The very best stand bag manufacturers on the market have decided that PU leather is back. Ever since Vessel's stable of Enter Ping, a brand that has already such classics as the Hoofer and, more recently, the Moonlander stand bags.
With so many of these types of bags now on the market, could the Reserve stand bag do enough to stand out from the crowd when I took it out onto the golf course?
The looks are as you'd expect. Clean and clear with no flashy prints or outrageous design features. For the time being, the Reserve is only available in Navy Blue or Black, but I'm sure more colours will follow soon.
There are some nice nods to Ping hidden in the design, like the Ping man logo stitched onto the rear of the bag and the metal Ping badge just above the ball pocket. Ping fans (and I am one of them) will appreciate these nods to the historied brand, and it's design elements like this that will make his bag stand out from the Vessels, Ogio and Big Max designs for people who are simply fans of Ping golf clubs.
Seven pockets in total give you plenty of storage options, which you would hope for from a bag that weighs in at 3kg (6.6lbs). That means it's not the best lightweight stand bag around, but most PU leather stand bags struggle to be lightweight because of the nature of the material.
The front ball pocket is very deep and magnetic, making access quick and easy. I do wish the slightly smaller pocket above it (which I used to leave loose tees and ball markers) was magnetic too, as this would've been the perfect spot to have a quick access rangefinder pocket.
I was a little frustrated at the lack of an exterior water bottle pocket, however. In the large side pocket, there is a pocket within that can hold a water bottle, but having to unzip a pocket to access a water bottle is a little frustrating, especially when considering pretty much every other stand bag I test has some kind of external water bottle pocket for easy access.
That being said, the Reserve does come with 14 litres of total volume, which is more than enough for a bag of this type.
Cleverly, the largest pocket on the right side of the bag is detachable, allowing you to shed weight from the bag if you don't plan on carrying a lot with you. This is a clever feature I've not seen on a bag of this type before. I've only ever seen something like this employed on the Ogio Fun Day bag, which is a much smaller Sunday bag and in a different category entirely.
This also has one of the most comfortable straps I've tested on any recent stand bags, too. It's well-padded and does a good job of evenly distributing the weight across your shoulders. It's convertible between a single and a double strap, too, which is a nice touch.
There are a lot of stand bags like this flooding the market now. With a few missing pockets, the Reserve doesn't quite do enough for me to beat the likes of the Vessel Player V, Wilson 1914, or Ogio Shadow stand bags. That being said, Ping fans will no doubt love the attention to detail and styling on this smart overall offering.
