I need a bag. A really, really, really big bag.

[Chuck F.]

I'm talking a super-deluxe, extra-jumbo, king-size, Elvis-slept-here kind of bag.

I am coaching "on the road" and need to carry a BUNCH of gear all over the place, including about 20 beginners kits (masks and all). Leon Paul makes a bag that supposedly fits 10 kits, but it is a bit pricey.

Any ideas? It/they don't need to be fencing bags necessarily, just big enough for a bunch of stuff and long enough for weapons. The cheaper, the better.

+ Bonus points awarded for options with rigid shape or frame and/or wheels!

[D+F+P=Hadouken!]

Try a sleeping bag.

[BrianH]

I've seen pretty voluminous wheeled, traveling golf bags that might work. Good luck with it. By the way, Fencergrl is in the same boat, so you might ask her how she transports equipment to her class milieux.


Brian

[qatet]

I transport _huge_ amounts of gear with me every week. I find that it's much better to have more, "smaller" bags (i.e. normal fencing bags) just because you can fit them into cars better and pick them up to stuff them into said cars much better. That said, ice hockey uses some damn big bags, and they're generally long enough to take weapons, too.

[fatfencer]

Originally Posted by Chuck F.

I'm talking a super-deluxe, extra-jumbo, king-size, Elvis-slept-here kind of bag.

I am coaching "on the road" and need to carry a BUNCH of gear all over the place, including about 20 beginners kits (masks and all). Leon Paul makes a bag that supposedly fits 10 kits, but it is a bit pricey.

Any ideas? It/they don't need to be fencing bags necessarily, just big enough for a bunch of stuff and long enough for weapons. The cheaper, the better.

+ Bonus points awarded for options with rigid shape or frame and/or wheels!

Talk to Purple Fencer: His SKP Double golf bag carrier could easily fit the bill with careful packing.

FF

[Purple Fencer]

The SKB is expensive, tho...mine was over $120 when I bought it at a golf store in 2000 or so

[Zilverzmurfen]

Hockey trunk for stowing kits/masks in and a huge golf/fencing type bag for weapons?

[jjrenaud]

i've had the same problem in the past with carrying a lot of fencing stuff when i was going in different schools to teach fencing. the good bag i've found was the army duffle bag with zip, very cheap(19.95$ each) and uge

[brtech]

We use one large regular cheap fencing bag which has weapons only. Then we have two and sometimes three large plastic totes that have the uniforms, lames and masks. The totes stack for storage, and its easy to get help bringing them in and out. They fit pretty well in the back of a minivan.

[stu]

For carrying weapons at least, a cost effective option is to go into your local guitar shop and by the cheapest bass guitar softcase you can find. Mine cost me the grand total of £5 (about $10). Avoid guitar softcases though; they're usually about an inch too short.

For the rest of it, either invest in duffel bags, or simply use a lot of old shopping bags. The advantage of the smaller bags is that you avoid the temptation to put in so much that you half kill yourself carrying it in from the car.

One other thought, which might be a little harder to get hold of, is a cricketer's 'coffin' bag. Like a lot of fencing bags, they have wheels, and they tend to have a greater overall capacity. The only slight issues are that they might be slightly too short for the weapons (but there's already a solution to that above) and that, given your location, your local sports shop probably won't have many, so you'll probably have to buy online.

[LeonPaulUSA]

Check out our model 513 and 515 bags:

http://www.leonpaulusa.com/fencing/a..._Cases_44.html

Bill

[uhl-mann]

You could you the uhlmann jumbo bags or something like that. Or you could use the leon paul coaching bags they're big. For your weapons though you could use baseball bat bags.

[Beowulfman6]

Get a golf hard-shell travel case. They come in various sizes, with "doubles" being about 51 inches long, 20 or more inches wide, and 16 or so inches deep. Cost is anywhere from $100 (sometimes cheaper) to $200 for some of the biggest. I found a nice one for about $120, and will probably buy one or two more since the school has yet to give me permamnent secure storage space. I wouldn't want anything bigger becouse it would be too massive to do anything with.

[jfarmer]

Originally Posted by brtech

We use one large regular cheap fencing bag which has weapons only. Then we have two and sometimes three large plastic totes that have the uniforms, lames and masks. The totes stack for storage, and its easy to get help bringing them in and out. They fit pretty well in the back of a minivan.

The totes are a good idea. I would suggest that you get the ones with wheels. Makes them a lot easier to move around. The last class I taught at a remote location, I used a large wheel suitcase for masks, jackets, etc. It would have been fine except that they located us up two flights of stairs... the next time, I plan to use either wheeled tote bins, or a couple of large wheeled duffel bags. The bags have the advantage of having a shoulder strap for carrying up stairs, etc.

John Farmer
Coach, Oak Ridge Fencers Club

[archer1960]

Hockey equipment bag X 2 would probaly do it.

[seven6ty]

Also, try checking at army surplus stores, if you don't want to spend a bundle. They often have huggeee bags, for really cheap.

[DesertFencer]

If you have an Academy or similar sporting goods retailer in your area, check the camping gear area for giant "seabags." We found some at our local store.

There were two types, one that opens at the end and another that zips open in the center like a parachute bag. They're huge. We stored 26 sets of gear with three bags.

I think they were around $10 each.

[forethought]

I went to a local Army/Navy surplus store and found they have these wonderful black canvas duffel bags that are more than long enough to fit weapons in (even when I put them in PVC sheaths), and I can even fit 12-15 masks in them, depending on the size of the masks. The best part, is those were the small bags, they had an even bigger one that fits quite a number of jackets very easily. Price? I picked up two of the small ones and one of the big ones for ~$75. The only drawback is they did not come with a shoulder strap, but they do have three handles (one in the middle and one on each end). If you want I can take pictures and post them on here.

Edit: I should clarify that the bags (at least the small ones) have D-rings to accommodate a shoulder strap, but they did not come with one.

[Allen Evans]

Remember that once you get your really, really, really big bag full, you have to carry it.

That tends to put an upper limit on the size.

AE

[wbowman]

In addition to Allen's point, having stuff split up into a number of smaller bags, as several others have recommended, allows for more flexibility in getting stuff into the car.
Also, if you have students who can be induced to help carry things in, it splits up the load.
That said, I always liked the name of Triplette's big "Jimmy Hoffa Special," though I don't actually know anything about the quality of the bag itself.