Texas Tuff Rock Bag specifications
Dimensions and hydraulic ratings for every size, the material construction behind the long-term in-water design life, and the ASTM, EN, and ISO standards the mesh is tested to — everything you need for a specification package. If your drawings call out rock filter bags, scour bags, or a gabion alternative, these are the figures to specify against.
Compare sizes side by side.
Texas Tuff Rock Bags are available in four standard weight classes plus a custom build for project-specific applications. Each size is engineered for different flow velocities, depths, and loadings.
| Attribute | 1-Ton |
Most specified
2-Ton | 4-Ton | 8-Ton | Custom |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Volume | 0.6 m³ | 1.13 m³ | 2.71 m³ | 6.0 m³ | Custom |
| Diameter | 1.5 m | 1.9 m | 2.4 m | 3.0 m | Custom |
| Mesh aperture | 25 mm | 25 mm | 25 mm | 50 mm | Custom |
| Mesh layers | Single | Double | Double | Quad-layer | Custom |
| Grouped current resistance | ~13.1 ft/s | 15.4 ft/s | 17.4 ft/s | 19.4 ft/s | Custom |
| Best for | Light scour, small streambanks, residential and lakefront projects. | Most-specified size — streambanks, shoreline revetment, and light-to-moderate scour. | Heavy-civil size — bridges, riverbanks, and port toes in higher-energy conditions. | Offshore, oil & gas, and severe-current coastal applications. | Project-specific applications where standard sizes don't fit, up to 25 tonne. Talk to engineering for sizing. |
| View specs | View specs | View specs | View specs | Talk to engineering |
What the bag is made of, and why it lasts.
Every size shares the same engineered construction — the differences between weight classes are dimension, aperture, mesh layers, and rope, not material quality.
Virgin polyester mesh
Built from virgin polyester — not recycled — which retains more strength under thermo-mechanical stress and resists hydrolysis and thermo-oxidative breakdown over a long submerged service life.
Raschel weave
The mesh is a raschel weave, engineered so it will not unravel if a single strand is cut or abraded — the failure mode that ends the service life of woven and recycled bags.
3-ply reinforced rope
A 3-ply polyester rope reinforces the lifting points and perimeter, sized to the unit — up to 16 mm on the 8-Ton — for controlled single-point placement by excavator, crane, or vessel.
Single to quad-layer
Standard sizes use a single mesh layer; the 8-Ton uses a quad-layer 50 mm weave for the abrasion and impact loads of subsea and high-energy placement.
Site-filled with rock
Filled on-site with local or supplied rock, shell, or aggregate, so the bag conforms to the bed and scour profile rather than cracking like rigid concrete.
Wet or dry placement
Deployable in flowing water or fully submerged, eliminating coffer dams and diversion works on most jobs, with no foundation preparation required.
Engineered for a long life in water.
Independent laboratory testing puts the mesh at approximately 100 years submerged, and 50–100 years on land where the bag is covered within a month of installation — the durability permanent scour and erosion armor has to hold across an asset's operating life.
The long-term service life is not a marketing estimate — it follows from the material choices. Virgin polyester resists hydrolysis (EN 12447) far longer than recycled polymer, and the raschel weave prevents the unraveling that ends the life of woven bags when a strand is cut.
Above the waterline, weathering and oxidation govern. The mesh is tested to EN 12224 and BS EN ISO 13438, supporting 50–100 years where the bag is covered within a month of installation. For armor designed to sit permanently exposed, confirm the design life with us for the specific site.
All performance claims are backed by TRI Environmental/SGS/GTS lab-validated test reports you can include directly in a state DOT or municipal documentation package.
Tested to recognized standards.
The mesh and finished bag are validated against ASTM, EN, and ISO methods. Full reports and certificates of compliance are available for project documentation.
| Standard | Property | What it confirms |
|---|---|---|
| ASTM/ISO | Wide-width tensile strength | In-place strength under armor-stone placement and cyclic flow loads |
| ASTM/ISO | Static puncture (CBR) | Resistance to point loads from angular fill and bed contact |
| ASTM/ISO | Tear strength (tongue) | Resistance to tear propagation at the mesh and seams |
| EN 12447 | Hydrolysis resistance | Resistance to breakdown from prolonged contact with water |
| EN 12224 | Weathering / UV resistance | Resistance to sunlight exposure before the bag is covered |
| BS EN ISO 13438 | Oxidation resistance | Resistance to thermo-oxidative degradation over the design life |
FES Solutions is a supplier, not the engineer of record. Published dimensions and rated conditions describe the product, not your site. Selecting a size, a layout, and a design event for a specific location is the engineer of record's call, not ours. Where rock bags are not the right answer.
Need a spec for a specific project?
Send your hydraulics and placement method and our engineering team will confirm the right size, supply the supporting data, and quote lead time and pricing — usually within one business day.