fencing bags

[crossstep]

hi,

im looking for a fencing roll bag... most sites have them but i was wondering if anyone knew of a site that is particularly cheap. i just need a roll bag with 2 big pockets and hopefully some on the side. any suggestions???
whats a good price range for these bags?
any sites with sales going on?

thanks!

[theLuz]

hi,

im looking for a fencing roll bag... most sites have them but i was wondering if anyone knew of a site that is particularly cheap. i just need a roll bag with 2 big pockets and hopefully some on the side. any suggestions???
whats a good price range for these bags?
any sites with sales going on?

thanks!

Don't get a fencing bag! Go to a discount golf store and look around at their sales stuff. I got a roll bag that fits all my stuff for epee and foil and equipment for about $50. The most you should pay is ~$100. Good luck.

[Guymelef]

The Luz is right if you need a durable roll bag for airline travel and extra security at venues. Is that the intended purpose, or is it overkill? If not, then you can get something like the Triplette Jimmy Hoffa Bag for around $40. Then you can go to any luggage store and buy an aluminum caddy for $10-$15

[4qtrs]

The fencing post has a very nice roller bag for less than the golf cases. One of the problems we found with the hard bags was they were tough to fit into rentals, taxis, and trains. The soft cases work much better if you are traveling (in my opion.)

[crossstep]

i'll probably be going to some national competitions this year so should i go with the hard case or the soft one? i could see how the hard one is much safer and sturdier for air travel, but then i can also see how the soft bags could be more manageable. any thoughts on this assuming i'll be travelling to some national competitions?

thanks for the help!

[jjefferies]

i'll probably be going to some national competitions this year so should i go with the hard case or the soft one? i could see how the hard one is much safer and sturdier for air travel, but then i can also see how the soft bags could be more manageable. any thoughts on this assuming i'll be travelling to some national competitions?
thanks for the help!

You've gotten the basic distinctions. I have both. The hard case is for airline travel. The soft bags don't protect masks and such from being crushed/squeezed but the soft bags are more flexible for travel. A good fencing bag will cost over $100 though there are cheaper chinese made ones, which will cost more over the life of the bag. I suggest in either case make it a rollaround I know people who have the smaller carry bags and they don't make it if you're serious.

[twiddlebugs51]

I have a hard shell golf case myself, and so far it has survived flying all over the US. However, even with the hard case, I have had it come out of baggage with some pretty bad dents (which i eventually kicked out); I would be a little bit worried flying with a case with a less protective shell. There are pro.'s and con.'s to both types of cases, so choose whichever you think will suit your need best.

[JMcC]

I have both. The hard case is for airline travel. The soft bags don't protect masks and such from being crushed/squeezed but the soft bags are more flexible for travel.

Most knowledgeable fencing travelers advise that you put your mask* in your carry-on luggage and NOT to put it in your checked baggage (the large rolling cases: hard or soft).

If your checked baggage gets lost in transit (always a real possibility), it would be extremely unlikely that you would be able to borrow someone else's mask at a competition. But it would be much easier to borrow a couple of weapons** if yours didn't arrive.

*Or any other item that's uniquely your size, like your fencing shoes.
**If you're forced to buy an item at an event to replace one lost by the airlines, better that it be a weapon which would add to your arsenal even after your missing one was finally located, rather than to buy a mask that you won't really need when your missing one is found.

[KD5MDK]

JMcC speaks great wisdom. I'd include your whole uniform (excepting maybe plastron, since they're cheap and available in only a few sizes) in your carry on.

[Army Fencer]

JMcC speaks great wisdom. I'd include your whole uniform (excepting maybe plastron, since they're cheap and available in only a few sizes) in your carry on.

Don't forget socks, shoes, and a couple body cords.

And the topic of bags has been discussed ad nauseum in the Armory forum. Check out some of the threads there.

[fatfencer]

I carry my full uniform and mask socks and spare underarmour t-shirts and bodycords and face towels in a carryon duffel for NACS. Don't trust the airlines. I also carry parts for my tips/wires/etc.

I'm getting the doublewide Golf Case and will put everything in there for local or drivable events.

F-net has a great 2 pocket fencing bag for the cloth type. I'm trying to get rid of my uhlmann. It has 2 long compartments and 1 small one large flat pocket on ONE side. Don't know what that long flat pocket is for but it doesn't hold anything.

