As the sport has grown, many the top disc golf “disc” brand are marketing mass-produce bags, made overseas. There are also a few newer brands throwing their offering of disc golf bags into the ring. So with a lot more choices out there, and we thought it would be helpful to highlight the important things to consider when shopping for a disc golf bag.
1. Your Disc Golf Bag Should be Extremely Durable
Many people don’t consider how much abuse a disc golf bag takes during it’s lifetime. This isn’t like a computer bag or a commuter back pack that you put in your car or sits on the floor of your office at work. Think about every time you pick-up and set-down a Disc golf bag during around of 18. During warm-ups, in between each shot you take on each hole, you’ll be swinging this bag onto you back and setting down. Unless your a pro who’s bagging a lot of birdies, you are picking up and setting down your bag 100 times during a round.
It’s also worth noting that a fully-packed bag, with say, 20-25 discs, water (or maybe a few adult beverages), plus your personal items is likely weighing in at the 16-25 pound range. So that amount of weight is putting some serious torque on all the seams, shoulder straps and components of the the bag. A regular backpack wouldn’t hold up to this for very long, and sadly many people who have bought a mass-produced bag from some of the bigger brands end up investing in a Pound bag after their first bag’s fabric has torn, the straps have ripped of or the seams have disintegrated after getting wet. We see these types of photos all the time from disc golfers.
The other big consideration here is the elements. A great disc golf bag need to be made and designed to endure all sort of climates and extreme weather. Not only are you picking up and setting your bag down 100 times during a round, you’re setting it down on dirt, mud, wet grass etc. Bags made out of cheap materials or constructed with shortcuts are not going to hold up to this kind of kind of abuse that’s unavoidable for a disc golf bag. If you really want to nerd out, you can learn more about how we construct our bags and types of fabrics we use. But let’s just say, we double stitch all of our seams, where nearly everyone else single stitches. It might even be overkill in some cases, but it’s just not a compromise we are willing to make on our bags.
You don’t want to make the mistake of compromising durability when you purchase a new disc golf bag.
2. How Many Discs Do You Carry
Okay, so this may seem pretty obvious, but you’ll want to put a little thought and research into how many discs you like to carry. This may be dependent on your level of play or whether or not you are traveling and need to check a bag. But when purchasing a new disc golf bag it’s important to think ahead. How many discs do you like to carry currently? Do you think that over time you’ll find some additional molds or plastics that you’ll want to add to your arsenal.
Pound’s current line-up of premium disc golf bags works off of a Medium, Large, Extra-Large disc capacity configurations. These will help you understand the right number of discs to carry for your style of play. We don’t want you carrying around a bag that’s too big, and discs are rattling around and we don’t want you with a bag that doesn’t have the capacity you like to carry and you have to leave some trusted plastic behind.
| Pound Disc Golf Bags |
Bag Sizing |
Total Disc Capacity |
Putter Pocket Capacity |
| Rufus |
Medium |
17-19 Discs |
3 Discs |
| Carlton |
Medium |
15-22 Discs |
3 Discs |
| Octothorpe |
Large |
28-35 Discs |
4-5 Discs |
| Octo-Haul |
Extra Large |
32-41 Discs |
4-5 Discs |
The other consideration is what else you like to carry outside of your go-to discs. Here are a some of the other popular items that many disc golfs like to have in their bag when playing a round:
- Umbrella
- Rangefinder
- Phone & Wallet
- Pencil / Scorecard
- Insulated Beverage Sleeves
- 2L Hydrapak or Water Bottle
- Rainfly
- Additional Layers / Rain gear
- Towels
- League Tags
- Collapsible Stool
The whole line of Pound’s American Made disc golf bags has designed functional accommodations for all of these additional items. Make sure your new disc golf bag has solutions for all that you would want to carry on the course.
3. Disc Golf Bags Should be Extremely Comfortable
Comfort is king when it comes to your disc golf bag. Nothing is worse than feeling like you are carrying a piece of carry-on travel luggage on your back during a round of disc golf.
Remember, when we are making these suggestions, it’s from the point of view of avid disc golfers. We are out there playing disc golf multiple times a week, just like you, so when we talk about how comfortable a disc golf bag should be, we know what’s important.
If you have a chance to try on a bag before you buy it make sure and fill it up with discs so you understand how this will feel on your back. Here are few questions we would ask when assessing the comfort of a disc golf bag.
Questions about Disc Golf Bag Comfort:
- Do it straps cut into your shoulders?
- Does the bag have horrible plastic framing that digs into your back?
- Does it sag down and put unnecessary weight on your lower back?
- Does if feel balanced and connected to your body?
- Is it comfortable when carrying on only one shoulder?
- Are the shoulder straps adjustable?
- Is it balanced when you set the bag down or does it fall over constantly?
- Does the bag have a specific “Yoke” sizing to properly fit you?
- Are the shoulder straps made out of premium materials?
- Do the shoulder straps also have a sternum strap?
At Pound, we have designed bags that literally answer all of these comfort and fit questions. So if comfort is a priority for you on the disc golf course, you might be ready to make a step up to a Pound disc golf bag. If you’re not sure what the difference is, then next time you see someone on the course with a Pound bag, ask if you can try it on. It will take about 5 seconds to see how much of a focus Pound has put on the comfort of our bags. We‘ve designed and tested countless iterations of our bags to make them the most comfortable disc golf bags on the planet.
Shop Pound’s Rufus. The Rufus has smaller yoke, and is designed to fit smaller bodies, including women and children, with a more comfortable carry than than the bigger bags.
