Lightweight Stand Bags

[Asics10]

18 minutes ago, brew4eagle said:

That's why it's important to know how to adjust the straps.  It's a perfect bag once you figure the straps out.

It's a golf bag not open heart surgery. I adjusted this thing six ways to Sunday, never found comfortable.  And my current bag is SM hybrid with ez fit straps. 

[brew4eagle]

9 minutes ago, Asics10 said:

It's a golf bag not open heart surgery. I adjusted this thing six ways to Sunday, never found comfortable.  And my current bag is SM hybrid with ez fit straps. 

I'd say it shouldn't be open heart surgery, bit with the X Straps it kind of is.  Plus it really needs stuff in the lower pockets as counter balance, so just loading it up with clubs will make it really tough/impossible to find a good strap setting

[Asics10]

5 minutes ago, brew4eagle said:

I'd say it shouldn't be open heart surgery, bit with the X Straps it kind of is.  Plus it really needs stuff in the lower pockets as counter balance, so just loading it up with clubs will make it really tough/impossible to find a good strap setting

They clearly should sell these bags with a couple dozen pro v1's in the pockets. 

[BallerNate]

10 hours ago, Asics10 said:

I went to gg today to look at the 2.5+ and the mizuno Kilo. At first look the 2.5+ is a much better bag. Bigger opening, full length divider on each "tube", better material, that one extra pocket above the ball pocket. Everything seemed better on the 2.5. 

BUT... 

The straps are horrendous. I weighted both bags with 10 clubs I pulled off the rack. The 2.5 is terrible,  so uncomfortable. I adjusted the straps to a hundred different positions still nothing comfortable. The mizuno is perfect on my shoulders, a million times more comfortable 

I bought the Mizuno. Way more comfortable. 

Gotta go with what fits best for you...that’s what it’s all about.

 

Good luck, hopefully the Mizuno works out great for you!

[BallerNate]

Well Gentlemen, I’m back on the Sun Mountain train...this time I went with the ‘21 3.5LS rather than the ‘19 version that I had before. 
 

The problem w/ the legs getting caught on the pockets for the ‘19 was just too annoying, but the ‘21 should be a good fit! Only problem is that it doesn’t fit great on my push cart, but it’s functional enough to choose it over the FlexTech Lite which just had too much crowding and issues with the legs.

 

Hopefully this one will be good for a couple of years at least...tired of all the returns!

[BallerNate]

As a follow-up, I tried the @brew4eagle “open heart surgery” technique to adjust the X-Straps on the 3.5LS and it worked like a charm!!

 

Carried the bag around for about 1.5 hrs weighted down with 10 balls, Tees, rangefinder, full water bottle, and 15 clubs and it felt fantastic!

 

Definitely felt lighter to carry with the design of the straps and weight of the bag vs the OGIO Fuse 4, TM FlexTech, or FlexTech Lite, and the design updates they made vs the ‘19 SM 3.5LS are noticeable for sure...great bag so far!

Edited March 9, 2021 by BallerNate

[alecfeltman]

On 3/7/2021 at 8:50 PM, BallerNate said:

Ok gotcha. Well, I looked at the SM 2.5+ in stores, but didn’t buy that one. Tried both the 3.5LS and the FlexTech Lite though.

 

From what I saw of the 2.5+, it is definitively noticeable that it feels lighter than the 3.5LS and the FlexTech Lite. 
 

The club divider area is a good size in the 2.5+ and is comparable with both the 3.5LS and FlexTech Lite. The material used for the 2.5+ and 3.5LS is more of a lightweight vinyl, whereas the FlexTech Lite is more of a cloth/canvas feel.

 

The biggest difference is that the 2.5+ has less pockets than the 3.5LS and FlexTech Lite, and the pockets it has are smaller.

 

If I was planning on carrying 100% of the time, the 2.5+ would be my choice for sure. For me, the FlexTech Lite fit better on my push cart than the 2.5+ and 3.5LS, which is why I went with it as I won’t always be carrying.

Thank you for the detail. I’m leaning towards a 2.5+ now. 

[BallerNate]

3 minutes ago, alecfeltman said:

Thank you for the detail. I’m leaning towards a 2.5+ now. 

My pleasure! Yeah, the 2.5+ is a really nice bag.

 

The biggest reason I chose the 3.5LS vs 2.5+ is the number of pockets and the size of the pockets. Just too few pockets in the 2.5+ for me.

 

Prefer the extra pound of weight to have a pockets for Tees, rangefinder etc.

 

Both awesome bags though, and can’t go wrong with either one of them.

[alecfeltman]

Ok so thanks to everyones comments on the 2.5+, i went to the PGA SS and got the last navy they had. It's now in my possession. I'll be requesting $250 divided by however many people are on this thread.

 

I blame you all...but at the same time, I thank you! 

[ChiFas]

7 minutes ago, alecfeltman said:

Ok so thanks to everyones comments on the 2.5+, i went to the PGA SS and got the last navy they had. It's now in my possession. I'll be requesting $250 divided by however many people are on this thread.

