Firstlaw Fitness Spider Mount 140 - Heavy Punching Bag Hanger - for Heavy Bags up to 140 LBS - Made in The USA

This will be long, as it was a long process and there was very limited information on the internet. I’m hoping this review will help others in a similar situation. Tl;dr: Never mount a heavy bag to a finished garage/room. If the joist is covered by drywall, you WILL cause damage. If the joists are exposed, there are structural braces you can put in to prevent damage. Either way, this spider mount solves both situations and doesn’t require a structural engineer to reinforce the joists. Context: About 4 weeks ago I installed a heavy bag on a normal hanger in my garage. I have a section of plywood attached to 2 parallel joists that I have a pulley connected to, which I use to lift up my tractor for maintenance so I assumed it could easily handle the weight. I put the bag on this pulley system, and as expected the joists did not even flex a millimeter. After 3 weeks of punching the bag, I noticed my engineered support beam that runs the width of my house had cracks in the plaster (mud?) and nail pops all along the visible section. Whoops. Research: I asked a group of structural engineers about a heavy bag in the garage, and universally they all said it is a bad idea. The joists are designed to hold things up, not prevent lateral movements (dynamic loads, such as a bag swinging). They all recommended a floor standing bag holder, but that option was not going to work for my setup. I did some researching, and I stumbled upon Firstlaw Fitness’s spider mount. I submitted the design to the engineers, and they stated that from an engineering perspective, it appears to be the right materials/size/build to effectively dampen a heavy bag. This was assuring, but I wanted to make sure I’m not going to continue to cause cosmetic damage to my house. I emailed the customer service of Firstlaw and asked about this and whether an engineer had tested the difference from this mount to a normal mount. Jeff, the owner of Firstlaw Fitness, responded to my email and confirmed that yes, he himself is a mechanical engineer, and he explained how the combination of materials allows the bag to move in a way that does not stress the joists. That was the assurance I was looking for. Purchasing: I ordered immediately afterwards. There was a huge issue on UPS’s end, with them losing the mount in transit over nearly a week. For context, I’ve been in the Army for over 19 years and the tendon in my ankle is crushed, therefore I can’t run anymore. Boxing is my form of cardio, so this delay was very impactful to my level of fitness. I was in contact with Jeff during this ordeal. Once we realized it was truly lost, he offered to upgrade my shipping from free ground to 2nd day UPS air, at no additional cost to me, so that I could get the mount sooner. The issue was 100% on UPS’s end, but Jeff went far above and beyond to resolve a problem outside of his control, and I am truly appreciative of that. Install: The mount finally arrived, and I noticed it was very well wrapped to prevent damage, even though the entire frame is solid steel. There were even cardboard buffers on the springs to prevent scratches – very meticulous attention to detail. Also, at one point I believe UPS air dropped the package from 40,000 feet because the outside was significantly damaged, but the robust packaging prevented any damage to the mount. Install was straight forward: I had previously identified the joists I was going to mount, and had marked the edges of each joist to ensure I’d center the lag bolts when installing. I was fighting a kayak and an LED light while trying to put the first lag in, but ultimately the mount is only 14 lbs and not too difficult to hold up while you drive in a lag. After the first lag was in, the next 3 were simple. I then hung the bag, and of note one dimension I could not find on the website was the “drop” in the hanger once a bag is mounted, so I could determine the length of chain I needed. For those curious, it is about 7” from the ceiling to the bottom of the built-in eyelet using the spider mount 140 and a 100 lb bag. Effectiveness: My master bedroom is above the garage. With the normal mount, my wife would complain the entire bedroom was rattling with every hit. My son, adjacent to the garage in the living room, would say it was deafening with each hit. With the spider mount, I told the wife I was going to do some practice punches and let me know how it sounds upstairs. I threw my weight into each punch. After I was done, I asked her how it sounded. She didn’t even know I was hitting the bag. My son heard the smack of the bag getting punched, but the lateral movement of the house and shaking of the structure had completely stopped. The bag was also much more stable on the spider mount, with the rubber and springs preventing the flopping back and forth of the bag on certain hits. It stayed upright, spun freely, and moved quietly around the garage as I punched from various angles. I installed the mount just hours ago, so I will provide an update in a few weeks if anything deviates from the above. So far, I am 100% impressed with this mount and wish I knew the risks of a normal mount first. I’m going to repair the cracks and will monitor to see if they reappear. From what I’ve seen and heard, I don’t think I’ll have any further issues.

