Whether you're a pro fighter, a combat sports hobbyist, or just a cardio nut who likes to punch and kick stuff, a gym bag is an important part of your equipment. We may not pack as much gear as the average hockey player, but with several pairs of gloves, head gear, shin guards, mitts, gis, and whatever else things start to add up quick. In the past, it was difficult to find reviews for gym bags here on Sherdog; my guess is because most gym bags were all the same. With the introduction of the Datsusara MMA bag, gym bags have become worth reviewing again.
I will be reviewing the new PGB-03 model, which features a number of changes from the previous PGB2 model reviewed here in the past. You can see a list of the changes/features at their site:
Datsusara MMA - Functional MMA Gear
If you're like I am, you probably didn't put much effort into buying a gym bag. I drove down to my nearest sporting goods store, walked through the aisle of crappy Adidas/Nike nylon gym bags, and grabbed the cheapest one I could find. I think I ended up paying $20, but the bags went up to $60 for the biggest ones. At the time, I was thinking that a bag is a bag; it just needs to hold stuff. After using that bag for 2 years, I realized the problems with this:
- They are not cost-effective. A $20 bag is TINY; you can't fit jack into one. If you move up to a bigger bag, you end up spending so much money that you might as well pop for a Fairtex bag.
- They are poorly constructed. The nylon material is extremely thin, and the zippers are not exactly military-grade.
- They don't breathe worth a damn. We are athletes; we sweat a lot, and many of us train 3, 4, even 5 days per week. Breatheable material is important.
- They are not anti-microbial (unless you pop for a more expensive bag). Again, this is important for athletes; Staph, anyone?
In searching for a new gym bag, I was looking to solve the above problems. I can safely say that the Datsusara bag lives up to my expectations across the board.
SIZE: In terms of size, this bag is awesome. For comparison's sake, this bag is slightly bigger than the ubiquitious Fairtex gym bag (4 inches longer and 1 inch taller). There are two large zippered compartments on the sides that are big enough to store, for example, an extra set of clothes and shoes (which is what I use them for). There are also heavy-duty mesh outer pockets for towels and water bottles. On the front there is an array of pockets; two large pockets that can hold a pair of MMA gloves and/or extra supplies (I use them to store mouthguard rinse, liniment, and other stuff). There is a zippered center pocket for your wallet/keys/etc, and beneath that are two smaller pockets; one for your mouthguard, and one for a cell phone. The mouthguard pocket fits the standard Shock Doctor mouthguard case just fine (note that my bag has a production defect where the mouthguard pocket is 1 cm smaller than it should be; your mouthguard will fit even better than mine does in the picture). The cell phone pocket is large enough to fit a standard cell phone, however it is NOT large enough to hold a PDA/smartphone such as a Blackberry or Nokia E71 (which is the phone I have). However, this is no big deal to me as I prefer to keep my phone in the zippered pocket, anyway.
BREATHABILITY: This was one of the most important factors I was considering when I decided to purchase this bag. I've always hated having to rush to empty my gym bag out after every session; one time, I forgot to empty my gym bag before going on a weekend trip, and was greeted with weird nasty crap growing on my headgear when I got home. That's just plain unhealthy, not to mention the pain of having to scrub my gear down afterwards. I was hoping that the breathable, anti-microbial hemp material of the Datsusara bag would be a big improvement in this area, so I decided to do a test last weekend: After training, I wiped my gear down, tossed it all in the bag, zipped it up and then left it in my car in 100 degree weather for the weekend. When I opened up my bag the following Monday, I was surprised to see that all my gear was dry and clean. I couldn't believe it. Now, I'm obviously not recommending that you do this all the time, but the point here is that when they say this bag breathes well, they aren't kidding. And again, this is the PGB-03 model, which is supposed to breathe LESS than the previous model due to the resin coating they added to the hemp. In my experience, if there was a reduction in breathability, it's not something you're going to miss.
CONSTRUCTION: I have to say that the bag is rock solid. The material is very thick and heavy, and zippers are all very high quality and have a smooth action to them. According to Datsusara, the new builder for these bags specializes in making military gear, so you can bet they know a thing or two about making stuff that lasts. The shoulder strap is also very rugged and very comfortable to use, and it doesn't slip off of your shoulders. I'll make sure to chime in again several months from now to let you know it's been holding up.
PRICE: If you pre-order from the above website, the bag costs $90 (I should note that this is $30 cheaper than the previous version of their bag). Yes, it's more expensive than your average bag, but would-be complainers should just save their breath because you'll be preaching to the choir here. I've already gone down the "cheap bag" road and I'm not gonna do it again. After putting up with a crappy bag all this time, I've realized that the extra money is worth the convenience of all the extra space, the health benefits of breathable/anti-microbial material, and the ruggedness of a bag that feels like it's going to last forever. Some might say that you could get a cheap bag and save money, but the way I look at it is I could have saved myself $20 if I had skipped the crappy Adidas bag and just bought this one first.
CONCLUSION: Best bag I've ever owned, and I easily recommend it to anyone who is looking for a high-quality, long lasting bag that is built specifically for combat sports. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask.
PICTURES:
Front of the bag.
Interior main compartment. Inside are two pairs of gloves, XL shin guards, XL headgear, a couple braces, and (don't laugh) a box of baby wipes for cleanup haha. It's hard to see how deep the bag goes, since the material tends to fold over when I'm not holding it up. To compensate for this, I pulled the top flap up so that the back of the bag is at full height, and I've marked the top of the bag with a red line in the image. As you can see, I could easily fit twice as much gear in this bag and still zip it closed.
Side pocket. I throw my clean clothes and change of shoes in one, and my dirty change of clothes in the other.
Side image showing the logo and mesh pockets.
One of the large front pockets. The gloves inside are my CSI Hybrids (similar design to the Primetimes), and yes, both gloves fit.
Mouthguard and cell phone pockets. That is a standard Shock Doctor case. Note again that my bag is a test model with a smaller mouthguard pocket; the pocket on the final versions is bigger.
