No Excuses Bags for Erik J. Barzeski

Dave, I'm excited to work on these bags with you. I've provided about as much information as possible below, but if you are unclear about anything, please let me know. I'm getting TWO bags - one backpack style bag ("Big Bag") and one "Fade Gear Crunch Box" style bag ("Little Bag").

I paid the $30 down payment/design fee on January 2, 2014 (Transaction ID #: 1M8716053P201130R). Our disc golf season doesn't really start here until March or April, and I'm really in no rush as I have several bags already (eight backpack style bags alone!). Take your time, do good work. I've seen that you're busy lately, and that's a good thing! :D

When we're done, I'll post detailed, high-resolution photos and videos of the bags, and post the videos and photos to YouTube, DGCR, Facebook, and elsewhere. I may not do as much for you as Matt (8-bit), but it should be close… ;-)

Common Design Elements

Swatches:

 
 
 
 
 

The gold (#4) is from the Penguins, while the yellow/gold (#2) is closer to the Pirates/Steelers and older Penguins jerseys. The gold (#4) pairs well with the grey, but should probably be used a bit less than the grey and only a bit more than any white (#5) (if white is even used at all).

Logos:
Steelers
Alternate logos for the Penguins (the 1991 logo in which yellow-gold in place the gold-gold) and Pirates (the pirate with the "Pirates" text) are also available, but these are the best and are available online in some fairly high resolution files. Here are some higher resolution images you can use for the embroidery: Penguins, Pirates, Steelers.

Little Bag

Design Goals

Big Bag

Design Goals

Little Bag

Detailed Notes

Comparison Bag: Fade Gear Crunch Box

I dislike very little about the Crunch Box. If I could have a better built, better materials custom version I'd be fairly happy. It holds the perfect number of discs for how I use it, and it carries what I need without having a ton of extra unneeded space. It's cheaply made, and lacks style - those are about the only real negatives.

So I'll start off by showing pictures of my Crunch Box. I'll highlight the parts I like, and what I don't like. I will try not to point out EVERYTHING, but will try to point out the important parts.

Face On

This is the Fade Gear Crunch Box. I love this bag for simple courses where I don't want to carry a lot of discs, typically in warmer weather, so the storage doesn't have to be huge.

To the left, a storage compartment that's easily big enough to hold a light cotton jacket (like an Adidas pull-over), a Golden Retriever, and my wallet, phone, and keys. There's an external zipper on that pocket as well that opens to a smaller pocket in which I typically store my hockey puck (for knocking discs out of trees).

The center shows the mini pocket, with pencil pockets. A two-putter pocket sits behind that. The discs orient the same direction (I like that) and I've got 10 putters jammed in there, though 9 is a better fit (I'm using putters just because they're all about the same size, and are the thickest discs). I do not want this bag to be capable of storing more than 10-12 discs in the main compartment. Space for 8-9 putters + 2 in the putter pocket is all I want. When I use this bag I'll often have five mids, three fairway drivers, and three or four distance drivers, plus two putters in the putter pocket.

The right side shows the bottle holder. I typically put a 20 oz. pop or a 20 oz. bottle in there. It has a drawstring. That's fine. It may change in the No Excuses Little Bag, or maybe this is fine. Note that when I carry this bag on my right shoulder, the water bottle or pop bottle is forward with the larger pocket on the back.

Flap Up

Just showing the flap. I like that it has a little velcro to attach to the back so it doesn't flap around. I have more to say about this below beneath pictures of some of your bags, though. I also like that it's a very squared off compartment so that the opening is very square - I don't like rounded edges.

Pouch

Here's the flap down (but not secured with the velcro). On the underside of the top flap it has a small mesh pocket. My scorecard holder is sticking out of it right now. I usually keep it in there. It rides against my hip or back when I carry the bag but that's fine. You might design the top flap to tuck in (see images below) and that would also be okay.

QL

An angled view of Crunch Box. You can see the hockey puck (with orange tape around it) in the side pocket area.

QR

The other side. You can see the velcro strip inside the bag. I'll probably want velcro stretching the whole way across the bag on both sides for my dividers so I can position them anywhere.

Strap

The strap. It adjusts on both sides so that I can keep the padded portion in the middle and on my shoulder. It clips to two little D-Rings so it's removable. Ideally the padded part could be larger too. It's small on the Crunch Box.

Top View

This shows the divider in the Crunch Box. I'd like to have two made for each of my bags. The dividers will come in handy when I want to play with fewer discs so they aren't flopping around and falling over.

The divider in the Crunch Box is a bit flimsy. It's basically just some foam padding with some fabric over it. They're also very short. The flexibility is nice for putting them in and taking them out, and the foam padding helps minimize noise and keep the discs apart a little bit. It's not tall - I'd like dividers that are about 6" tall.

Kimmy Bag

I feel like this style of bag is very close structurally to what I want for my Little Bag, with a few changes. Please note that I have no real idea how big this bag is. I can measure my Crunch Box (or maybe you have one handy), because this bag looks to be larger than what I need.