My wife has been begging me to put up a 100lb muay thai bag for years, she's really into boxing and working out on the bag at her gym. Almost went with a spring system, but I didn't feel like hearing the bag in the house. This mount is very expensive, but worth every penny. I mounted mine in the basement, right onto the floor joists. Hardware included was high quality, I drilled in the pilot holes, put some oil onto the bolts and they went right in with no issues. Just make sure you are hitting your joists right in the center. Ran into some issues in that my ceiling is only about 79", bag is 72" long and this mount stretches to probably 5-6" when loaded. But removing some stuffing from the top of the bag and hanging it very close to the top gave me a solid 2" underneath, which was perfect. Functionally this delivers on a nice quiet workout. You will only hear the sound of your hand/foot against the bag, but will not hear or feel the bag bouncing around at all. I can stand right on my 1st floor right over the bag and have someone go to town on it, and I don't hear or feel it. It's not so springy that the bag bounces around either, you can tell a lot of thought and engineering went into this mount. UPDATE: Just wanted to update, have had this mount for a few weeks and have done some intense training sessions on it and I'm even more impressed the more I use it. I did have some noise coming from where the ring attaches to the unit and texted customer support (clue 1 that customer support is incredible, who else has text support?). Someone called me back literally 10 minutes after my text and explained that one of the bolts just got loose. But instead of instructing me to tighten it he just said he would exchange for a new one, which arrived 3 days later. Customer service is phenomenal, unheard of in this day and age of waiting an hour on the phone, filling out RMA forms and having to prove to a company you have an issue.

My wife was complaining about noise and the house shaking when I hit the heavy bags. I decided to try this mount as I had seen ads on social media. After I installed the mounts, I hit the bags as I normally do and asked my wife if she noticed any difference. She said she noticed almost no noise and alot less shaking. Very satisfied with the product. It is easy to install and works as advertised.

I got this before my daughter was born. If you are a parent you know how difficult it can be keeping a baby asleep. It feels like you are walking on eggshells. I have a 130lb bag on this mount and I can kick it with everything I have. Does not shake the house like other mounts. I highly recommend it especially if you box when everyone is asleep or just hate loud noises. I honestly don't understand why every manufacturer has not gone with a similar design. It is perfect.

I am amazed that I can smash my heavy bag and it is WAY quiet, but also it totally took the Jurassic Park effect away, as the vibration is now gone in house. Very happy!

1. Fantastic quality! Very sturdy. Every piece of this thing screams “well made” 2. Does exactly what it’s supposed to do. Keeps the house from shaking. Super quiet! 3. Comes with all necessary hanging hardware. You don’t have to buy anything. I personally bought some rails from Lowe’s so that I can slide the mount in and out as needed. But if you plan on just screwing it into wood beams it comes with everything you need. 4. Worth every extra penny. If you don’t want your house or porch or beams to shake, or the loud thudding noise throughout the house as you work the bag then this is what you are looking for. No additional bag spring necassary.

Great bag hanger !! I like that it supports the heavy bags so there isn't too much swinging, even with kicks/knees - but allows enough motion at top of bag for it to force concentration and good follow through in head strikes...more realistic. Quiet, but doesn't inhibit rotation - more good feedback on strike quality.

I researched multiple alternatives before deciding on this product. I have mounted the product and would offer the following considerations: 1) It is optimally installed with a helper. The mount is solidly built, but hefty in weight for one handed handling overhead. I was able to do it but it would have been much easier with someone holding it in place. I am not someone who does home improvement projects and I was able to mount by myself in a few hours. Make sure you wear eye protection to protect from wood fragments that will be falling down when you drill pilot holes for bots and wear gloves when driving bolts, 2) Definitely use oil on the bolts. If you are driving the bolts in with a ratchet, my experience is that i longer ratchet or pipe extender will make the process easier. If you are careful and go slowly, an impact driver might be helpful. 3) I used mounting hooks to mount the bag directly. I did not realize, until after I bought a universal hanger with my bag, that I could just hang directl from the mount, Save your money on mounting kit until you know if you need one. In terms of use, I bought an 80 pound bag, The mount is quiet and solid. I am happy with the purchase. In all, I am very happy with the mount. Be safe when installing, consider a helper, take your time and you will not regret the purchase.