend spending the little bit extra and getting bags that are filled with a weather-resistant filling, like resin. We do offer corn-filled bags, because we know there are some people who just want something they can toss around and the extra money simply isn't worth it to them. But for most people, we really think it's worth it to spend a little more and just avoid the three big pitfalls listed above.

When it comes to resin-filled bags, there are some different resins available, but by and large most of them perform very similarly. The biggest thing is that resin is much better than corn. It's also a little more expensive, so that's the tradeoff.

One other note about resin-filled bags. If you've priced professional Cornhole bags, you undoubtedly noticed that they are considerably more expensive than regular bags. One of the reasons for this actually has a lot to do with the filling. Pro Cornhole bags are supposed to weigh approximately 16 ounces. Most bags are going to be pretty close to that. Professional Cornhole bags are going to be really close to that. Bag makers spend more time getting the weight right with pro bags. In fact, all of our professional Cornhole bags are filled by hand to ensure that were getting as close to that 16 ounces as possible. That's one of the reasons pro Cornhole bags are more expensive. There's more labor involved because consistency from bag to bag is a must.

STITCHING:
Another major thing to consider, is the quality of the stitching. When it comes to Cornhole bag longevity, most of the time the stitching is going to be the first thing that fails. Sometimes it can be the fabric, but usually the stitching is what determines how long Cornhole bags will last. In fact, we take stitching so seriously that we offer, what are, to our knowledge the best stitching warranties available.

Obviously, every Cornhole bag, if it's used, will, at some point break open and be unusable. They simply can't last forever because of the wear and tear they go through. As stated above, the stitching is usually the first thing to go. So make sure that any bags you buy have good thread and high quality stitching. If you're buying online, make sure you have some sort of stitching warranty.

PRINTED DESIGN:
Finally, if you're like most of us the visual appeal of the bags will be a factor as well. There are tons of designs available. Our customers seem to like patriotic Cornhole bags, funny Cornhole bags and for pro bags, there are all kinds of niche designs out there. Obviously, solid-color bags are cheaper. But as we like to say, you don't wear a solid color t-shirt everyday, so why toss those boring solid-color Cornhole bags? We're proud to offer printed Cornhole bags in a variety of styles. We offer customized Cornhole bags too.

WHERE DO YOU PLAY?
Generally speaking, when you play Cornhole, where are you playing? Are you in a backyard, at a lake house, at a stadium, at a bar, at a local tournament? Where you play can help eliminate some choices right off the bat. For instance, if the only place you ever play is in a backyard, you can probably get by with just a nice set of standard duck cloth bags. If you are currently, or plan to play in a tournament, you're probably going to want the precision of professional Cornhole bags.

If you normally play at a bar or while tailgating, then maybe it's more of a social thing for you. So have some fun with it and get some regulation Cornhole bags with a funny print on them. We can tell you from experience that our lineup of funny Cornhole bags turn heads in these settings.

HOW OFTEN DO YOU PLAY?
If you only play a few times a year, maybe at family gatherings, then you probably don't need to spend a ton of money on Cornhole bags. Solid-color bags will probably work for you, or maybe pay a little more to get a fun design. Certainly pro Cornhole bags aren't necessary.

If you play fairly often during the summer while tailgating, or even just in the backyard. You should really think about not only getting high quality Cornhole bags, but maybe even having a backup set. There's nothing worse than having people over to play Cornhole and having a bag break open with no spare. It's like running out of propane when you're grilling out with friends.

If you're a serious Cornhole player, who plays frequently at tournaments, not only are the professional Cornhole bags going to be worth the extra cost for you, but you're probably going to want to have multiple sets. All Cornhole bags break at some point. You certainly don't want to learn that lesson the hard way, at a tournament.

WHAT ARE THE CONDITIONS LIKE WHERE YOU LIVE AND PLAY?
This is a major factor that people don't think about a lot of the time. If you live in an area where you get dew on the ground, or you get a lot of rain, it's really worth it to spend a little more to get the all-weather, resin-filled bags. Corn-filled bags don't have to get soaked in order to get ruined. If you live in area where your Cornhole bags might get wet, spend the extra money and get all-weather Cornhole bags.