Very sturdy, works good.

The first thing I noticed about this bag was that it was enormous. That's a very good thing. I've never had a Lewis bag this large before, and I'm happy about it. I've not yet crushed ice in it, but as far as that goes, a Lewis bag is a Lewis bag. The only way this one is different from any other is how dang huge it is, and (unfortunately for me) bigger is always better.

I didn't even know what lewis bag was until i wanted to make mint juleps. I turned it inside out and put it in the washing machine before using. Thick durable canvas. I smashed up some ice using the flat side of a steel meat tenderizer. Filled with crushed ice I grabbed what i needed and put the bag in the freezer still full of crushed ice for next time.

The coronavirus quarantine has forced us to do the unthinkable--make cocktails at home. Our fridge's ice maker died a while ago, and we had been using a Ziploc bag and the flat side of a meat tenderizer to crush ice. But the bag wasn't very durable, and we tended to end up punching holes in it. A little research led us to the discovery of what is apparently a standard bar tool--the Lewis bag, a sturdy canvas bag with a fold-over flap at one end that you can shove ice cubes into and whack with a mallet to your heart's content.Reviewed a number of these available on Amazon, and the negative reviews tended to focus on one fatal flaw in many of the products--the propensity for the seams to split on the bag. The ad copy for the Lewis bag from Sip Barware noted that their bag was triple-stitched, so we took a gamble. Sure enough, the seams of the bag are triple-stitched (or more--the serged edge of the fabric makes it a little hard to tell), and the 20 oz. canvas is incredibly sturdy.We've only used it once, so it's a little early to determine its durability, but it seems to have held up just fine, and it made an appropriate amount of crushed ice at an appropriate consistency. But I do have some caveats for anyone thinking of buying a Lewis bag (from Sip Barware or anyone). Even though It's a large-ish bag, Sip recommends only crushing enough ice for two or three drinks at a time. (Which makes sense--crushed ice doesn't last long anyway, and putting a whole lot of cubes inside the bag is almost a guarantee that you'll whack your thumb.) But that amount of ice only occupies about a quarter or a third of the bag, and because it's such a thick, stiff fabric, it's difficult to fold over the flap and then roll the bag towards the bottom in order to compress the ice at the bottom end, as Sip recommends. The fold-and-roll does give you a handhold, but it's a bit of a challenge. Hoping the canvas will become more pliable with time. Another consideration--unlike with a Ziploc, you can't see the ice you're whacking. So you can't really gauge how fine it is, or how many large chunks remain, except by touch. And that's a challenge too, given the thickness of the bag. We spent a bit of time prodding and poking at the bag in search of ice chunks. Happily, none of the ice melted (an advantage to thick canvas over polypropylene--it doesn't transfer heat from your hands), and we were pleased with the final result.To some extent we went with Sip Barware's version because it was reasonably priced, especially since we weren't sure a Lewis bag was the best solution (most of the manual ice-crushing machines on Amazon get scathing reviews). And we likewise opted not to spend more to get a Lewis bag with a mallet, though I wonder if a larger, broader, heavier whacking implement would make shorter work of it, or just cause me to crush a thumb.So, in brief, "so far so good." We'll see if it's still going strong in the weeks ahead, and re-post if necessary!

Who would have thought that a canvas sack would make for, in my opinion, an essential item to your home bar! It's such a simple device but works wonders. If you haven't used one before, you might be wondering why you should get this and not just use a plastic bag to crush ice? The secret is the canvas material which ABSORBS the water. So after you're done crushing, what you're left with is the coldest, driest ice possible. This will let the ice stay frozen in your drink for much longer than most any other method of crushing ice.

The quality of this Lewis bag is great. The directions say to wash the bag before you use it. I just boiled a pot of water and let the bag sit in there for a while. You do the same thing with a cloth bag for making cold brew coffee, so I figured it would work for this Lewis bag, which it did. This thing is AMAZING. I used crushed ice all the time now. Way better than crushing ice in the freezer ice dispenser, which would give me inconsistent sized ice chunks. In the Lewis bag you can totally control how your crushed ice turns out. If you want small chunks just hit the bag more, want bigger chunks, hit the bag less.

I recently hopped on the Mint Julep train and nicely crushed ice became an imperative. After trying to use a food processor to crush ice and doubled up zip locks to pound away at the cubes, I relented and bought this Lewis Bag from SIP Barware. Why did I wait? This super simple device enables me to crush the right amount of ice to the consistency I desire, chunky for a Moscow Mule or "Snow Cone" fine for a Julep. The canvas is thick and sturdy, and the bag itself dries quickly when you hang it. Also, it doesn't soak up water from the ice like I thought it would. I've seen bags with thinner canvas, and that isn't what you want. I've pounded the hell out of this bag with a rolling pin and the side of a meat mallet with no sign of damage. If you are serious about your summer cocktails, get this thing.

I have a antique Ice Box with a tiny freezer section, so my only way to get crushed ice before now was to take an ice pick to them and hope not to stab myself. This is a really nice heavy duty canvas, and I just placed the ice in the bag and I used my rolling pin and crushed it to my exact liking. No water on my counters, the bag is so thick that never soaked through. Very easy to use and to pour into my glass. Great way to work out a few frustrations after a hectic day. Beat the bag and make yourself a nice cold drink. I did receive this crushed ice bag at a slightly discounted price, to test and then provide an honest and insightful review. I have been a purchaser with Amazon for over 9 years Thank you very much for taking the time to read my review.