Last year we had the opportunity to test out and review the latest from BIG MAX with their Dri Lite Hybrid and Dri Lite Sport golf bags. We came away impressed and while they might not be best known in North America as of yet, they are Europe’s #1 golf bag brand.
Two new bags are hitting the market with the BIG MAX Dri Lite Hybrid Tour and Dri Lite Seven and we have had a chance to take a closer look and give them a spin on the course.
As soon as you take these out of the box, you realize that BIG MAX didn’t stray too far, which is a good thing. Their water resistant Dri Lite material is one of the best we have used and it is well done on both of these bags. Colors that pop, and pocket placement that seems ideal are first impressions and we were impressed before trying it out.
“There isn’t a huge variation in the golf bag market and that’s fine for a lot of golfers, but at BIG MAX we want to stand out from the crowd,” commented Ralf Niesing, Head of Bag Design at BIG MAX. “For practical innovation alone, the Dri Lite Hybrid Tour is the match of anything on the market and in the Dri Lite Seven I’d say we have the best lightweight stand bag in this price category. But when it comes to style, I really don’t think there is anything that comes close. With the Hybrid Tour we use 90° and 45° angles as they harmonise together and combine perfectly with the angle of a bag on a push cart. We then took the best modern color combinations and ended up with something that pops in a different way to any other bag I’ve seen. The Dri Lite Seven has a more subtle palette with bold accent colors, but at a single glance you can tell that this is a BIG MAX bag that has both style and substance.”
The Dri Lite Hybrid Tour is the next generation of the Dri Lite Hybrid that we reviewed last year. Think of it as a modern day cart bag with legs, but while that might sound a bit clunky, this is anything but. It sits well on a push cart, stands well on a riding cart and while we prefer pushing to carrying, it comes in at about 4.5 lbs, so with the padded straps, it doesn’t represent much of an issue. The pockets are well done and feature some of what you would expect such as a spacious cooler pocket as well as a 100% waterproof valuables pouch, that in our testing was deep enough to hold wallet, keys and phone. The 14-way divider is a nice touch for the golfer that prefers his stuff neat and tidy at the top, but for those looking for a 4-way top, they haven’t forgot about you (next bag). Available color options are Black, Charcoal/Black/Red, Silver/Blueberry/Merlot, Steel Blue/Black/Rust, White/Black/Orange and the Dri Lite Hybrid Tour comes with a MSRP of $259.99.
The BIG MAX Dri Lite Seven is a pretty unique offering in the golf bag space. Let’s start with the obvious size and weight, which is tiny. This is a very compact bag and comes in at barely over 3.5 lbs for you carry golfers. 4 way divider top that measures at 8.5″, but honestly felt a bit more spacious. The Dri Lite Seven is a super compact bag, that will definitely hold 14 clubs in it without tangling (we took 16 and still had no issues). With that said, if you are a two driver person or 3 fairway woods and a couple of hybrids person, it might be a bit of a tight fit. Four well placed pockets including a cooler pocket that held a couple of bottles of water just fine and while you can pack on the poundage with balls and accessories, for a light weight offering, this felt pretty darn good. It is available in Black/Red, Navy/Orange, White/Navy/Red and with a MSRP of $179.99.
As the brand continues to grow in the North American market, you will see more and more of their items on the course. While most non-equipment company golf bags share a more traditional look, BIG MAX has bold colors and well done placement of pockets with some real innovation in the space. For more information on these two bags or to order one up today, check out their US website at https://us.bigmaxgolf.com.
Talk about feature loaded too.
Nice big cooler pocket is great as well. I think I’m always most impressed with how and where that put the pockets, all the golf bags carry clubs it’s the small things that separate the best bags for each individual.
These look great and have a variety of options for anyone, I’m sure they will find their place in many people’s homes.
They are well known for their push carts, especially on he other side of the Atlantic.
It is definitely on the smaller side, but if someone likes super light weight and doesnt mind a tiny bit of tangling when full, its a great option.
I have a lot of thoughts, that will be sharing both good & bad about this bag.
Now to decide on a color.
There is a lot to like about this bag, and somethings that could have been updated better.
A look at the two versions of the bag:
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The Black is the prior Gen, the material that Big Max uses is very durable and handles rain and other adverse weather conditions extremely well.
