Light Carry bags that don't tangle

[stratgolf]

Hey guys,

 

Hope you're well. I travel quite a bit with work, and like to take my clubs with me wherever I can. I am searching for some advice on a light carry bag that I can game and and also take with me overseas. 

 

I currently have a linkslegend - I regretfully think I would like to burn this bag - the club tangle drives me absolutely insane. I always carry 14 clubs and have midsized grips - getting clubs in and out is a genuine nightmare.

 

Wondering if you've tried any good lightweight alternatives? Vessel, ping hoofer etc? Grateful for your thoughts, cheers.

[stratgolf]

I use a sun mountain meridian travel cover, so it would need to fit inside this.

[Hougz79]

Sun Mountain 2.5+ is the gold standard for a lightweight carry bag that doesn't tangle.  It has full length 4 way dividers, a surprisingly roomy opening for such a light bag, and a base that doesn't pivot (it has an external hinging pad that deploys the legs).  

 

Any bag that has a pivoting base will cause a bit of tangle, when the base tilts to deploy the legs the grips get a bit mashed together.  Some brands manage this better than others, but they all will mash the grips together to a point....

 

I love my Hoofer Lite for a carry bag, it does everything so good that I can deal with a bit of tangle, but I get some folks are very sensitive to it.  

Edited July 2 by Hougz79

[hammergolf]

With midsize grips, unfortunately club tangle is going to be an issue regardless of the bag manufacturer. 

[stratgolf]

Just now, hammergolf said:

With midsize grips, unfortunately club tangle is going to be an issue regardless of the bag manufacturer. 

 

To some extent sure - but I don't think I'm alone in having frustrations with the linkslegend. It tangles with regular grips too.

[hammergolf]

Just now, stratgolf said:

 

To some extent sure - but I don't think I'm alone in having frustrations with the linkslegend. It tangles with regular grips too.

No doubt. I’ve had pretty much every brand of stand bag. I have undersize grips and they all had tangle. I just stick to Ping bags now since the stand and bag are practically indestructible and just deal with tangle when it happens. 

[stratgolf]

32 minutes ago, hammergolf said:

No doubt. I’ve had pretty much every brand of stand bag. I have undersize grips and they all had tangle. I just stick to Ping bags now since the stand and bag are practically indestructible and just deal with tangle when it happens. 

 

Fair. Could be the move!

[stratgolf]

4 hours ago, Hougz79 said:

Sun Mountain 2.5+ is the gold standard for a lightweight carry bag that doesn't tangle.  It has full length 4 way dividers, a surprisingly roomy opening for such a light bag, and a base that doesn't pivot (it has an external hinging pad that deploys the legs).  

 

Any bag that has a pivoting base will cause a bit of tangle, when the base tilts to deploy the legs the grips get a bit mashed together.  Some brands manage this better than others, but they all will mash the grips together to a point....

 

I love my Hoofer Lite for a carry bag, it does everything so good that I can deal with a bit of tangle, but I get some folks are very sensitive to it.  

 

Full length dividers feel like such an easy win for bags. Good point about the pivot base, thank you. The more I look at a hoofer lite, the more I like them!

[Hawkeye77]

Sun Mountain 2.5+

[JimMLINY]

I have no problem with mid-size grips when using my SM 2.5 and 4.5 bags.

[htaolx]

I am looking to try something different for a bag as well, I have a SM 2.5 which works great, but is a bit bulky looking. I like the look of the ping moonlander and hoofer lite, but searching on here seems like club tangle is an issue.

 

I saw the Callaway hyperlite zero which looks promising, has anyone put that bag through the places?

[BYK]

On 7/2/2025 at 5:06 PM, Hougz79 said:

Sun Mountain 2.5+ is the gold standard for a lightweight carry bag that doesn't tangle.  It has full length 4 way dividers, a surprisingly roomy opening for such a light bag, and a base that doesn't pivot (it has an external hinging pad that deploys the legs).  

 

Any bag that has a pivoting base will cause a bit of tangle, when the base tilts to deploy the legs the grips get a bit mashed together.  Some brands manage this better than others, but they all will mash the grips together to a point....

 

I love my Hoofer Lite for a carry bag, it does everything so good that I can deal with a bit of tangle, but I get some folks are very sensitive to it.  

yep

[toddmanley]

On 7/2/2025 at 6:55 PM, Hawkeye77 said:

Sun Mountain 2.5+

+1 - and I use mine with jumbo grips. 

[ShortGolfer]

8 hours ago, htaolx said:

I saw the Callaway hyperlite zero which looks promising, has anyone put that bag through the places?

