Hi Ashaunte,

Sounds like you gave it a good shot with your own version! I’m not sure if adding a zipper at this point is possible or not, but it sounds like possibly not. To answer your question though, yes, all the bean bags in this list can be easily filled, emptied and refilled as they all have zips. I’d say for a medium sized back that either the LensCoat LensSack Jr. or Kinesis SafariSack 4.2 would be my recommendations. I use the Kinesis SafariSack the most personally and it has been really nice to use. It’s also reasonably priced.

I hope this helps!

Laurence

I actually sewed my own photography rice bag a couple years ago to use when shooting from railings. Cut thick cotton poly cloth, filled with dried rice, and sewed shut. This has been fine for occassional use but I have come to realize that I made a few critical mistakes though – the fabric, the rice, and sewing it shut (why did I use a zipper?)! The fabric gets dirty pretty easy given its used outdoors but I can’t wash it because of the rice, the fabric has also started to rip and pill, its sewn shut so can’t remove the rice without ripping it apart, and the rice has become all broken up over time meaning the bag has become a bit too flat. So I have conceded defeat!

So the reason I came to read your very in depth article on this subject….I need to retire my homemade one and buy a new one for a big project I have coming up and would like to know if all the ones you recommend here can all easily be filled, emptied, and refilled? Are they easy to clean? Any advice for a medium sized, cleanable, versatile refillable, bean bag that should last a pretty long time and can be used in most situations. Don’t really care about color, branding, extra features, or anything like that. thanks

thanks that lenscoat one sound perfect for me, and yeah I think the Jr size would work fine for my needs. thanks again for your help.

Hi Juan,

It’s good to hear from you. So if you want the option to attach a device then the LensCoat LensSack Pro Jr and LensSack Pro would be the best option as they have the removable metal plate for mounting. I would say with small gear the smaller Junior model would be fine which is the version I have.

The shape is fine for windowsills and roll bars I would say, with the saddlebag you can put the legs around the structure you are shooting on, and it also has clips you can use for security. The only thing to note is that the mount point is a 3/8″-16 mount point, which is a standard size for a gimbal head or tripod ball head but larger than the tripod hole in a camera or GoPro. So you would need an adaptor (easy to find).

The other thing I would note is that if you are using it on a boat where it is possible it might get wet, to pick a filling like PolyBeads which are plastic where water will be less of an issue. The bag itself is also of course not waterproof.

The other option to look at if you don’t mind giving up the mount point would be the Kinesis Safari Sack 4.2. It’s a very flexible shape and design and can sit well on a lot of surfaces. However, for your specific needs of windowsills and roll bars, I think the LensCoat will be a better option.

Enjoy!

Laurence