 

I blame you all...but at the same time, I thank you! 

Ha!

[Bashdash]

Do you have a pic of that Navy bag all loaded up with clubs?  I'm deciding between navy, gray and black.

[BallerNate]

On 3/10/2021 at 3:22 PM, alecfeltman said:

Ok so thanks to everyones comments on the 2.5+, i went to the PGA SS and got the last navy they had. It's now in my possession. I'll be requesting $250 divided by however many people are on this thread.

 

I blame you all...but at the same time, I thank you! 

Haha! Hey, if you’re going to hold it hostage, you might as well ask for more money than that? 🤣🤣

[brew4eagle]

On 3/11/2021 at 7:14 PM, Bashdash said:

Do you have a pic of that Navy bag all loaded up with clubs?  I'm deciding between navy, gray and black.

Not the best pics, will try to take some in daylight tmrw.  Not sure if I'll keep it or stick with the Hoofer Lite.  Leaning towards staying with Hoofer Lite.

[BallerNate]

9 hours ago, brew4eagle said:

Not the best pics, will try to take some in daylight tmrw.  Not sure if I'll keep it or stick with the Hoofer Lite.  Leaning towards staying with Hoofer Lite.

Nice looking bag!! What do you like about the Hoofer Lite better than the 2.5+?

[Minarets]

Go Heels

[Bashdash]

+1 on your question Nate.  Brew4eagle has been my go to for help with this!  

 

Also, I'm literally wanting to buy today but just need confirmation from someone who pushes and a model that it is compatible with.  I know I will have buyers regret if in four years it isn't a good push cart bag.  I know four years is a long time but from my experience SM holds up really well!  

[BallerNate]

12 minutes ago, Bashdash said:

+1 on your question Nate.  Brew4eagle has been my go to for help with this!  

 

Also, I'm literally wanting to buy today but just need confirmation from someone who pushes and a model that it is compatible with.  I know I will have buyers regret if in four years it isn't a good push cart bag.  I know four years is a long time but from my experience SM holds up really well!  

No buyers regret for 4yrs...damn, that’s a lot of pressure, Lol!

 

Well, I can give you my thoughts from buying and returning/selling 8 bags over the last month. Spent way too much time in golf shops and online.

 

My Top 3 bag finalists ended up being the SM 3.5LS, 2.5+, and the TM FlexTech Lite.

 

I took a hard look at all the options, including Hoofer Lite, Titleist Player 4, OGIO Fuse 4, TM FlexTech etc, but for what I was looking for, the 3.5LS, 2.5+, and FlexTech Lite were the best fits.

 

After all of it, I decided to stick with the 3.5LS and have absolutely no regrets...this one is going to be my gamer for as long as it lasts.

 

I chose the 3.5LS over the 2.5+ because of the flexibility of having more pockets and bigger pockets, so more options of where to carry your gear/accessories. But I don’t think you can go wrong with the 3.5LS or 2.5+...only problem would be whether it’s fits with your push cart.

[brew4eagle]

1 hour ago, BallerNate said:

Nice looking bag!! What do you like about the Hoofer Lite better than the 2.5+?

The Hoofer Lite just feels way more solid, and feels much better on the shoulders.  I'm going to play around a bit more with the 2.5+, but I don't think I'll get over how 'cheap' the Sun Mountain feels in construction/materials vs the PING.  I know the materials and build are high quality, but the appearance/feel leaves a lot to be desired.  I think the last few generations of Sun Mtn bags have given me that vibe, ever since they went the 'LS' route.  If I can justify the cost, I might keep it around for when I carry a half set, as the 2.5+ is feather light.

[Bashdash]

I thought you experienced tangle with the ping....

[BallerNate]

43 minutes ago, brew4eagle said:

The Hoofer Lite just feels way more solid, and feels much better on the shoulders.  I'm going to play around a bit more with the 2.5+, but I don't think I'll get over how 'cheap' the Sun Mountain feels in construction/materials vs the PING.  I know the materials and build are high quality, but the appearance/feel leaves a lot to be desired.  I think the last few generations of Sun Mtn bags have given me that vibe, ever since they went the 'LS' route.  If I can justify the cost, I might keep it around for when I carry a half set, as the 2.5+ is feather light.

Interesting. Yeah, the Hoofer Lite and FlexTech Lite definitely have thicker materials for sure.

 

I found the Hoofer Lite the heaviest of all of them though, and heard there are major tangle issues.

 

To me the 3.5LS and 2.5+ are the best of the bunch in terms of design and function, but at the end of the day it’s all about personal preference and which checks the most boxes for each individual.

[MK7Golf21]

43 minutes ago, brew4eagle said:

The Hoofer Lite just feels way more solid, and feels much better on the shoulders.  I'm going to play around a bit more with the 2.5+, but I don't think I'll get over how 'cheap' the Sun Mountain feels in construction/materials vs the PING.  I know the materials and build are high quality, but the appearance/feel leaves a lot to be desired.  I think the last few generations of Sun Mtn bags have given me that vibe, ever since they went the 'LS' route.  If I can justify the cost, I might keep it around for when I carry a half set, as the 2.5+ is feather light.