One of those changes visible in this picture is that the top zipper should have squarer corners. This makes it easier to pull discs out, particularly when they're oriented as I like - facing the same direction as the putters in the putter pocket.

Kimmy Bag

If that tablet is the size of an iPad Mini, the bag might be about the same size as a Crunch Box.

I have no plans to ever carry my Little Bag with quad straps, so the two back clips are not necessary. I also don't need pocket space on the back (holding the tablet), but if I could tuck the top flap into that pocket when I'm carrying the bag that might make more sense than the velcro on the Crunch Box. I could then keep my scorecard or something else in that same pocket (where the tablet is).

If we tuck the top flap into this back pocket, that would leave the back side available for "iacas" and "#55398" just like on the Big Bag.

Kimmy Top

If I'm tucking the flap in to the back pocket, I like the storage in the flap. And again, I'd like squared corners on that top flap. :D

American Back

The flap here looks like it could tuck into the back as well. I don't need as much padding as this bag seems to have on the back panel.

American Pill

I typically carry a 20 oz. bottle of Coke or my Nuun bottles (image here - 21 oz.), so I don't want to have the bottle storage (on the front-facing side of the bag) be too hard to get to. Maybe that means the left pill pocket has two bottle holders inside and the right one (the back one when I'm carrying it on my right shoulder) doesn't have anything internal - just space for a long-sleeved t-shirt, wallet, keys, etc.

Regardless of whether we do have a bottle holder (or two) on the side or the enclosed pocket style bottle holder, I would like there to be a grommet drainage hole, though if we do an internal pocket it's not necessary. Neither Cherry Coke Zeros nor my Nuun bottles sweat very much.

American Bottom

The Crunch Box has four plastic feet and a semi-rigid bottom. I'd like some little feet on the bottom for traction on slopes, and to keep my bag just a little bit off the ground. Waterproofing the bottom is a must. The feet aren't a dealbreaker, but they'd be nice.

I didn't mention it yet (except in the general design specs above), but I'd like the same three logos (Penguins, Pirates, and Steelers) added to this bag as well. Hopefully you'll find a place where they can all fit. If not, the bag will still be black, grey, yellow/gold, etc. And if my name/PDGA # go on the back side (the side that sits against my hip when the bag is slung on my right shoulder), like the Big Bag, that reduces the space available for the logos. The logos are a "would really like to have" but not a "must have."

Big Bag

Detailed Notes

Comparison Bags: Physical Flight Contender, Grip L-Series, ProDiscus, Big Hyzer Ergo, Salient Discs Catalyst, Mystery Ranch Golf Mahal

The backpack style bag I like most is a Golf Mahal, and it's similar in design to the Game Changer you built for Matt, so I'll show a good number of pictures of both bags below. The Golf Mahal is a nice bag and I love the expanding side pockets that can be cinched down so that it's almost like they're not there.

The simplest way to describe my ideal bag would be:

Drawing

So I'll start with this. This is a face-on view of the bag with the flap closed in the main area. If someone was walking behind me wearing this bag, they'd see this view. A) Pill pockets on both sides. B) Expanding/Collapsing Disc Pockets (more below). C) 2- or 3-putter pocket. D) Main storage flap with squared corners and three-disc storage flaps.

This is obviously a very simplified drawing. I didn't show any clips, straps, d-rings, etc. Below I will refer to "A" or "C" in the drawing here below.

Quick Note on Location of Logos - The outsides of the pill pockets ("A") and the front of the putter pocket ("C") would be good places to put the three logos, with the Penguins on the Putter Pocket ("C"), the Pirates on the Right Pill Pocket "A (right)", and the Steelers on the Left Pill Pocket "A (left)".

Cadillac

This bag is kinda close to the general layout I'd like (the flap and main "core" aren't quite right, for starters). It has the putter pocket on the front, two pill pockets on the outsides, and a pair of pockets that are capable of storing discs on the sides. I'll get into that right now though, since that's a big part of the bag I'd like…

GM Angle

GM Angle 2

Here are two pictures which show the expanding side pocket. You can see that there are four straps on each pocket - two on the top (one front, one back) and two on the bottom (front/back). They cinch down as shown on the right pocket to make the pocket "compress" or "collapse" into nothingness. They expand to hold five discs (the Golf Mahal holds six putters - I don't need that much space. The Golf Mahal is just over 5" wide, but a pocket that's 4" is plenty wide enough for five discs) and collapse down to almost nothing. There's a piece of plastic on the outside edge that helps support the pockets on the outside - you can see that rather than a pill pocket, the Golf Mahal has two separate pockets: an open bottle holder pocket and a zippable semi-round pocket. I'd like large pill pockets there.

Aside from that, you'll note the roll-up "cover" which I don't particularly like - I like the three-disc storage that tucks into the flap like the Game Changer. More on that later, though.

