The Nike SasQuatch Tour Carry Bag absolutely LOOKS cool. Kudos to the design team for aesthetics. But when it comes to carrying performance, the bag is larger and heavier than most of the other bags tested. It appears to be designed as a hybrid between a carry bag and a cart bag, and unfortunately, when you try to please all of the people all of the time, you wind up pleasing none of the people some of the time…er, all of the time…er, all of the people none of the time? Suffice it to say that we were not completely pleased. But if you’re looking for something to use primarily as a cart bag, with only an occasional stroll, the Nike SasQuatch Tour Carry Bag may be worth checking out.
Retail price: $190
Club Storage
If you didn’t know how many clubs you are allowed to carry in a round, you will after you get a Nike SasQuatch Tour Stand Bag – the dividers segment the bag into 14 slots, one of only two bags that provided dedicated space for each club. The dividers run the entire length of the bag, so the shafts and grips of your clubs will not touch one another. Mr. Monk, we have found the bag for you! But for our reviewers, re-inserting clubs into the designated slots became a bit of a pain at times – after hitting a terrible shot, it is difficult to display the appropriate level of disgust if you have to actually find the appropriate slot before you can dejectedly slam your club into it.
Legs
Tipping was an occasional problem with the Nike SasQuatch Tour Stand Bag when setting it down quickly, perhaps because either the legs aren’t quite long enough for the body of the bag (a bit like Elizabeth Hurley…I’m not saying she isn’t unbelievably beautiful, but next time you see a picture of her, see if you don’t agree with me that her torso is a bit too long for her legs) or because the angle at which the legs extend is insufficient. The legs only have rubber caps over the end of them, instead of the larger feet found on many of the competitors’ bags, so there is less stability. The spring was also a bit tighter than on most bags, forcing us to exert some effort before the legs would extend.
Straps
There are 4 adjustment points for the straps, and in addition to some basic padding, there are visible air bladders to provide even more cushioning. Oddly enough, some of the air bladders are on the outside of the strap – which would make it comfy for anyone to whom you are giving a piggyback ride on the golf course. Otherwise, we think it’s just for show. Ooooh…air! In any event, the straps were comfortable enough, although we didn’t really notice any significant difference between the “air” supplemented straps and normal padded straps.
Pockets/Storage
The Nike SasQuatch Tour Stand Bag claims to have 10 total pockets.
- 1 large garment pocket runs along the right side of the bag, with 3 small pockets (including a waterproof velour-lined valuables pocket) along the outside of this garment pocket.
- There is a medium-sized pocket on the right side of the spine, near the base, and a smaller pocket on the left side of the spine, near the base.
- On the left side of the bag is a lined “cooler” pocket, and along the outside of the cooler pocket is a mesh “water bottle” pocket. Yes, it struck us that the one labeled “water bottle” should be the one that is lined, but hey, maybe the folks in Beaverton like to keep liquids at multiple temperatures over the course of a round.
- If you’re counting with us, that only takes us to 8 total pockets. We think that Nike is also trying to count the 2 tiny pockets for a Sharpie and a pencil. How do we know that they are for a Sharpie and a pencil? Because Nike sews on little pictures indicating their purpose, that’s how.
The Nike SasQuatch Tour Carry Bag includes traditional straps on the right side of the bag for holding an umbrella, and a round ring for attaching a towel.
An oddity on the bag is a “quick access” sleeve on the spine of the bag for storing balls. The sleeve has a rubber-lined hole on each end, through which the user can forcibly insert about 5 golf balls. Removing a ball involved shoving a couple of fingers into the sleeve and trying to scoop the ball out. Our experience was that this was neither “quick”, nor was it what we considered “access”. Instead, it seems similar to what we imagine it’s like to reach inside a cow and turn around a breached calf. We vote for just a normal pocket next time!
While the number of pockets is sufficient, their placement left something to be desired. Our reviewers generally applaud efforts to be creative and different, but in this case, we found that “different” didn’t necessarily mean better.
Rain Hood
The Nike SasQuatch Tour Carry Bag wins the award for best rain hood. Attaching the rain hood is as simple as hooking an elastic strap around a notch on the front of the bag, then snapping the hood into 4 buttons around the top edge. If you’re going to be caught in a sudden downpour, this is the rain hood you want to have!
Carrying Impressions
The heavier weight of the bag left our reviewers cold. Actually, on a warm day, it left our reviewers overheated.
- Weight. At 7.0 pounds as tested, including the rain hood, the Nike SasQuatch Tour Carry Bag is one of the heaviest bags we tested.
- Balance. Something about the weight distribution in the bag was off, as it felt top-heavy (heavier toward the right side when both straps are utilized).
- Padding. We appreciated the substantial padding where the bag rests against the user’s lower back.
Style
If there’s one thing this bag gets right, it’s the swagger in its design. Something about it just looks hot, and we think many buyers will make their decision based on that factor alone. There’s nothing wrong with that – after all, a golf bag is a lot cheaper than a trophy wife.
The Nike SasQuatch Tour Carry Bag comes in 5 different color combinations:
- Black, with gold trim (this one looks REALLY badass)
- Charcoal and grey, with neon green trim
- Charcoal and grey, with red trim
- Blue and silver
- Yellow and black, with silver trim
Innovation
All in all, even though we didn’t love all of Nike’s experiments, we gave them bonus points for trying, because that’s what will lead to better products. We’ve already indicated our ambivalence above toward Nike’s ball sleeve and with their “creative” pocket placement. A few other innovations include:
- The Nike SasQuatch Tour Carry Bag also features a “dual durometer” bag base. This essentially consists of some round yellow rubber circles on the bottom of the bag. We suppose that this makes it easier to stabilize the bag if it is strapped to a golf cart.
- On the right side of the bag is a Velcro patch for attaching a golf glove. How do we know that it’s for a golf glove? That’s right…because Nike sews on a little picture indicating its purpose!
- 5 rubber-lined holes are on the right side of the bag. We couldn’t figure out their purpose because there was no picture. No, we kid! They are for tee storage.
Cost/Value
At $190, the Nike SasQuatch Tour Carry Bag is priced at about the median of the bags tested. Our reviewers believe there are better performing bags at an equal or lower price point.