I see older sun mountain bags at the range and they definitely look better quality to me. I grabbed the 2.5 when it first came out couple years ago and I had a problem with the apparel zipper, after zipping up it would come apart in the middle with little pressure. Not sure if it was just my bag or not. My dad has a sun mountain 3.5 that I recommended to him and the legs got messed up about 1.5 years into owning, on his basement floor the legs slide forward to where the bag is basically flat on the ground. Sun mountain won’t do anything about it since it’s past the 1 year warranty.

[brew4eagle]

30 minutes ago, BallerNate said:

Interesting. Yeah, the Hoofer Lite and FlexTech Lite definitely have thicker materials for sure.

 

I found the Hoofer Lite the heaviest of all of them though, and heard there are major tangle issues.

 

To me the 3.5LS and 2.5+ are the best of the bunch in terms of design and function, but at the end of the day it’s all about personal preference and which checks the most boxes for each individual.

Yep, personal preference for sure.  The Hoofer Lite weighs 5 lb, 0 oz while the 2.5+ weighs 3 lb, 2 oz (weighed both on my scale), and the weight difference is noticeable when handling them empty/comparing to each other.  However, the premium straps and perfect balance of the Hoofer Lite make it feel a lot more comfortable when walking vs. the Sun Mtn bags I've tried recently (3.5LS, 2.5+).  The tangle with the Hoofer Lite is the only thing that even makes me look at other bags some times.  It is easy to mitigate by disengaging the stand when swapping clubs (ie, set the bag vertically), but with the Sun Mtn there's no tangle even with the stand engaged.

[BallerNate]

53 minutes ago, Redjeep83 said:

I see older sun mountain bags at the range and they definitely look better quality to me. I grabbed the 2.5 when it first came out couple years ago and I had a problem with the apparel zipper, after zipping up it would come apart in the middle with little pressure. Not sure if it was just my bag or not. My dad has a sun mountain 3.5 that I recommended to him and the legs got messed up about 1.5 years into owning, on his basement floor the legs slide forward to where the bag is basically flat on the ground. Sun mountain won’t do anything about it since it’s past the 1 year warranty.

Interesting...good to know. Hopefully they’ve corrected those issues on the 2021 bags.

[BallerNate]

24 minutes ago, brew4eagle said:

Yep, personal preference for sure.  The Hoofer Lite weighs 5 lb, 0 oz while the 2.5+ weighs 3 lb, 2 oz (weighed both on my scale), and the weight difference is noticeable when handling them empty/comparing to each other.  However, the premium straps and perfect balance of the Hoofer Lite make it feel a lot more comfortable when walking vs. the Sun Mtn bags I've tried recently (3.5LS, 2.5+).  The tangle with the Hoofer Lite is the only thing that even makes me look at other bags some times.  It is easy to mitigate by disengaging the stand when swapping clubs (ie, set the bag vertically), but with the Sun Mtn there's no tangle even with the stand engaged.

Makes sense. Yeah, club tangle was the deal breaker for me with the FlexTech Lite, along with the leg droop.

 

I didn’t consider the Hoofer Lite that seriously because of the weight, the tangle issues I heard about, and also the square base not fitting with my push cart.

 

We’ll see how the 3.5LS will perform long-term, but for me it was the perfect fit of all the bags I looked at. Love the weight, the lack of tangle and space for clubs, the number of pockets, and even the Tee holder on the outside of the bag is a feature I really like. We’ll see though, fingers crossed! 🤞

[Bashdash]

I am officially on information overload.

[BallerNate]

1 hour ago, Bashdash said:

I am officially on information overload.

🤣🤣 Yeah, it can be overwhelming for sure. That’s why I bought and sold/returned 8 different bags.

 

At the end of the day though, I figured out that none of them is perfect and you’ll have to make trade-offs regardless.

 

Just about which one checks the most boxes and suits your eye.

Edited March 13, 2021 by BallerNate

[brew4eagle]

Better pics of the 2.5+ navy below.  Pretty sure I'm going to return it, but should have done better research on pgatoursuperstore.com before buying.  I don't see an option to print a return shipping label.  If I have to buy my own label I'll probably just keep it.  Most online companies let you buy a return label for like $10 or so, even on bags.

 

[Bashdash]

I think I am going to go with the 2.5.  Ive seen pictures on this forum where it looks like it fits reasonably on a push cart.  

[BallerNate]

35 minutes ago, Bashdash said:

I think I am going to go with the 2.5.  Ive seen pictures on this forum where it looks like it fits reasonably on a push cart.  

You’ll probably really like the 2.5+, especially if it fits well on your cart.

 

Like I said, main drawback is the number of pockets and the limited size of them...but others could view that as a positive too depending on your perspective.

[brew4eagle]

I spent more time today comparing the Hoofer Lite and 2.5+.  Definitely going Hoofer Lite.  The only thing I like better about the 2.5+ is the ease of clubs going in and out, but Hoofer is quite manageable.  Everything else about the 2.5+ is quite disappointing.