4. How to Build a Custom Disc Golf Bag
The idea that you can customize your disc golf bag’s colors, components and design is something disc golfers have only dreamed of until Pound Disc Golf rolled out our custom program. Other disc golf bags created by brands like GripEQ, Prodigy, Squatch and Dynamic Discs are mass-produced in overseas factories, so it’s obvious why they can’t offer customization to their customers.
Pound Disc Golf’s custom program is one of a kind. Disc golfers who want to have a one-of-a-kind bag can go in and customize types of fabric, colors and patterns of fabric, color of zippers and components, badge and branding.
This level of customization is only made possible by Pound’s manufacturing process, where once custom bags are built online and ordered we hand cut the fabrics and pull all the custom components to create your one-of-a-kind bag. The costs of these bags is typically a bit more than our standard product releases, but disc golfer’s understand the additional effort and time it takes to create custom bags.
One that that’s worth noting is that all of our bags are build and sewn in utilizing these “small batch” processes. If you don’t order a bag that you’ve fully customized, we do create unique color ways and special editions of all of our bags that are approximately 1 of 25 vs. 1 of 1. So even if you don’t order a fully custom bag, chances are you are still getting a rare edition of a bag when you order one. Of course, we also carry some more muted or standard color ways for those who want to stay with a classic black or gunmetal gray.
Build a custom bag today.
5. The Best Disc Golf Bags Require Innovation
The best sporting good and outdoor gear companies are constantly iterating on their products to make them better. This is also true of disc golf and disc golf bags. One of the primary ways that a company would get feedback on their product is through user testing and warranty servicing.
For example, if Pound Disc Golf sees a problem that is a common theme in our bags through warranty servicing, we can immediately solve for the problem and the next small batch of bags will already have that solution or adjustment baked into the new design iteration.
Other’s disc golf bag brands have a much different model. When it comes to brand like GripEQ, Prodigy, Squatch or Dynamic Discs that are mass-produced in overseas factories they are simply unable to make adjustments that quickly. Rather than applying rapid innovation, they simply replace bag with a manufacturing or design defect with a new bag that will have a tendency to fail the same way the first bag did.
These manufacturers are making bags as cheap as possible at high volume.
This means they have long periods of time before they can institute any design changes. They are also at a massive disadvantage when it comes to customer feedback, because their bags are all marked-up and sold at retail, many of design flaws or manufacturing defects are not communicated back to the companies.
The last point on innovation we’d like to bring up is bag design. The dirty secret is that most bags are also designed overseas by the manufacturers and not by people that actually play disc golf. It’s simply a numbers and volume game. Sure, some tweaks can be made once you receive a sample from a overseas manufacturer, but most of these are minor and cosmetic.
The Bag Design So Good That Everyone Decided to Take It
"At this point I don’t think anyone is disputing that Pound is the best designed bag.” It looks like there are a few companies that have decided the same thing."
- Nate Sexton, 2017 USDGC Champion
Squatch Disc Golf Bags, and now Prodigy Disc, decided they would help themselves to Pound’s bag design, and have it mass-produced overseas. A shortcut that allowed them to circumvent having to bring their own innovation to the table. Their bags are a panel-by-panel ripoff/copy of Pound’s bags. So from the outside, they may resemble a Pound Disc Golf Bag, but that’s where the similarities end. Their wholesale model requires that the manufacturing process cut corners to lower costs, and it’s easy to spot their cheap material choices. There are lot of discussions about it online if you’re curious about it.
Someone on reddit recently inquired with Alibaba (an resource for sourcing products overseas) and was quoted $23.80 per bag. Of course in order to get this price, you’d need to buy a shipping container full of them (which Squatch had done), but we’ve explained why we don’t run our business this way.
In fact if you are curious how many of the “disc” companies source and “design” their bags you can check out this link here and see why they can offer lower pricing. You’ll see a lot of familiar bag silhouettes and you’re going to be shocked how crazy the mark up is in the wholesale bag game. You get what you pay for.
6. Pound Disc Golf Bags: One Bag for Life
Let’s talk about disc golf bag warranties. Most probably come with a one-year warranty. Meaning if it breaks, tears or falls apart on your within a year, they’ll replace it. So you’ll get a broken bag replaced with another bag that maybe potentially fall apart the same way the first one did. They are just hoping you forget to register or aren’t willing to make take the time to make a warranty request.
We aren’t interested in selling an inferior disc golf bag that we replace with another one. At Pound, we make the best made, intuitively designed, toughest disc golf bags on the planet, and if something happens to it, we will repair it for you. Pound Disc Golf is the only brand with an dedicated warranty repair craftsperson. We are taking every step possible to make sure your Pound bag lasts a lifetime and never ends up in a landfill.
Considerations Before Purchasing a New Disc Golf Bag
We hope that this article has been helpful. We’ve done everything we can to cover all the considerations and research you may want to do before making what many consider to be the biggest investment they will make in their disc golf habit.
We’ve covered the importance of durability and comfort in a disc golf bag. We’ve also outlined what you should evaluate with your bag when it comes to disc capacity and other items you may want to have on your during your round of disc golf.
Pick a bag that has been designed by someone who plays regularly. We set out to make the ultimate disc golf bags and now after many designs, iterations and improvements you can own one too. Only Pound offers a custom bag building program. If you’re looking to express yourself or customize the colors and every details of the bag, this is for you.
Shop our Disc Golf Bags.
Consider that anyone who guarantees a bag should be willing to repair it, not just send you a cheap replacement. Yes, Pound Disc Golf bags aren’t cheap, but when you look at everything that goes into them, you’ll understand why you’ll only be carrying One Bag for Life.