Bears Back

This is where I'd like a large "iacas" and "55398" or "#55398" stitched in a basic block font. If the logos don't fit in the locations noted above, they could go here with my name and PDGA number going elsewhere. At the end of the day the logos aren't a "must have" on this bag either since the colors will still be "team colors."

I may forget to note this elsewhere, but I'd definitely like a durable handle at the top of the bag as well. I often carry the bag short distances with just the handle, rather than putting it on my back, so a durable handle is important.

Hidden Pocket

I really like this little hidden pocket. If I can have one behind the putter pocket, I'd like one.

Detachable

I like the idea of detachable straps. I don't know yet if I need the hip/belt thing in this Chicago Bears bag you did, but I'd like to consider having it. It looks like it stays out of the way when it's not in use. Let me know what you think about that.

CamelBak

I'd love to have a CamelBak pouch in my bag. I'd probably be willing to give up the Titleist Style Back Straps (see below in the section labeled "Two Important Stress Areas") to get it, but I'd love it if we could find a way to do both the CamelBak pouch AND the Titleist Style Back Straps.

GC Side

I like the mesh pocket on the side of the Game Changer, and the fabric pocket on the other side of the Game Changer (not pictured). Great places to store little things. I also like the storage in the flap, though I'd like three slots as I hear you're doing now. I'll probably use one of them for a Towch.

GC Straps

I like the straps and places to clip things. I like to put bag tags, clip towels, etc. onto my bag so if you can give me as many D-rings and loops as possible, that's great. The more places I have to clip things, the better. Plus the straps will have to hold the CamelBak straw.

GC Tucked In

Two quick comments here. First: I love how the main flap simply tucks in behind the discs. It's great. Two: this shows an Innova U-Channel, but I'd like to just have a bunch of velcro, and two dividers like the Little Bag's. The loop part of the velcro would obviously go in the bag, and the dividers would have the hook par, and I could take the dividers in and out, move them around, etc.

Velcro Bag

Here's a suitcase with a velcro divider. The divider is rather rigid, but functions just about perfectly - it's how I'd like my four dividers (two for each bag) to work. If you need more details here just ask, because I'd definitely like this feature to come out nicely.

GM Front

Very easy to see how well the pocket collapses on the side of the Golf Mahal here. Obviously the pocket is expanded on the let, and collapsed on the right.

GM Expanded

GN Collapsed

Closeups of the expanded and collapsed Golf Mahal pockets. The Golf Mahal pocket is 5" wide, which is a bit larger than I need - I only need to fit five discs in the sides - 4" should be good.

You may be able to build these pockets with zippers, but the straps on the Golf Mahal seem to work. The pocket collapses down quite a bit, and expands to full size easily. I'll leave that to you.

Stool

This picture shows where I sometimes shove my stool. The Golf Mahal has velcro straps (with the orange logo on the side of the bag) that I guess are to hold the shaft of an umbrella, and you can shove the umbrella handle in the velcro side pocket just below the velcro strap.

To be honest I don't know if you'll be able to arrange for stool or umbrella carrying. If you can, great. But I rarely play in the rain and I almost never carry a stool around.

GM Top

A top-down view of the Golf Mahal with the one pocket expanded and the other collapsed. The main storage area stores 12 putters, which is just about perfect, as that should be about 15 discs that are mids and fairways. It's just over 8" wide.

Two Important Stress Areas

Titleist

This Titleist bag I've used for almost a decade. I carry my backpack - and often my disc golf backpack bags - on one shoulder (almost always my right shoulder). It's important that the backpack straps - particularly the RIGHT backpack strap - be VERY SOLID and VERY SECURE as it will get a LOT of stress and wear and tear from picking the bag up, slinging it over my right shoulder, walking around, and putting it down. I've included this photo because I like how the backpack straps connect across the whole top, not just where the strap itself would connect. I figure this distributes the load over more of the width and thus reduces the chances of stitches wearing.

This design may not "fit" with the CamelBak slot on the back side of the bag, but I hope that something can be done to make sure the strap is very secure and strong.

I may not have noted this elsewhere, but I'd like a handle at the top as well. Often when carrying my bag a short distance I'll grab the handle at the top rather than a back strap, carry it maybe in my left hand, tap in my putt with my right, and then throw the bag on my back.

The second area of wear and tear is simply the bottom of the bag. I plan to use my No Excuses bags for a LONG time, so I'd like the bottom of the bag to be well protected from sticks, rocks, and other random stuff on disc golf courses. I take care of my stuff, but you know that the woods can be tough on bags. I really like the rails on the bottom of the Grip bag I have. And I like the non-slip feet on the bottom of my other bags.

Follow-Up Questions?

Feel free to call me, email me, or whatever. I'm very excited about these bags and can't wait to see what you design. If you have questions I'd be happy to take more pictures or film a short video explaining or demonstrating something. Just let me know.

Thanks.