As part of my recent “Titleist switchout” project the last item that needed to be replaced was my old Titleist stand bag. I contemplated and went back and forth with what would bag I’d now be lugging around. First I figured I’d go with Ping, since I’m now playing Ping i15 irons. Looking at both the Hoofer as well as the 4 Under, I decided I needed to go another route. I wanted a light bag to carry, but for it to still have some substance and enough pockets. The 4 Under seemed too minimalistic for me.
In my search I came across the Ogio Helios stand bag. At only 3.3 pounds, it’s even lighter than Ping’s 4 Under, and still looks to have enough heft to it. With 6 pockets (5 zippered) there are plenty of places to store your gear and still not give you too many options to stuff your bag with needless junk that just weighs you down. Helios also features a 6-way top, which is pretty standard set up, although the Ogio Velocity bag has a 7-way.
Both the Helios and the Velocity bags feature the O-SHOX Strap System with AFS-Air Flow. I know, it sounds like something you would read in a NASA report. The straps look like they’d be comfortable, and they are, it’s just getting them in to the right spot that’s the trick. During my first round with the Helios I found the straps continually tangling and the tops of the shoulder straps seemed to now be permanently curled, which added to them being difficult to get to be laid flat on my shoulders. I felt like I was constantly reaching back untangling the straps and attempting to get them in a comfortable position. When they were on right, the bag was extremely comfortable and light. I carried the Helios for 18 holes on a long hilly course and not once did I feel like I was carrying much of a load.
Overall I really like the bag so far. My only gripe are the shoulder straps. I’ll keep fiddling with them to see if there’s a way I can get them in to a position where I don’t feel like I’m constantly adjusting and untangling them. At $139 I think the Ogio Helios bag is a great buy. You get a lot of bag for the price. After reviewing many bags now cluttering the “4 pounds and under” category I feel that you can’t go wrong with either the Helios or the Velocity ($179).
For more by Jeff Palopoli, visit his blog at www.goodwalkgolf.com.
About Jeff Palopoli
Web marketer, father, husband, and golf blogger continually searching for the golf game I used to have.
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