The Sun Mountain ClubGlider Tour Series is a terrific golf travel bag, slotting in as the second largest offering in the ClubGlider line of four-wheelers (behind the cavernous ClubGlider Pro). The ClubGlider Tour Series is designed to accommodate either cart bags, including the new Sun Mountain Tour Series cart bag, or stand bags. We highly recommend four-wheel golf travel bags with pivoting caster wheels – once you try one, you won’t want to go back to a two-wheeler – and if the price tag doesn’t make you flinch, the ClubGlider Tour Series is one of the best options in the category.
The ClubGlider Tour Series operates in the same way as the favorably reviewed ClubGlider Meridian – as with the Meridian, the Tour Series features retractable legs that extend from a molded tray in one motion. For the sake of expedience, we suggest reading our ClubGlider Meridian review, before coming back here, where we identify the primary distinctions between the two bags. Note that we reviewed the 2012 version of the ClubGlider Meridian, so there may be slight differences between the 2012 Meridian and the one that Sun Mountain currently offers.
We found the principal differences between the ClubGlider Tour Series and the 2012 ClubGlider Meridian to be:
- At 13.5 pounds (as tested), the Tour Series weighs about 0.5 pounds more than the current generation Meridian (which seems to have trimmed down almost 2 pounds from the 2012 Meridian we tested). Weight is an important factor in the choice of a travel bag, as your friendly airline is now aggressively patrolling for bags that exceed the weight limit for oversize bags. If your fully loaded bag exceeds the designated weight limit (50 lbs. on most airlines), the airline will be more than happy to charge you an “overweight bag” fee ($100 on United, Delta or American) EACH WAY (subject to waiver for folks who have elite frequent flier status on that airline). The Tour Series lands right in the middle among travel bags we’ve tested, nowhere near as light as the 8.5 lb. Bag Boy T-2000 but not as portly as the 17 lb. OGIO Mammoth either.
- The shape of the Tour Series is more rounded than the 2012 Meridian, which had squarer edges, but the bag is a couple of inches taller – they seem to be pretty similar in terms of interior storage capacity. We tested the Tour Series both with a traditional stand bag and with the Clicgear B3 cart bag. With the traditional stand bag there was plenty of capacity for additional clothing and gear – it was the only bag needed for a 4-day trip to a golf resort, while with the larger cart bag, storage space was limited (and an additional bag would likely have been necessary to get everything there for the trip). The Tour Series has internal dimensions of 52″ x 14″ x 14″.
- The Tour Series utilizes vinyl fabric, while the Meridian uses a 1200 denier polyester fabric. Vinyl fabrics are waterproof and generally more weather resistant than polyester fabrics. There’s a bit more of a gloss/slickness to the fabric, which may or may not appeal to your aesthetic sense.
- While both bags have two external pockets, the Tour Series pockets are only accessible from the outside, which seems to be a step in the wrong direction from the convenience afforded by the prior generation Meridian (with pockets accessible from either the inside or outside). The pockets sit relatively flush and extend primarily to the interior of the case when filled, so while they may help from an organizational sense, there isn’t any real gain in storage space by packing items here.
- The Tour Series now only has a single internal strap at the middle with which to secure your bag. The 2012 Meridian had two straps – one at the top and another toward the bottom. The Tour Series adds, however, external straps at the middle and toward the bottom that cinch the bag tighter. We didn’t observe a demonstrable difference in the stability or balance of the bag either way.
- The Tour Series is only available in either black or black/white. The 2012 ClubGlider Meridian was available in four different color options (the current Meridian only has three options – black, black/red and black/royal blue).
- Unlike either the 2012 Meridian or the current generation Meridian, the Tour Series comes with a TSA-approved combination padlock.
- The Tour Series retails for $319.99, down from the 2012 Meridian’s $339, but more than the current Meridian’s $289.99. Based on current MSRPs, this places it as the most expensive golf travel bag we have reviewed.
Retail price: $319.99
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