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Dedicated sandbag filling tool five times faster than a shovel

Dedicated sandbag filling tool five times faster than a shovel
The GoBagger is a sandbag-filling device that is said to be five times faster than using a shovel
The GoBagger is a sandbag-filling device that is said to be five times faster than using a shovel
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The GoBagger is a sandbag-filling device that is said to be five times faster than using a shovel
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The GoBagger is a sandbag-filling device that is said to be five times faster than using a shovel

With all the advances we hear about in fields such as nanotechnology and electric vehicles, it’s easy to believe that simpler technology has evolved as far as it can go – that there is simply no way of improving things like the stapler, the dinner plate or the garden hose. Well, that line of thinking was recently proven wrong with the invention of a better type of sandbag. Now, as if to drive the point home, we hear about a better way of filling sandbags, and it’s a device called the GoBagger.

The usual sandbag-filling scenario involves two people, one of them holding the bag open, and the other shoveling sand into it. According to the folks at GoBagger, about 85-90 bags can be filled per hour in that way. With their device, however, they claim that two people with two GoBaggers could fill 480 bags in the same amount of time.

The GoBagger was invented by Sacramento, California, architect Matt Piner. Its design is very simple. A scoop on the front bites into the sand, and that sand then slides out of a chute on the back, and into an attached bag. A handle on top lets users hang onto the thing with one hand, while another handle on the back lets them use their other hand to hold the bag in place. Depending on the size of bag, one swing of the device into a sand pile will be enough to fill it.

Low-density polyethylene construction keeps the GoBagger’s weight down to an ergonomically-friendly 4.2 pounds (1.9 kg), although you could still undoubtedly mess up your back if you didn’t maintain the right posture when using it. The same thing, of course, could certainly be said about a shovel.

The GoBagger retails for US$59.95.

Fill Sandbags Faster with The GoBagger - How to fill sandbags fast - 500% faster than a shovel

10 comments
10 comments
Calina
Why move all that sand when you have water at your disposal.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A7TP9d0zUVQ&feature=related

This is so brilliant and so simple, it is amazing that it wasn\'t invented earlier.

http://www.hydroresponse.com/watergate.htm
Dakoroman, Sydney
Very nice, GOBAGGER !
The improvements I can see here is to make GOBAGGER folding, for different size bags and handling materials, including fluids/ liquids/ water for example.
New GOBAGGER designs can be made of simple, easy to assemble components, used instead of other tools, like bucket, shovel, becoming a MULTI-TOOL WITH ACCESSORIES for different \"fields of activity\", including toys for children or adults.
Also for easy transportation, plus reduce the volume when kept in deposit.
Thanks, Ioan \"Dakoroman\" OASA, Sydney, Australia.
Keith Kritselis
I do like the concept, but I think the weight and bulk of it would work against you with prolonged use.
There is a similar product that packs smaller and could be used by weaker and younger workers called the EZ-bagger. It has been around for 10 years.
http://ezbagger.tripod.com/
Dave B13
Similar tube device came to mind when I saw the Sandbag 2.0 article , this turned up in google, I\'ts way more elegant, probably cheaper, and probably almost as fast if not as fast, per it\'s web page can also be used to hand dig someone out of a trench collapse, it\'s just a flat plastic plate with a couple of handholes:
http://www.angelguardproducts.com/industrial/ezbagger/ezbagger.htm
Douglas Shackelford
The problem is it\'s still a sandbag. With deployment, redeployment and disposal the cost is about $12 per bag. That makes a 3\' high barrier ~$200 or more. And you can only use the bags once. There are better more effective and efficient ways to deal with emergency flood protection.
Here\'s just one: http://www.floodwalls.com.
These units cost around $145/ft and can be reused again and again for decades.
Dakoroman, Sydney
In my opinion, GOBAGGER is more versatile than EZ Bagger; it can be improved a lot, to make it a FOLDING MULTI-TOOL ACCESSORIES, used for many other activities.
Water-Gate, Sandbag 2.0-Sand Brick and FlodWalls are not in the same categories.
We are talking here about an ideal product/ GOBAGGER, used by ordinary people for almost any materials they can find in special circumstances, when time is limited.
Thanks, Ioan \"Dakoroman\" OASA, Sydney, Australia / dakoroman@yahoo.com
Lloyd Brombach
It\'s a stolen Idea! An incredibly similar product was featured a couple years ago on the TV show \"American Inventor.\" Of course, I don\'t remember the inventor that brought it to the show, so perhaps this is still him and he found a way to get it out there...I don\'t recall him being an architect though.
Michael Crumpton
A few years ago I saw a nearly identical device made of coroplast (corrugated plastic) that worked the same as the GoBagger but folded flat when when it was not being used.
Opiner
Just to clarify: I am Matt Piner, the Architect that invented this (needed to speak up, since anyone with a keyboard can say whatever they want as \"fact\"... Lloyd B...) The guy on American Inventor was Mark Martinez, his product was the \"Sackmaster 2000\" He came up with his invention about the same time I did mine, around 1998 or 99, completely independently. This is documented. We both have Design patents, neither infringes on the other, I do have a Utility patent as well, he does not -- there is no infringement. See http://inventorspot.com/existingproducts The judge from the show, Doug Hall contacted me and bought samples of the Gobagger to see for himself... He personally commented he felt it was a better design, as it works about the same but stacks and takes up less room for shipping and storage. There, some actual facts, not a \"stolen idea\" Lloyd B!
TechHead
And The Sand Revolution begins! We've had sand bricks ( Check them ou here http://www.gizmag.com/sand-brick-better-sandbag/16935/ ), the preffered alternative to sand bags. Coloured bright yellow and blue so you can see them in the dark and now we have big sand scoops with a hole in the back! Humans are on a roll!