I got this Steelbell to serve two purposes: One, to use on its own in the usual ways, and two as a weight to put inside my Bruteforce Athlete Sandbag. The Steelbeel is particularly suited for the latter purpose because steel shot is supposedly about twice as dense as sand and therefore takes half the space for a given amount of weight. My sandbag comes with two sand filler bags, but I find that taking the second filler bag out and putting it back in, in order to vary the weight of the Sandbag, is too tedious to bother with. So I just use the larger filler bag, with 40 pounds of sand, as my base -- my minimum. To that, I add the Steelbell for another 15 pounds. (I also have a 20-lb ankle-strap weight that is also very compact and will fit in with or without the Steelbell, allowing me to make the Sandbag weigh 40, 55, 60, or 75 pounds, all with compact, easy-to-change-out weights. Unlike the Steelbell, the ankle weight is hard, so you have to make sure not to hit yourself in the head with it.) As to the Steelbell itself, its got a great feel -- sort of like a heavy, solid-feeling pillow -- and seems very sturdy. I've used it to slam (indoors, on a carpet; I wouldn't throw it on something rough like concrete or asphalt, which might eventually damage it). It's very satisfying because it slams "dead," like a slam ball. I've also used it to do a sort of sit ups where you rock up and toss the 'bell up in the air, then catch it, a move I first learned using a Dynamax-type medicine ball but which works just fine with the Steelbell as well. I've also used it in a move where you twist and, holding the 'bell in both hands, swing your arms from one side to the other -- and low to high -- as if you were going to throw the 'bell (but you actually just hold on). The question is whether it's worth the extra money for the Steelbell as compared with the similar-looking Sandbell, which is filled with sand. I've never had one of those, but I know that they're significantly larger (because sand is lighter), which may or may not matter to you (it would for me, because, as I said, I need the compact weight to put in my sandbag). I've heard from some that the Sandbell tends to leak sand a bit, though I don't don't doubt that the Sandbells are pretty good too, while the Steelbell does not leak. There's a competing brand called the GRIPR -- whose heaviest is 10kg, or 22 lbs, and which is a bit less expensive, though still costly -- but I don't know how that compares. The GRIPR supposedly uses "steel sand," while I'm not sure if the Steelbell has courser "shot" or also fine steel sand. But anyway, you can't go wrong with the Steelbell, if you don't mind the inherent extra expense of steel shot over sand. I find that the 15-pounder I got is very useful both on its own and as a sandbag filler weight; I think a 20-pounder would be good for both purposes as well.
