StormBag is one of those products that raises an eyebrow when you hear about it. Created by Maurice and Miles Huffman, a father-son team, it’s an alternative to classic sandbags. If you’ve ever dragged a heavy, soggy sandbag around during a flood warning—or watched your neighbors wrestle with them—you get why people wanted something new.
Floods don’t come with much warning. You need to act fast. Traditional sandbags are heavy even before they get wet, and then almost impossible to move. The StormBag aims to fix that hassle, and it found its moment on Shark Tank, landing a national audience.
The Story Behind the Bag (and the Huffmans)
Let’s rewind a little. Maurice and Miles Huffman have been running a military surplus business in Mesa, Arizona, for years. They’ve seen plenty of disaster gear—and the big, labor-intensive pile of sandbags people put out whenever storms threaten. That’s where the idea for StormBag started.
Maurice and Miles came up with a “sandless sandbag” that could be teamed with just a garden hose. This would, in theory, make flood preparation as simple as soaking some bags with water—no more shoveling, lifting, or storing mounds of sand.
Their invention went from idea to real product, available online. It wasn’t some Kickstarter prototype. People started using them for actual floods.
What Makes StormBag Different?
Here’s the neat trick: StormBags weigh close to a pound when you buy them dry. They’re flat, easy to carry, and don’t need a small army to move them. When a storm’s actually coming, you get them wet. In less than five minutes, that one-pound bag turns into a squat, heavy hydrogel block—over 33 pounds. No sand required. It’s kind of like those little sponge toys that turn into dinosaurs when you add water, only much more practical.
The magic ingredient is a powder called Crosslinked Polyacrylamide. It soaks up water and forms a thick gel that stays put. You don’t need special equipment to use it. You can dry out the bags later and reuse them. Compared to throwing out a pile of sludge-filled sandbags every season, reusing StormBags feels pretty clever.
There’s also the eco-friendly angle. Fewer single-use sandbags means less landfill waste, especially after floods where thousands get tossed in the trash.
Buying and Using a StormBag
StormBags are available straight from the source—the company’s website. They don’t try to lock you into bundles with extras you don’t need. Kits tend to be situation-specific, like a garage door kit designed to help people keep stormwater out of vulnerable home entry points.
The kit geared toward garage doors costs $54.99 for 15 bags. That breaks down to less than $10 a bag, and the bundle comes with some poly sheeting, duct tape, and a box cutter. You don’t just get the bags; you get the stuff you need to seal the area.
You’re basically buying flood protection that can be stored on a shelf in the garage, in boxes the size of a shoebox, until you need it. No hauling sand, no prepping days ahead. Just open, wet, and stack.
This has made the StormBag a reasonable option for people in flood-prone neighborhoods, folks with garages where water likes to sneak in, or anyone tired of the usual “run to the fire station for free sandbags and hope they last” drill.
The Huffmans Hit Shark Tank
In October 2023, Maurice and Miles took StormBag to “Shark Tank” for Season 15, pitching their product to the show’s panel. They asked for $200,000 in exchange for 10% equity—putting a $2 million valuation on the company. Not exactly small potatoes for a new kind of sandbag.
About 3.6 million people tuned in to watch, which is a massive audience for any small business. During the pitch, some Sharks pushed back on the idea, pointing out that many towns hand out sandbags for free in emergencies. Others, though, saw the practical benefits, especially with ease of use and storage.
Multiple Sharks made offers, but not everyone was convinced, especially given the challenge of changing long-standing habits around flood prep.
The Storm After Shark Tank
Most people wonder: “Did they get a deal?” On TV, the Huffmans seemed to accept an offer, but after the cameras stopped rolling, they decided not to finalize it. That’s not unheard of. Shark Tank deals sometimes fall through for lots of reasons—disagreements during due diligence, changes in plans, or just the sense that independence is better.
What really mattered was what happened next. Their website was flooded with visitors, and they sold out of inventory within a week. For a small business, that’s both thrilling and stressful—tons of people wanted in, and there wasn’t enough stock on hand.
They decided to keep building StormBag as part of their own Arizona-based operations, rather than partner with a Shark. They felt they could grow faster without giving up a piece of the company.
StormBag’s Status in 2024
By April 2024, StormBag is still very much a going concern. It’s being run under the same family as before, mainly through their military surplus business in Arizona. You can still buy the bags online at stormbag.co, and they tend to keep up with demand now that the Shark Tank surge has cooled a bit.
That independent streak hasn’t slowed them down. Orders keep coming in, especially during flood season or whenever a big storm is in the news.
The “sandless sandbag” isn’t some national giant, but it seems comfortably integrated into the Huffmans’ overall business—offering an extra, practical product to both locals and online customers nationwide.
What’s Changed Thanks to Shark Tank?
StormBag didn’t become a household brand overnight, but Shark Tank put them in front of millions who would never have heard of a reusable, fill-on-the-spot sandbag. In disaster prep circles and among homeowners in certain regions, word has spread.
Every time a rerun airs or there’s talk about home flood disasters, traffic to the website bumps up. People are sharing clips from the episode and talking about their own flood scenarios.
So, was it worth it to walk away from the deal? In sheer exposure, probably yes. The Huffmans didn’t have to give up equity or meet tough investor demands. They kept control of the company, and sales got a solid boost.
Other “Shark Tank effect” perks have followed. They’ve scored local news features, more interest from disaster prevention groups, and growing direct-to-consumer orders. Having your business aired on primetime doesn’t solve every startup problem, but it does get you noticed by the right people.
If you’re interested in how small businesses benefit from television or want to learn more about other Shark Tank stories, you might find useful reads at readmybusiness.com.
The Outlook for StormBag and Its Place in Flood Prep
StormBag’s story is a familiar one for Shark Tank fans—an everyday frustration gets turned into a smart product, goes national on TV, and jolts into wider awareness. What stands out, though, is how the Huffmans kept their business grounded after the cameras stopped rolling. They didn’t gamble away control for a flashier deal.
The product works for people who want quick, reusable flood protection without switching to totally new routines. Everyone might not swap out sandbags instantly, but as stories about easy flood prep circulate, the “sandless sandbag” is likely to keep drawing interest—especially in regions hit by climate-fueled storms.
In the end, the Huffmans are still selling through their military supply channel, still hearing from satisfied customers, and still running their business their way. If you need a flood fix that doesn’t require heavy lifting or a truckload of sand, StormBag remains an option—one that owes its recent growth to innovation and the steady boost of national TV exposure.
