4 Things You Need To Know Before Filling Your Cornhole Bags

There is an ongoing debate between Cornhole game enthusiasts about the perfect fill for Cornhole Bags. I don’t know if I can settle here, but I’ll offer up the advantages of each and let you be the judge. Some believe it’s best to fill for your Cornhole bags with plastic pellets and others are die hard corn filled bag fanatics. They each have their advantages. Hopefully, this will help you decide which bag fill is best for your perfect set of Cornhole bags.

Weather Resistant
This one goes to the plastic pellets. One of the biggest advantages to plastic pellets is their resistant to moisture. Over time, corn is more susceptible to developing mildew as the weather takes its toll. It’s almost inevitable that Cornhole bags will be left outside sometime. If this happens, the rain or the morning dew starts working away on your favorite bags. Your corn filled bags will probably start to mildew if they aren’t dried out quickly enough. Worse than that, if they really get waterlogged, corn can even swell up. Once this happens to your Cornhole bags, you might as well pitch them and dig out the sewing machine. They’ll never be the same.

Corn Breaks Down
Once a new set of Cornhole bags gets broken in it’s easy to get used to your “favorite bags”. The fabric that Cornhole bags are made out of is usually stiff “Duck Cloth” canvas. After the canvas breaks down, the bags get softer and easier to play with. That’s the good side of breaking in you bags. On the other hand corn changes the weight and play of the bags when it breaks down too much. You may have tossed a set of bags yourself that seemed half filled or floppy. This is the effect of the corn breaking down. I will say, this takes some serious playing time before you’ll notice the effects of this. Nevertheless, this is one of the disadvantages of corn as a fill.

It’s all in the Name
This one is pretty self explanatory. The game is called Cornhole, not pellet or bean hole. This is one reason some insist on corn filled bags. Playing with corn is how the game originated.

The Dust is a Must
No matter what you think about some of the disadvantages of corn filled bags listed above, it’s tough to argue with this one if you’ve played with both Cornhole bag types. This is the main reason everyone loves playing with corn filled bags. I’m not talking about which is more practical. I’m talking about what feels the best to play with. The dust that corn filled bags produce help the bags slide and play better. But that’s not the only reason players like the dust. There is just something about the dust of a Cornhole bag that coats your hands and clouds around the boards when the bags hit. It’s just part of the game for most. As the saying goes, “The Dust is a Must”.

203 Responses to 4 Things You Need To Know Before Filling Your Cornhole Bags

  1. Ana Tristan June 16, 2017 at 10:03 pm #

    I have seen that duck canvas is sold in different weights. 7 oz, 9.3 oz, 12 oz., 14 oz. Is there a preference?

  2. Gina June 10, 2018 at 10:58 am #

    Our bags are a few years old but haven’t been used a whole lot. My husband and I decided to play yesterday. The bags were giving off a LOT of dust. About halfway into our second game I started getting a tickle in my lungs, like I had inhaled a small bug. Well, this rapidly got worse until I realized it had to be the dust from the bags causing it. We had to quit. I was choking so bad and starting to gasp for air!. Luckily it cleared up once the air did. I am just wondering how dangerous this is? I cant find anything online related to my experience. I am going to try and refill the bags with fresh corn.

  3. Marnie September 15, 2019 at 9:30 pm #

    I’m making my first set and bought cracked corn for the fill. What are the disadvantages of that over whole?

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