Fatfencer

[Phaeton]

The fencing post has a very nice roller bag for less than the golf cases. One of the problems we found with the hard bags was they were tough to fit into rentals, taxis, and trains. The soft cases work much better if you are traveling (in my opion.)

The Linea bags are quite nice, especially the larger one which is a great knockoff of the uhlmann for a lot less.

There's no way I'm going to fit a hard golf bag in my car all the time. It takes up enough space that if I am moving anything else at the time...it just doesn't work out.

That said, I have a friend who uses a hard golf bag while traveling and just a duffel bag to carry all his club stuff to and from his club.

*I realize duffel bags don't generally roll unless pushed down a hill on their side.

[KD5MDK]

Don't forget socks, shoes, and a couple body cords.

And the topic of bags has been discussed ad nauseum in the Armory forum. Check out some of the threads there.

Point about the shoes, although technically they are part of the uniform.

Body cords can be cheaply replaced, if necessary. BG will have them for $15 or so. Likewise with socks. The all fall in to the category mention above, "easily added to your arsenal", unlike shoes, uniform, mask.

I'm sure everyone would prefer not to replace anything, but if you're going to replace something, the stuff that is generic and not highly size dependent is the best to leave out of you (limited) carry on.

[jjefferies]

Most knowledgeable fencing travelers advise that you put your mask* in your carry-on luggage and NOT to put it in your checked baggage (the large rolling cases: hard or soft).

CORRECTION: Most knowledgeable fencers do this on the way to the tournament (and most carry their uniform and glove as well). On the way back You do what is most convenient and I always put my mask in the hardshell. Safer from squashing than hand carrying it in a soft bag, not to mention that it does get heavy and bulky. These are things I'm willing to put up with just to make sure it arrives with me at the tournament. But afterwards I'm not as concerned if it doesn't show up for a couple of days.

[jjefferies]

I'm getting the doublewide Golf Case and will put everything in there for local or drivable events.

One understands the loathing of not having everything you might need. But a friend of mine gave me some GOOD advice. Don't get the doublewide/banjo case. You will fill it. And it becomes a backbreaking exercise to schlep it through the airport. And I do mean back breaking. The last few times I've come back from abroad (UK, Austria) the hard bag has been sooOO full that I could hardly move it around. If it had been a doublewide/banjo it literally would have been too much for me if not the bag.

BTW, while the thought is still percolating through my disintegrating brain. I would highly recommend the hard bag manufacturer SKB. The reason being that they do give excellent service and when latches, handles, whatever break on the bag (and I recently helped a friend, Keith Liechten, try to fix his Uhlmann bag which had been scrunched by Airline personnel) SKB will mail you at no cost the needed part. If the Airline baggage handlers damage the case so badly that it is immediately obvious you should file a claim against the Airline for reimbursement. But in Keith's case the only damage showing on the soft bag (it is less than 3 years old) was that one wheel's axle was bent. We expected to just put it in a vise and bend it back. But once we got the bag off it was quickly obvious that the metal frame had been majorly warped as well as the plywood insert being broken into 3 pieces. We bent back what we could and replaced the plywood. But with an SKB if it was that badly damaged it would have been obvious and anything less than total destruction such as bent/broken handles, latches etc could have been just replaced after calling SKB for the parts.

The above is just my observation. (Also SKB's can often be found on sale for approx USD 100.)

[veeco]

Because my bag is always heavier after the tournament than before, I have to take a spare bag with me :-)

[fencerwallet]

We toss a larger carry bag into a SKB 12" hard case, which is indestructible. Plus, we use it for golf clubs and camera equipment on other occasions, as well. And they do replace parts for free.

[Zilverzmurfen]

Because my bag is always heavier after the tournament than before, I have to take a spare bag with me :-)

All the TaxFree hard liquor..?

[Inquartata]

Note that the option of buying gear at a tournament doesn't always seem to exist, as I have found out recently---I am going to one where equipment is only supposed to be available "by prior arrangement". Definitely going to be taking everything except the sabres in carry-on for that one...and maybe everything except the sabre blades.

[Phaeton]

This may sound like pure stupidity, and I don't recommend any one try it, but why shouldn't people be able to take on unassembled blades? They certainly don't resemble weapons?