Today’s exploration began with a simple question:
“Is it new?” Ship player V bag better than my Vessel Player IV bag?”
As the calendar year ends, the new golf equipment season begins. Over the next few months, companies will be singing the praises of their new products.
But are they really better?
For clubs, companies can cite and promote superior spin and distance data generated by robots and analyzed by computers. Of course, their stats will show that you have to ditch the previous model and spend another $600 this year on that new driver.
(Good thing there’s a place you can go for unbiased testing.)
But what about something like a golf bag? Throwing golf bags next to a launch monitor is fun and all, but the data provided is usually inconclusive.
Always curious, I emailed Vessel to find out how Player IV compares Player V.
The response from Vessel was informative. Not only did they share information about the bags, but also about Vessel’s overall plan to improve a bag from one generation to the next.
Here are the five main components of the new ship design plan.
1. Listen to customer feedback
I didn’t decide to list this first. The ship did. Customer feedback is the first thing Anija considers when developing a new bag. What did customers say about the latest incarnation of the bag? What did they like or dislike? Were there specific features requested by customers for future bags?
Customers represent a large R&D department for any company. Listening to them makes sense, assuming you want to keep them as customers.
The new one Vessel Player V bag features a transitional carriage belt because customers requested it. The Player IV’s pockets are designed to sit below the stroller strap, so this wasn’t a huge issue with that bag.
However, since customers kept asking for it, Vessel added the slot.
As you can see in the picture, the addition added design challenges as well as transition opportunities.
The slot position required the ship to change the umbrella attachment system from the IV player’s elastic and fastener system to the tight strap on Player V. The new strap seems a little more reliable, but I’ve never had any problems with the elastic-and-hook system.
The addition of the belt slot also allowed the ship to add another pocket to the front of the bag. Without the belt pass, this pocket would be covered by the belt and inaccessible. Now the belt slides under it.
2. How can we improve the functionality?
Jokes about using a launch monitor to test a golf bag aside, making the best golf bag is a key part of creating a new bag. Golf bag improvements are more often qualitative than quantitative, but they are still critical to playing better, or at least more enjoyable, golf.
Although not an IV player for Player V change, the development of their jam-resistant base ship is a prime example of improved functionality. Not having your clubs get stuck in the bag is a huge improvement.
Focusing on Player IV vs Player Vyou can see some of the functionality improvements on the side of the bag facing the body. The shape of the back pad has changed, laying closer to the top of the bag in it Player V than happened in Player IV.
This change makes carrying the bag more comfortable.
Below that, you’ll notice the new magnetic pocket that replaces a zippered pocket. This subtle change in structure dramatically improves the ease of access to the pocket when the bag is on the back.
3. What parts of the bag could be improved?
There is a difference between an upgrade and a fix. When you look at the photos of Player IV and the Player Vit is clear that the Ship has stuck to the same general design plan.
Why wouldn’t they? It’s a good plan.
In terms of upgrades, this includes upgrading the good parts. Some of these improvements are obvious, some are not.
On the visible bottom, it’s hard to miss that the Player IV’s mesh upper has been replaced by a lush velor material on Player V. This is the same material found in the Player V Pro bag that won this year’s most wanted honors.
It’s a plush tip and ensures you’ll scratch your expensive driver shaft zero percent of the time.
The leather touch points on the bag were also upgraded for quality, similar to the leather you’d find on a luxury steering wheel.
All leather tabs and magnetic pocket handles have new cross-stitching to increase durability.
Speaking of durability, The ship improved the abrasion resistance of bag materials from 5,000 to 30,000 endurance cycles.
That’s a 600 percent increase in durability!
I was impressed with the durability of my white Player IV bag. I don’t know that I’ve ever cleaned it in two years of use and it still looks amazing. of Player V it should be fresh for years to come.
The ship also improved the waterproofing (is that a word?) of their chains for it Player V.
4. Can we add value to the bag?
There is no argument that carrier bags are more expensive than many others. The way The ship builds their bags makes them more expensive. They are next level in terms of construction.
For example, take a look at the legs and top and tell me how many studs hold the leg to the top. Did you count to zero?
Other bag companies hire Rosie to stitch all the top and leg pieces together. The top and legs of the ship bags are integrated, and you won’t find a single nail scraping into a nail inside a ship top.
As such, Vessel cannot make their bags less expensive, but they look for ways to add value to their bags.
For example, Player V and other currents Ship bags come with a stroller belt cover. Run that abrasive stroller strap through the shuttle cover and your bag is protected from strap scratches.
Even smarter is how Anija added function and thus value to the rain hood.
Most of us take the rain cover off a new bag and forget about it. Maybe it’s out for a round in the rain or to keep the clubs in place on a road trip.
Typically, a rain hood serves only as a dust collector in the garage.
The ship attached several rings, a drawstring and a detachable strap to their rain hood, turning the rarely useful hood into a club bag for range sessions.
How out of the box (bag?) is this?
Small changes in design yielded a large increase in value. I scoffed a bit at first with the bag, but once I threw a few sticks into it, I got the hang of it.
It’s like getting a second bag for free.
5. Maintain a two-year refresh cycle
Anija upgrades their golf bags every two years, like many other golf companies, but Anija’s reason for doing so is a little different.
Instead of settling for relaunching their current bag year after year, Vessel works to make a better bag every two years.
Apparently, there is a survival motive in the cycle. Ship bags are copied a lot by other companies. The ship must continue to innovate to stay ahead of competitors who just deconstructed a previous ship’s bag to make their own “new” bag.
This copying practice is common in all aspects of the golf equipment industry: zero torque gauges, for example. Many companies are trying to enter the market that LAB Golf created for those players. As a result, competition has never been greater in the zero-torque machine market.
The ship faces the same challenge that LAB Golf does these days: keep innovating or be eclipsed by the imitative masses.
Ship builds a better golf bag
Starting this project I was really just wondering if I should consider getting one Ship player V bag. Knowing myself, I was probably just trying to find a way to justify getting a bag in the cute tuxedo color scheme.
After all, I learned how Player IV differs from that Player V but I also learned about Vessel’s bag construction philosophy.
In the process, I fine-tuned my eye for golf bag design and construction. The ship bags are more expensive than other bags. But when you look closely, you’ll see how they’re different and, for the most part, better than other bags.
The ship makes sure their new golf bags are better than their old bags, although still great. The ship made sure Player V’s bag upgraded to Player IV’s bag.
I expect more of the same when we see a Player VI bag on the way.
Also, The ship is between them Black Friday Saleand from now until December 1st, you can take 20% off any bag sitewide.
Post 5 rules of thumb for updating a golf bag appeared first on MyGolfSpy.
