F.A.D.E. (Freaking Awesome Disc Equipment) has obviously been putting in some overtime hours in their R&D wing as evidenced in their new Tourney Bags. Our initial response was "looks nice, kinda like the popular Innova Competition bags". Well... that's not a bad thing but this F.A.D.E. bag more than stands on it's own. Overall we were very impressed with the bag. Aces: - Built-in bag support “Disc-Hugger” internal frame. In our opinion this is THE selling point of the bag. Many bags have you unfold a stiff-ish internal “frame” or offer no real frame at all. Not much of a problem until the bag gets a little use and then you have some of these issues - a) the bag top/opening sags onto itself making retrieving a disc a chore. This is true especially in large lightweight bags. b) those bags also tend to buckle due to the stress at the four connecting points of quadshocks.. c) many of the lightweight bags also tend to stretch over time resulting in your disc flopping over or sliding around in your bag. The disc hugger system incorporates small sewn-in fiberglass rods at the top of the hard-fabric frame which actually hug or slightly squeeze the disc(s) in place to keep them from sliding, slipping or falling out and the frame itself velcros to the bag. Well thought out.
Birdies: - Value. Both design and construction seem to offer long-term use and durability. Very reasonably priced for what you get. - Two insulated beverage holders with sinch-tie top and grommet hole at bottom for drainage - Heavy duty golf-towel clip
Pars: - Holds 22 discs + two putters - Zippered main compartment cover - Zippered mesh pocket under main cover - Two moveable disc dividers
Bogies: - nada
BONUS - F.A.D.E. has developed their own set of bag straps/shocks/harnesses/etc… We were also very impressed with the design of these babys. The two features that stand out are the built-in rain shield and the removable cross-chest strap. Some “shocks” feature the chest strap but are permanently attached. These become tangled far too often and just plain get in the way. The rain shield is extremely lightweight and rolls very conveniently into a small pouch attached along the top of the rear should strap. The shield was designed to fully cover the players bag during rain but as we found out during a rare recent rain in San Diego, it can be pulled overhead by hand to use as a quick rain cover. Players not wanting to have the added bulk of the cover built in to the bag can remove it completely from its pouch via its Velcro strap.
If our instincts are right, you'll be seeing plenty more F.A.D.E. Disc Golf Bags around SoCal courses soon. You can look them up at http://fadegear.com