The first time I saw a real-life 'Escapologist' in a London street, he was drumming up a crowd by having himself put into a tall canvas sack and wrapped with chains.
He escaped too easily. I knew I could have made it more difficult for him - and I was only fifteen at the time.

Since then I have experienced and experimented with bags from inside and out.

SOFT OPTIONS (Bodybags and “Soft Spaces”)
Bags and sacks promise the unexpected, and offer a special excitement for a certain kind of person. To willingly enter a warm dark soft space is the adult version of a child pulling the blankets over its head in bed. The back-to-the-womb instinct is active in many a subconscious mind.

When forced into such a situation, it can seem very threatening. But, like so many control and counter-control scenarios, the mind and body have ways of coming to terms with any predicament. The anticipation is often more scary than the reality.
The trick is not to panic in such surrender of power games.

Once inside a soft efficiently confining space, you have no further choices to make. Nothing to do but wait for whatever is going to happen. You can be comfortable if the pliable space is being sympathetically managed ... or you may be made deliberately uncomfortable; frustratingly, infuriatingly powerless; progressively more desperate, angry or, alternatively, resigned to accept what you perhaps couldn’t have accepted an hour ago. A softening up process. Nothing to do but wait and deal with it.

The Controller of your situation can also afford to wait: be patient, give the sack time to work a special kind of magic. The mind can generate some unpredictable trips when the body is 'bagged'. Imaginatively handled, soft spaces offer limitless opportunities for sensual stimulation. With laces and straps to loosen and tighten he/she can play you like a sensitive musical instrument. For long term sessions with changing levels of tensions; comfort or numbing tightness, different kinds of bags and sacks can be adapted to become the fulfilment of a lot of fantasies. Ask anybody who’s spent some time in one of my specially made Sleepsacks or Male-sacks. But even a pair of ex-army kit bags, with one forced over from head to waist and the other from feet to waist and then cinched together in the middle can be a powerful mind-trip.

For identification purposes,
below four main BAGS & SACKS subdivisions are described

SIMPLE SACKS: = any bag made from any fabric; an item originally intended for some ordinary everyday purpose can be moody. Hessian or canvas, they were usually intended for heavy-duty use.
SLEEPING BAGS = made for leisure activities, full length body-size and usually zip closing. These have often been used in high-jinks around a camp-site. Firmly zipped inside, an unsuspecting victim can soon wake up to find just how helpless one can be. If down-filled or waterproof, there are additional elements to deal with, whether pegged down or hung up or carried around..
"BODYBAGS" = are simply a plasticised oblong container used mainly by police and the Emergency Services when transporting bodies. These zip-closed, air-tight bags have become more easily available, and can be useful in game-playing.
An authentic PVC version imaginatively used, is well described in the story Well Waxed and Waterproof (link follows).
HEAD-BAGS & SMALL SACKS = any small bag, if used imaginatively, can be used to encase head or hands to gain an advantage.

'FETTERS' version of the everyday items took
the concept of'bagging' to delicious extemes

THE BODYBAG = in canvas & leather or all leather is something you can comfortably get yourself into - but can be lockable and impossible to escape from. (drawing left)
THE MALE-SACK = double-weight canvas bag similar to a conventional mail sack with breathing holes added, and designed to take full bodyweight when suspended.
(photo right).
"THE SLEEPSACK" = an innovation which is now copied by manufacturers around the kink world. A form-fitting body-shaped covering, with internal sleeve pockets which prevent escape and restrain the hands. Whether made in canvas, canvas & leather or all leather, this is more than a physical experience - it is a mind-trip - especially when a hood or mask is added.

Fetters
Male Sack

BAGS AND SACKS:
Most of the following information was first published in a series of 'Fetters' fact sheets during the mid-Seventies. The original text is to be found elsewhere on this site but, at the risk of repeating myself, below is a revised and expanded version.

Basic SACKS:
Any bag can be used to disconcert a human being.
Whether big enough and strong enough to contain the whole person or only to cover from head to waist, the power of this can be dramatic. If the intention is to confine and disorient, even a simple bag over the head can be enough, particularly if it threatens to restrict breathing.

If large enough to accommodate a whole human body with legs fully extended, whether the head inside the sack, or outside the effect can be very powerful
Most people can learn to deal with the situation at least for a short period if enough air is available. But, the psychological effect, being accumulative, needs to be explored carefully.

Canvas Bag-hood (lockable)

Several factors need to be taken into considerations.
A sack which does not allow room for full extension of the limbs is very much more potent. Even a slight reduction of mobility, without any other restrictions, can very quickly have a telling effect on both mind and body. Limbs soon react painfully and the mind acknowledges not only the discomfort but the vulnerability much sooner. Adjusting to a limited though adequate supply of air can demand quite strenuous mental exercise. If the internal size of the bag is gradually reduced, the situation can soon become intensely oppressive.

Not knowing what is going on outside or hearing sounds which may or may not be interpreted correctly is, in itself, powerfully effective.

The head outside a sack which is closed around the neck can perhaps intensify the feeling of vulnerability.
The neck cord need not be tight if wrists are secured inside the bag.

Suspension: If a regular oblng sack is hung, putting body weight onto the 'walls' of the confined area, the physical experience is altered completely, and can quickly become barely tolerable.
N.B. The strength and durability of any sack used for suspension must be equal to the task.

2. A BODYBAG
Similar in proportion to a conventional sleeping bag. Whether made from canvas or leather (or combination of the two) because the external zipper can be locked from the outside this special bag can also render the person inside totally helpless without any additional restraint being applied. Many games have evolved from normal camping expeditions. Aby tough Government Surplus oblong bag can be a very useful piece of equipment in it's natural state. Or, with modification can become more seriously restrictive. 'D' rings added to serve as anchor points (or to prevent external straps from being worked free) can make an ordinary bag very versatile.

Whether the head is inside or out, such a bag can keep somebody quite comfortable but totally confined for quite long periods. If the head is aside, a 'snorkel breathing pipe might be used to ensure an adequate supply of air (but constant monitoring is advisable). Bags made from waterproof or padded fabric can intensify the experience in terms of generated heat. Heavy clothes or additional restraints worn before the 'victim' is put into the bag can extend the parameters of the situation infinitely.

Being stood up or suspended within such a bag can completely change the tensions, but care must be taken. The possible danger of lifting or moving around the dead-weight of somebody who is totally helpless perhaps needs a separate 'worksheet'.

3. SLEEPSACK
This is a term I coined when designing the original configuration which has now become recognised world-wide. A form fitting type of full-length body-shaped bag with or without an attached head-cover. The main design feature is internal arm-sleeves which separate arms from the body and render the wearer helpless inside the bag.
Usually soft and malleable, a bag of this configuration can be made from canvas, leather or latex (if sufficiently strong).

Once inside, the body covering and attached 'D' rings can be used to subject a body to varying intensities of confinement through the use of added lacing or straps. Construction details depend entirely on the likes and dislikes of the users. As such 'Sleepsacks' are usually made to order, variations such access points, anchoring points, strap or lace tightening possibilities are all optional.

E-MAIL Jim Stewart
to discuss any aspect of this topic