Bag Boy Quad

The Bag Boy Quad is Bag Boy’s entry into the four-wheeled golf push cart realm. Bag Boy carts are traditionally easy to unfold, and the Quad is no exception. In a welcome departure from previous Bag Boy products, the Quad features a supplemental storage pouch for stowing away the various odds and ends that golfers invariably schlep around the course.

Compared to its primary four-wheeled competitor, the Sun Mountain Micro Cart, the Quad is larger when folded – while the folded Quad is relatively compact from a length and width standpoint, it’s still relatively tall. Another quibble is that the shorter wheelbase and high center of gravity make the Quad less stable on severe side hills. On the plus side, the wheels of the Quad are larger than those of the Micro, which gave us the perception of easier rolling through thicker rough (although admittedly we don’t have any objective data to prove this).

Our impression is that the Bag Boy Quad is a nice product that will be pleasing to most users. The Quad is the “girl next door” of push carts – there isn’t any particular facet of it that drives you to a frenzy, but taken as a whole, it’s something you could see keeping around for a long time.

Retail price: $199.95

Pros:

• Easy to unfold
• Adjustable Velcro strap firmly secures the bag
• Smooth rolling wheels

Cons:

• Short wheelbase and higher center of gravity make it easier to tip on side hills
• Somewhat bulky when folded up

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SIZE/WEIGHT

At 16.5 pounds (as tested), the Bag Boy Quad lands in the middle tier of push carts tested with respect to weight (compare this to the lightest cart, the Tour Trek Tahoe, at 10.5 lbs., and the heaviest cart, the Sun Mountain Speed Cart V2, at 20 lbs.). While the length and width of a folded Quad are reasonably compact, the folded cart is about 20 inches tall when folded – compare this to the Sun Mountain Micro Cart at 12 inches tall. This doesn’t impact your ability to toss the Quad into the trunk along with a set of clubs or two, but it does mean that you will probably need to keep the trunk tidy.

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EASE OF SET-UP

Bag Boy is known for making the unfolding process simple, and the Quad continues the tradition. All that is required are five easy steps – unlock the handle, extend the handle, re-lock the handle, pull on the handle until the entire cart is unfolded , then flip the bag holder braces into place (this is much more intuitive and easy than it sounds on paper). A Velcro strap provides extra security in holding the golf bag in place.

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ON COURSE IMPRESSIONS

• The Bag Boy Quad made for a smooth trip around the golf course. The wheels rolled easily, and the almost infinite adjustability of the handle (see below) made the cart comfortable for users of all heights. Our only real concern about stability was on steep side hill lies – the short wheelbase of the Quad (which is an advantage in keeping it compact), combined with a relatively high center of gravity, occasionally made us a nervous about the cart tipping over.
• The brake lever is positioned to the left side of the push handle. Pull it all the way back to release the brake, or flip it forward to engage the brake.
• The mechanism for the brake on the Quad is like that of the Bag Boy Automatic – there are twelve gear notches around the right rear wheel and the brake is a pin that inserts into the nearest notch to stop the wheel from rolling. Other carts we tested that used similar brake mechanisms could be fussy, requiring you to push the cart slightly forward or pull it slightly back to position the gear notches where the “brake pin” could be inserted. Not so the Bag Boy design – the sheer number of notches made it a cinch to engage.
• The tires are made of solid foam, so there is no danger of winding up with a flat.
• The handle is great in that it pivots up or down to fit the height of the user. Bag Boy markets it as “unlimited” adjustability – in truth the handle seems to have a limited number of gear teeth into which it will lock, but there are at least 100 of those teeth, which should satisfy almost any user. We’ll just write off the “unlimited” description as poetic license.

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STORAGE/ACCESSORIES

The storage and accessories available on the Bag Boy Quad include:

• an extremely small valuables tray with a magnetic lid. The tray is so small that it’s almost useless – by way of example, we were unable to fit a SkyCaddie SG5 in the tray by itself, and there was absolutely no WAY it was going to fit our “test case” of 2 golf balls, a GPS device, an iPhone, a set of keys, and a wallet.
• ah, but Bag Boy must be listening to its users, because it has added a large zippered storage pouch underneath the push handle. The pouch looks to be big enough to slip in an NFL-sized football, and the contents are accessible through either of two zippers – one that runs the length of the left side of the pouch, and a narrower one directly under the push handle. The umbrella mount (see below) is stored inside the large pouch via a Velcro strap. Our only nit is that because the storage pouch is under the handle, it’s difficult to see into the pouch (notwithstanding a small netting window), so it can be a pain to try to locate something stored inside.
• a metal clip attached to the lid of the valuables tray that is designed to hold down a scorecard and secure a pencil
• 2 brackets on the underside of the push handle that will hold a single golf ball each
• an umbrella mount that holds an umbrella upright to provide you with shelter when it’s raining. The design of the Bag Boy Quad requires the user to first unscrew a “nut” from the bottom of the holder, then pass the holder through the mount, then tighten the “nut” to secure the holder. We’re not huge fans of the way this was engineered, as other designs allow the user to just screw a holder directly into the cart. Not a big deal when it’s sunny, but the extra time might make a difference to you when a rain shower suddenly hits.
• a small cup/bottle holder – we had problems fitting wider bottles into the holder.

The addition of the large storage pouch makes a big difference, as the Bag Boy Quad otherwise has the same storage compartments as the Bag Boy Automatic.

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STYLE

The Quad has a unique style of its own –Bag Boy’s 3-spoke wheels still look “Scion-esque” to us, but the short wheel base gives the Quad somewhat of a dune buggy feel. Your friends probably won’t ooh and ahh over it, but the Bag Boy Quad is sporty enough that they’re unlikely to mock you either. It’s available in six different colors – black, white, silver, navy, red and yellow.

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VALUE

The Bag Boy Quad’s retail price of $199.95 places it in the middle of the pack among the units we tested. The Bag Boy carts we have tested have been solid and durable, and small improvements to the Quad make it a stronger product offering than the earlier Bag Boy Automatic. While the Quad doesn’t quite crack into the very top echelon of our rankings, it’s worthy of your consideration.

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