Equipment Bags
Today’s player often travels with a collection of equipment and gear the likes of which amount to a small bounty. With the prices of this equipment climbing well up into the triple digits, it is important for players and parents to trust that this expensive cargo can be transported to and from the game or practice field without worrying about damage or misplacement. As the quality and price of amateur equipment has increased over the years. So too has the quality and sophistication of the bags that store it. Equipment bags have come a long way since the simple canvas duffle-style bat bags. The leading baseball manufacturers in the game have worked tirelessly to produce comfortable bags in a variety of different styles.
Bat Packs
The style that is by far the fast growing in popularity is the backpack or “batpack” style bag. They design it for ballplayers who are making frequent trips too and from the field for practice or games. They design Bat packs to sit comfortably on a player’s shoulders just like a standard school backpack. This puts no unwanted pressure on the back or vulnerable joints. These bags accomplish this by allowing the weight to be dispersed evenly throughout the bag by installation of equipment-specific pockets. Also, the use of lightweight materials for the foundation. Specially engineered pockets for helmets, cleats and gloves not only reduces stress but also greatly decreases the risk of damage.
Manufacturers have also become much more in tune to the needs of today’s young player. They utilize small pockets throughout the bags that are for the safe storage of personal items such as cell phones. The batpack style takes up significantly less room than other bag-styles without sacrificing structural integrity or storage space. The batpack style comes with elastic sleeves on the sides to accommodate between 1 and 4 baseball or softball bats.
Duffle-Style
While many kids prefer the look of the bat pack, you should not overlook the old-school, duffle-style bag. These more bulky styles have been updated to accommodate the modern player and ensure comfortable transportation of baseball equipment. These larger equipment bags are most useful for players that have have a an exorbitant amount of equipment, either because they are a catcher and need to move their gear around, or they play multiple positions and have a multitude of gloves and accessories in order to make quick transitions to any position on the diamond.
It is wise to choose a bag that is not only roomy but also has a set of high-strength wheels at the base. In order to pull the bag rather than thrown over a valuable shoulder or dragged around by mom or dad. While of course price is important, parents and players should be weary about sparing expenses when it comes to equipment bags. Instead, you should look companies that make bags from durable, long-lasting material because a few extra dollars spent protecting equipment will be much cheaper.
