Bean Bag

What do you guys find the best filling for a bean bag is???

I use polystyrene beads - very light but not very eco-friendly...


Bird seed = heavy but you can at least attract your subjects with it.

Hi Andy,

I fill mine with birdseed. It is a bit on the heavy side but it's as solid as a rock when supporting my 200-400mm. Also, you always have a spare supply of seed in case you run out!

HTH
Regards Chris
www.c-m-l.com

Rice makes a good filler and can be bought in just about any country you visit. Empty the bag when flying and refill at your destination. Nigerseed can be used too.

Rob

cheers all!!!

I've got 2 bean-bags - both from Wildlife Watching Supplies - the smaller one I fill with bird seed. I recently bought the newer version which has longer sides which I also filled with bird seed, however I found this to be just too heavy and so I filled it with a mix of half polystyrene beads & half bird seed...still heavy enough to provide support but a bit more managable when carrying around etc

Paul

I use a mix in my wws bag, which fulfills may purposes. Each of the two bags is 50/50 filled with Polysterene and Silica Gel. This gives me a nice weight, and heavy base, but also doesnt make it lop sided on the weight.

It also means i can stick one in my rucksack and it helps keep my gear fungus free too!

Bird seed lives in mine and gets refilled every couple of weeks as I tend to leave most of the contents as a little 'thank you' after a photo session. I tried the poly beads but imo they just don't grip the lens properly and allow too much movement.

Bird seed or dried beans for me as I am generally using it when being lazy from a car so weight is not an issue. If I travel then I always pop into the local market and get some local dried beans. I have visited one Masai lady for the past three years and she cannot believe it when I take 20KG of beans for my clients bean bags!

Sunflower seeds, but it weighs a ton. Don't use it much though as I lug a tripod everywhere