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The new version of the bag is bigger in both width & depth. This is welcome, because it helps with the way the clubs fit in each slot making it easier to get clubs in and out of the bag. The 14 Way top is the same design, however, it is slightly larger than the prior gen.
The strap system is very comfortable, and remains unchanged from the prior gen.
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While the new version is bigger, it contains less pockets to segregate items within the bag.
The cooler pocket is way bigger in the new version, and the front pockets also are deeper & bigger. The Ball pocket is so much bigger that you can hold more than 4 dozen balls in the pocket no problem.
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The same story on the opposite side of cooler pocket, the pockets are bigger and more cavernous, however, the new version excludes the long vertical pocket near the handle area. This is a real miss in my opinion.
What I do like, is the towel hook addition & the ability to Velcro a 3rd glove to the outside of the bag to dry the glove out. The prior gen only provided two such slots.
Also, the valuables pocket is now larger than the prior gen.
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In conclusion, I’m a big fan of Big Max and their product. I like the Hybrid bag concept, and there are many benefits to this bag, especially if you play in inclement weather conditions.
I do have some criticism with the decision to reduce the ability to segregate storage within the bag. The increase size and space helps offset the decrease in the total number of pockets, but the removal of the long vertical pocket on the right side of the bag is puzzling to me. The reason that you go with a Hybrid bag, is you want the benefits of a stand bag w/ the increased storage of a cart bag. This bag provides the storage space that you are looking for in a hybrid, but doesn’t provide the segregation of the storage space. I can fit even more stuff in this bag than before, it just drives my OCD crazy.
With all of that being said, I think that Big Max has a winner here due to the fact that the net improvements out weight the amount nit picky complaints that I have about the bag. The price point is very competitive for this type of bag, and the color options are top notch. If you are in the market for a new bag, give this line a look.
not huge on the big announcement of where the valuables pockets is either, that’s kinda weird.
On the colors, the color I chose matched my Headcovers really well…
The prior gen didn’t highlight the valuables pocket as much as this one does, agreed.
Black or Charcoal / Red?
I think having the valuables pocket on the side would prevent it from being directly exposed to inclement weather. But can see if you are carrying the bag or on a golf cart it would be difficult to access.
Or is this the same size as the previous generation bag?
Black
It’s bigger than the previous gen, you can hold a lot of canned beverages in this new cooler pocket … See my post above .
How did I skip over that write up? I blame where I am at currently. Thanks for the details.
Here is an demonstration of the 3 different glove spots on the bag.
As someone that likes to cycles through gloves during a round, this was an awesome addition to this bag.
Here is a video from Big Max’s YouTube site. I don’t use a push cart, but the base is designed for push cart usage.
There is an umbrella holder on the leg side, I don’t have a umbrella to demo.
I also have put my rain gear in this bag with no problem, if that is important to you.
If I’m going to carry, I’m switching to a lighter bag than this one. I rarely walk.
You mentioned that the top has been expanded somewhat. I’m guessing it’s not as large as the 15-way C-130 but how is it in practice fully loaded? Any binding? Are the dividers full length?
I think a hybrid tour with a more open layout, maybe 4 or 5-way, would hit the sweet spot for me. I don’t hate the 14-way at all though.
The dividers are full length, no binding if you put your putter in the larger middle spot near the legs. The ease of getting clubs in and out is a positive note for this bag.
Example of how this bag does a great job of repelling water as it’s raining to start the round today…
Rain gear fit into the right side pocket no problem.
Was able to get Rain Gear, Rain Gloves, 2 spare gloves, and Callaway wrench into this pocket with room to spare.
Like I said you can store a lot of stuff in this bag….
One more thing, if you have an external rain towel cover like pictured above, the towel hook in in a place where you can cover your clubs with the towel still attached to the hook. That is another positive about this bag and it’s functionality…
I’m in hard ponder mode with a Big Max 14- way stand bag. Does anyone know the difference between the Dri Lite Summit and Dri Lite Hybrid Tour? Is the Summit the previous version or a newer model?
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The Summit is the newer version of the Hybrid.
It appears they have addressed some of the small issues that I had with the Hybrid with the release of the Summit.