The Winbag inflatable air shim – and other tools like it – are amazing. I bought a couple of these a while back, and they’re extremely useful for solving various alignment and awkward lifting needs.
Are you hanging a door? Slide two Winbag inflatable air shims underneath, one at each end, and it can be easily lifted and balanced.
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On one hand, the typical Winbag air shim is compact and easy to pack in a tool bag. But on the other hand, it has a short hose between the inflatable bag and its handheld air pump.
If you need to adjust things, down on the floor you go. Did you get back up only to realize everything was raised just a tad bit too high? Back to the floor to grab the hand pump and its deflation button.
I don’t recall what I was searching for, but I was extremely excited to have discovered the Winbag Max.
Now, this isn’t something I would necessarily buy for my own use, but it seems to be one of those “good to know there’s an upgrade” type of products.
Winbag’s product images show the Max being used more for commercial and heavy construction tasks. They don’t show it lifting a residential door frame, they show it lifting an I-beam, commercial furniture, and commercial building doors and panels.
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The Winbag Max can lift up to 550 lbs, compared to 300 lbs for the standard smaller-sized Winbag.
But, what grabbed my attention wasn’t the load capacity, which I’m sure is helpful, but the much longer hose length between inflation bulb/pump and the air shim itself.
The Winbag Max also comes with a suction cup attachment so that you can secure the inflation hose off the floor to make the hand pump more easily accessible.
This isn’t a perfect remedy to the small reach of the original Winbag, but it seems convenient. And, you get the higher load capacity.
If you want the Max load capacity and longer reach, prepare to spend a lot more. The Winbag air shims are presently ~$16 for (1) or $29 for (2). The Max is $40 for (1), which is double the MSRP for the standard Winbag.
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Have you ever used inflatable air shims before? Would you use this Max version?
RKA
What’s wrong with your foot? 🙂 I’m only half joking. I use these, but typically I’ll tap the bulb with my foot to lift whatever I’m leveling or installing. Usually I don’t need to deflate until I’m done. And if it’s something critical I’m leveling, I’ll go a little higher than level with this, adjust the feet or legs to contact the floor, deflate the bag and adjust the feet to lower the table until it’s dialed in just right.
Now if you could make waist high adjusters for all those things I’m leveling so I’m not crawling around on the floor, my back will thank you! 🙂
Stuart
I’ve tried using my foot, but lack the feel for subtle adjustments, and I end up crouching back down anyway.
I have also found it easier to go a little too high and then precision-deflate until things are better aligned.
Jared
They’re handy to get inside you car if you lock the keys inside too.
I have one. Handy little invention. Maybe I’ll try the upgrade version for my second – I didn’t know about the longer hose so the tip is appreciated.
Tom D
For anyone interested – slip it in at the top of the door frame as far from the hinges as you can, and inflate. Then use a slim Jim or similar thing metal stick to push on the door unlocked button.
Derek
I agree, plus they don’t F up any paint.
Jared
Just FYI, in a pinch, the same thing can be accomplished with a pry tool and a regular wedge (or two) – but like Derek mentions, that greatly increases the odds of ruining paint.
The air wedge makes it so much easier. It can be safely slid between the rubber weather seal and the door frame, then very precisely adjusted to create just enough gap to slide in your coat hanger or whatever to push the lock button or pull the door handle.
In case anyone is wondering, I worked as a tow-truck driver for a little while – not a car thief. 😉
Nels
Yes that’s exactly what happens
Had to go 20+miles to unlock. My sister put the keys on the hood
DHCrocks
I have the regular winbag and they work really well. my favorite use is to level a washing machine. it makes it so easy to slide under the washer and pump it up so you can spin the feet with your hand or also to slip one of those sliding foot pads under it so you can push it into position. Then just pump it up again and remove the sliders. really simple and makes it a one person job. That longer hose is a nice touch then you don’t have to get on your hands and knees to pump it up.
Tom D
Absolutely brilliant! I was trying to find a dolly with a very long base but this would work much better. Now to grab some.
Julian Tracy
Every time I pass these at the store I consider them, but then realize I probably have a better way to do whatever I might try to use these for (except for helping to unlock doors – hadn’t thought about that use).
For heavy appliance leveling – I’ve found this adjustable pry bar invaluable and it’s my goto anytime I’m installing or adjusting the leveling legs of anything: https://www.amazon.com/Crescent-Brand-DB18X-Indexing-Prybar/dp/B008NM6VSC
It’s also simply the handiest pry bar I’ve ever owned considering it’s $24 cost.
Lance
40/16=2.5x the price for one. Definitely not cheap.
I wonder at what height the bag can lift 550lbs? The higher you lift the more the bag will expand, and the less surface area will be touching the floor and the object you’re lifting. I wonder if 550 is the breaking strength of the bag trying to lift something from zero?
Koko The Talking Ape
I don’t believe the surface area touching the floor or the object, or the height of the object you’re lifting, will make any difference to the bag. Once it’s lifting something, the pressure in the bag is always the same, regardless of the height, because the weight isn’t changing. If you put more air into the bag, it’s volume increases but the pressure stays the same.
Jesse
I’ve made industrial versions of these that can lift thousands of pounds. It’s a function of surface area and pressure vessel max psi, typically limited by your seam welding method. I’ve lifted 1 ton trucks before.
JoeM
First, let me say THANK YOU, STUART!!!
Let’s see… One, you Reminded me I’ve wanted a set of these for years, and never remember to get them because I prioritized other things. You brought them back to the forefront! And Two, You fixed the Amazon links to redirect to the Country you’re in!! Thank You, Thank You, Thank You!
As to the question(s) asked at the very end of the article:
No, I haven’t used these before, but Lee Valley did have air shims I was pondering a very long time.
Yes, I would buy the heavy duty ones, if they were available to me. I don’t regularly need that much lift, but given the chance to play it safe, in case what I’m doing accidentally exceeds the 300lbs condition of the standard one, having a 500lb max capacity just makes sense. It’s an investment in the longevity of the tool before it requires replacing. Mind you, the Canadian pricing doesn’t appear to be prohibitive at all, so if one is lost in the line of duty then it will not hurt the wallet to replace it.
Now to check to see if the Home Depot link also redirects to Canada. That, right there, is functionality that makes me happy, and I thank you from the bottom of my heart for going out of your way to do that!
Stuart
I didn’t do anything to the Amazon links… I don’t think at least.
I resolved my issue being locked out of Amazon Canada, but that’s about it. There’s no script on my end that redirects to Amazon Canada automatically. If you’re seeing it navigate to Amazon Canada instead of Amazon USA, that’s country-detection on their end.