What Is a Hacky Sack?
A hacky sack — properly called a footbag — is a small, hand-sized bag filled with sand, plastic pellets, or beads. Players keep it airborne using their feet, knees, chest, and head. It's part toy, part sport, and part social ritual.
Where the name comes from
"Hacky Sack" was a trademark filed in 1972 by John Stalberger and Mike Marshall in Oregon City, Oregon. Marshall had been kicking a homemade beanbag to rehabilitate a knee injury. The pair called their creation Hacky Sack, later sold the trademark to Wham-O, and the brand name became so ubiquitous that it's now genericized — like Kleenex or Frisbee. The sport itself is called footbag.
What it's made of
Every footbag has two parts: the cover and the fill.
- Cover: Suede, synthetic leather, crocheted cotton, or knit yarn. Suede lasts longest and holds stalls best.
- Fill: Sand (soft, forgiving), plastic pellets (dense, stall-friendly), or ceramic beads (heavy, premium feel).
- Panels: Stitched sections that form the sphere. Ranges from 2 panels (basic knit) up to 120+ (tournament freestyle). More panels = flatter surfaces = better stalls.
Size and weight
A standard footbag is about 4–5 cm (1.5–2 inches) in diameter and weighs 40–60 grams. Freestyle bags trend larger and heavier — up to 70–80 grams — to make foot stalls easier to control.
How it's used
The footbag supports three main styles of play:
- Circle kicking: The classic park game. A group stands in a circle and passes the bag around, aiming for a "hack" — when everyone touches it before it drops.
- Freestyle: Solo or performance play centered on tricks, stalls, and delays. Has its own annual world championship.
- Footbag Net: A competitive 2v2 sport played across a 5-foot net, similar to volleyball but foot-only.
Choosing your first bag
For casual play, a soft 8–14 panel sand bag is the right call. For freestyle, go with a 32-panel suede pellet bag. Full breakdown in our buying guide, or jump straight to the best footbags.
Frequently asked questions
What is a hacky sack?
A hacky sack is a small, soft, hand-sized bag — usually filled with sand or plastic pellets — that players kick between each other using their feet, knees, and other body parts (never hands). The generic name is 'footbag'; 'Hacky Sack' was the original 1970s trademark.
What is a hacky sack made of?
Most hacky sacks have a cover of suede, synthetic leather, crocheted cotton, or knit yarn, and are filled with sand, plastic pellets, or small ceramic beads. The fill determines how the bag behaves — sand for soft casual play, pellets for stall-friendly freestyle.
Is hacky sack the same as footbag?
Yes. 'Footbag' is the generic sport name. 'Hacky Sack' was a trademarked brand name introduced by Wham-O in 1972 and became so popular that people use it for any footbag, similar to Kleenex or Frisbee.
How big is a hacky sack?
Standard footbags are about 4–5 cm (1.5–2 inches) in diameter and weigh 40–60 grams. Freestyle bags are sometimes larger and heavier to make stalls easier.
Who invented the hacky sack?
The modern Hacky Sack was invented in 1972 by John Stalberger and Mike Marshall in Oregon. Marshall had been kicking a homemade beanbag to rehab a knee injury, and the two commercialized it under the Hacky Sack brand, later sold to Wham-O.
Is hacky sack still popular?
Yes, though it peaked in the 1990s. It's still played in parks, on college campuses, and at festivals worldwide, and competitive Footbag Net and Freestyle circuits run annual world championships.