MikeM
* Condor Member *
I recently purchased a soldier cooler and wanted to review it. It is a fairly newish design and I wasn't able to find too much about it prior to buying it.
First, what is most significant, is that the cooler, even when in the bag, can take up the amount of space you want it to. What I mean by this is that if the cooler is empty, you can fit more than the 5-6 discs on each side of the cooler. The tag for the bag claims 10-12 discs plus cooler plus two putters in front. I did some testing and was able to fit 9 drivers on one side, 3 putters, 3 mids and a driver on the other side, with room for a icepack and at least 3 16 ounce drinks in the cooler. Or you can remove the cooler all together just by unzipping it. If I wanted, I could carry 16 in the bag, 2 putters and the cooler installed with drinks. Not too shabby if you ask me. Without the cooler, I did not test it, but it would be quite a few discs. I'm guessing 22+ even though the bag claims 18+
So, for those that wanted a cooler bag, but were upset the cooler was a little too big, it is soft, and therefore you can comfortably mold it to fit more discs and less drinks.
The water bottle holders on the side are very wide and can fit any sized water bottle you have.
The pockets are plenty big to hold my keys, phone, wallet, pocket knife, sandpaper and lighter (in case a disc needs surgery). And there is plenty of room to spare for snacks and scorecard. Or, if you aren't looking to bring tall drinks, snacks can be put in the cooler on top of 12 ounce cans and it will close just fine. Or a few tall drinks with snacks next to them in the cooler. There is a lot of space to work with.
There is also a nice mesh pocket above the discs for more items. I put my towel in there, instead of hanging it from the towel hooks.
I am happy with the material it is made from. It is padded and the material seems sturdy. I can't see the zipper or bag breaking down anytime soon. But I will update on that after more use. The front, back and bottom all are padded well.
The bag looked small to me when it arrived, and I thought, oh great, no room for discs, but, like I said earlier, Dynamic Discs was able to keep the size down and yet allow for maximum storage. It was designed very well.
Some were concerned that you had to have 2 putters in the pocket or the one would fall out. Although, I always carry at least two, and so this isn't a concern (it is actually nice to have more space for an extra putter), if you wanted, you could carry one putter. Only you are doing backflips, with the bag on, your putter won't fall out.
Two issues:
1. The strap that comes with the bag is made of a very slick material. Because of this, it wants to slip off of my shoulder constantly. Or, like I said in another forum, maybe it is just my massive Lat Muscles causing this
Anyway, what I did to fix this was swap out the strap with an old computer bag I had. That strap had a grippy bottom where it rests on my shoulder and this stopped it from slipping. The grippiness holds it in place. To me, the 15 discs I am carrying and the cooler is not too heavy. (13 in bag, 2 in front, cooler installed). But, I have not tested it full to the brim with drinks, icepacks, and 2 fully loaded water bottles, and so will post more on that later. Still, personally, I will probably be using a shoulder strap vs. backpacks.
The strap it came with does have nice metal and plastic hooks on it. So it is a shame I can't use it.
2. There is no mini pocket for a mini disc. I worked around this by adhering self adhering Velcro to the back of my mini and the front of the bag. You can get it at many stores. The self adhering Velcro wants to pull off the bag (and stick to the mini) every time I take the mini off, so I think I will have to super glue the Velcro square, that is on the bag, to the bag. I really just don't have the guts to put super glue on this bag yet. it is too new. And so, the mini will just sit for decoration for now. As long as I don't pull it on and off repeatedly, it stays in place and won't fall off. Do compensate for the depth of the mini disc, I ended up using 4 Velcro squares (about 3 inches by 2 inches) to one another to create depth. So male Velcro on bag, female attached to that, male attached to that, and female adhered on the mini disc.
Hopefully that makes sense.
Overall, it is exactly the bag I was looking for and could not be happier with it.
First, what is most significant, is that the cooler, even when in the bag, can take up the amount of space you want it to. What I mean by this is that if the cooler is empty, you can fit more than the 5-6 discs on each side of the cooler. The tag for the bag claims 10-12 discs plus cooler plus two putters in front. I did some testing and was able to fit 9 drivers on one side, 3 putters, 3 mids and a driver on the other side, with room for a icepack and at least 3 16 ounce drinks in the cooler. Or you can remove the cooler all together just by unzipping it. If I wanted, I could carry 16 in the bag, 2 putters and the cooler installed with drinks. Not too shabby if you ask me. Without the cooler, I did not test it, but it would be quite a few discs. I'm guessing 22+ even though the bag claims 18+
So, for those that wanted a cooler bag, but were upset the cooler was a little too big, it is soft, and therefore you can comfortably mold it to fit more discs and less drinks.
The water bottle holders on the side are very wide and can fit any sized water bottle you have.
The pockets are plenty big to hold my keys, phone, wallet, pocket knife, sandpaper and lighter (in case a disc needs surgery). And there is plenty of room to spare for snacks and scorecard. Or, if you aren't looking to bring tall drinks, snacks can be put in the cooler on top of 12 ounce cans and it will close just fine. Or a few tall drinks with snacks next to them in the cooler. There is a lot of space to work with.
There is also a nice mesh pocket above the discs for more items. I put my towel in there, instead of hanging it from the towel hooks.
I am happy with the material it is made from. It is padded and the material seems sturdy. I can't see the zipper or bag breaking down anytime soon. But I will update on that after more use. The front, back and bottom all are padded well.
The bag looked small to me when it arrived, and I thought, oh great, no room for discs, but, like I said earlier, Dynamic Discs was able to keep the size down and yet allow for maximum storage. It was designed very well.
Some were concerned that you had to have 2 putters in the pocket or the one would fall out. Although, I always carry at least two, and so this isn't a concern (it is actually nice to have more space for an extra putter), if you wanted, you could carry one putter. Only you are doing backflips, with the bag on, your putter won't fall out.
Two issues:
1. The strap that comes with the bag is made of a very slick material. Because of this, it wants to slip off of my shoulder constantly. Or, like I said in another forum, maybe it is just my massive Lat Muscles causing this
Anyway, what I did to fix this was swap out the strap with an old computer bag I had. That strap had a grippy bottom where it rests on my shoulder and this stopped it from slipping. The grippiness holds it in place. To me, the 15 discs I am carrying and the cooler is not too heavy. (13 in bag, 2 in front, cooler installed). But, I have not tested it full to the brim with drinks, icepacks, and 2 fully loaded water bottles, and so will post more on that later. Still, personally, I will probably be using a shoulder strap vs. backpacks. The strap it came with does have nice metal and plastic hooks on it. So it is a shame I can't use it.
2. There is no mini pocket for a mini disc. I worked around this by adhering self adhering Velcro to the back of my mini and the front of the bag. You can get it at many stores. The self adhering Velcro wants to pull off the bag (and stick to the mini) every time I take the mini off, so I think I will have to super glue the Velcro square, that is on the bag, to the bag. I really just don't have the guts to put super glue on this bag yet. it is too new. And so, the mini will just sit for decoration for now. As long as I don't pull it on and off repeatedly, it stays in place and won't fall off. Do compensate for the depth of the mini disc, I ended up using 4 Velcro squares (about 3 inches by 2 inches) to one another to create depth. So male Velcro on bag, female attached to that, male attached to that, and female adhered on the mini disc.
Hopefully that makes sense.
Overall, it is exactly the bag I was looking for and could not be happier with it.
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