I use the 2021 Callaway Hyperlite zero with fourteen undersized grips.  This is its fourth year.   Tangle is rarely an issue for me.

I took off the straps and use it with a Big Max Ti Lite push cart for a very lite cart/bag combo.  I started using the push cart in 2023.

[Kimpano]

I have the Vessel Air, perfect size and no tangle

[mshills]

There is no magic lightweight carry bag that won’t tangle. Some are worse than others, and the Linkslegend bag has the added bonus that it is heavy AND you get tangle. No thanks. Best carry bags IMO:
 

Sun Mountain 2.5 (gold standard for carrying)

Ping Hoofer Lite (close second to the SM)

Ping Hoofer (good bag, too big for me. Who needs all that “storage” in a carry bag?)

 

With the Pings especially, you can’t have the legs deployed, ram a club home, and expect it to go in smoothly. Stand the bag up then put the club in and it works just fine. 

[smoova]

2 hours ago, mshills said:

With the Pings especially, you can’t have the legs deployed, ram a club home, and expect it to go in smoothly. Stand the bag up then put the club in and it works just fine. 

 

Agreed. Once I made this a habit (took ~9 holes), I didn't have any tangle issues with my Hoofer Lite.  

[LeicaRedDot]

Is the answer a stand bag with a 14 way divider? They will naturally be larger at the opening and in theory help with the tangle?

[mshills]

1 minute ago, LeicaRedDot said:

Is the answer a stand bag with a 14 way divider? They will naturally be larger at the opening and in theory help with the tangle?

Good luck humping that bag for 18 holes. I’m too old for that!

[BYK]

1 hour ago, mshills said:

Good luck humping that bag for 18 holes. I’m too old for that!

There's a 2.5 14 way

[Saijin]

try ogio carry bag. full 14 holes for 14 clubs and each one locks your club in place preventing the head from moving and clattering.

[LeicaRedDot]

2 hours ago, mshills said:

Good luck humping that bag for 18 holes. I’m too old for that!

Haha yeah! But if you want no tangle then there is compromise, albeit the 2.5 14 way might be a good middle ground

[MilesVJackson]

2 hours ago, LeicaRedDot said:

Is the answer a stand bag with a 14 way divider? They will naturally be larger at the opening and in theory help with the tangle?

in my experience, 14 way doesn't help with club tangle.  the problem is the grips getting smushed together by the pivoting stand mechanism at the bottom of the bag.  you could make the bag 2 ft wide at the top and there would still be tangle!  as others mentioned, sun mountain 2.5 has the stand mech on the outside of the bag, so there's less tangle.

[IC3BURGH]

Another vote for Sun Mountain 2.5.

[jt2gt]

On 7/4/2025 at 7:06 AM, Kimpano said:

I have the Vessel Air, perfect size and no tangle

Had a vessel Sunday III and club tangle was minimal.  Little heavier than some but if club tangle is your pet peeve, its a good one.

[stratgolf]

Thanks all - I've decided to try out a Vessel bag for the first time and picked up the air. So far experience has been really good, so much better than the linkslegend! Sun mountain 2.5 next on the list to try if this doesn't work out!

[cubuffs]

I think you will like the Air.  I am a former Links Legend user, have an Air and a 2.5, and ride mostly now with some walking thrown in when I travel (along with a full set of mid-size grips).  I have found that an older Stitch bag is also good with avoiding club tangle and although it was a minor gripe with the Air, I prefer a 4 way top vs. the 6 way in being able to get clubs back into the bag when you have several due to cart path only.  Keep us posted - Vessel makes a great product.

[Hawkeye77]

On 7/5/2025 at 11:47 AM, LeicaRedDot said:

Haha yeah! But if you want no tangle then there is compromise, albeit the 2.5 14 way might be a good middle ground

 

Why? Already noted the 2.5+ doesn't tangle - no reason adding weight.

[Hawkeye77]

8 hours ago, stratgolf said:

Thanks all - I've decided to try out a Vessel bag for the first time and picked up the air. So far experience has been really good, so much better than the linkslegend! Sun mountain 2.5 next on the list to try if this doesn't work out!

 

If you enjoy it that's all that matters, but hardly in the realm of "light" in the world of light carry bags.

[stratgolf]

On 7/17/2025 at 9:47 PM, Hawkeye77 said:

 

If you enjoy it that's all that matters, but hardly in the realm of "light" in the world of light carry bags.

 

Well, perhaps not ultra-light - but I think it's actually a pretty light bag by normal bag standards. Regardless, it's a really good fit for what I wanted and loving my first Vessel!