I feel a little bit guilty calling OGIO a golf bag company. They also make duffles, backpacks, messenger bags, luggage, and assortment of other items that help you carry your stuff from point A to point B. There’s no denying, however; Utah’s little-duffle-bag-company-that-could has matured into the big-time-more-than-just-a-golf-company-that-does produce the largest and most feature-rich collection of bags in the golf industry.

This is going to be a long one, but if you’re in the market for a new golf bag, I encourage, implore you to read on.

While I could spend all day telling you about OGIO’s current lineup of golf products including; 3 travel bags, the Shoester shoe bag, Saki headcovers, 4 caps, a golf towel, and an umbrella, this is a post about golf bags, and OGIO’s got a ridiculous 14 (that’s right, I said 14) of them for 2008.

For 2008 OGIO has tried to design a bag for every personality; and quite frankly, if you can’t find a 2008 OGIO bag to your liking, you’re doing it wrong. While 14 bags is way too many for me to cover in the detail they deserve, there are several I will touch on, and a select few that I was delve into in detail. Before we do that, here’s a little bit of the company line:

“In preparing this line, OGIO committed to aligning with the on-course needs for each type of golfer. It’s the little details in these bags that enhance players’ experience because even their smallest on-course needs have been addressed.” - Tom Gocke, Global Director of Golf, OGIO International.

You’ll hear about those little details in a bit, but let’s start with OGIO’s most basic bags.

For what OGIO calls Casual/Weekend Golfer (or what I call the “My wife will only let me play 9” crowd), the company has designed 2 ultra-lightweight Sunday bags. Both the Sliver and the Sticks models feature a 7″ Woode top. The 3.4 lbs. Sticks has a couple extra bells and whistles (like OGIO’s patented ball silo), but at barely 2 lbs., you won’t find a more complete, lighter-weight Sunday bag than the Sliver.

For the Passionate Walker (or the too-cheap-to-rent-a-cart-er) OGIO offers two stand bags that are heavy on features, but still plenty light on your back.

The no frills Vaporlite, with it’s 3.8 lbs. dry weight practically qualifies as a Sunday bag. It features an 9″ OGIO Woode lite top, zippered rain hood, walking-accessible water bottle holder, and 5 pockets (including a fleece lined valuables pocket, and a side pocket that can detached for embroidery purposes). The Crossbow lite strap system should make this bag comfortable enough to easily carry over 18 holes.

One step up from the Vaporlite is the OGIO Ozone. At only 4.2 lbs, you won’t have to sacrifice comfort for features. In addition to the features of the Vaporlite, the Ozone offers 3 additional pockets (8 total), the patented OGIO Ball Silo and a dedicated pocket for a scorecard and a pencil.

OGIO has really expanded their color choices for ‘08, so you shouldn’t have a problem finding a carry bag to match your personal style.

My one gripe with both the Vaporlite and the Ozone is that the Woode lite top offers only 3 full length dividers. I’ll assume that for the bags to be so light, compromises had to be made.

For the Cart Loyalist (push, pull, etc.) OGIO has 3 bags to choose from. While the Edge and Grom models should be familiar to fans of the brand, it’s the brand new for 2008 Nexos bag that’s generating all of the buzz. Before we get to the Nexos though, here’s a quick refresher on the Edge and Grom.

The 6.3 lbs. Grom has been OGIO’s top selling bag for 3 years running. The $180.00 stand bag features just about everything that makes OGIO bags so great; 9″ Woode top (including EVA molded shaft dividers), zippered rain hood, Ball Silo, Zipperless Ball Pouch (ZBP), TORQ Strap (anti-twist strap for securing to a cart), 9 pockets (including fleece-lined valuables, and walking-accessible water bottle), and a elastic umbrella containment system. In 2008 the Grom is available in 6 different colors; including my personal favorite, Indigo Khaki.

The OGIO Edge, as I discussed last year, is the evolution of the very popular OGIO Exo. OGIO calls the design a hybrid; “living somewhere between a tricked-out stand bag and a lightweight cart bag”. The big differentiator between the Edge and the Grom is the Edge’s external frame, which creates more space inside the bag. In addition to the exo-skeleton design, the 6.8 lbs. Edge comes fully-loaded with the Torq strap, 9 pockets (including ZBP, fleece-lined valuables, walking accessible water bottle holder, and an internal cell phone pocket).

If that isn’t enough for you, the Edge, also has the 9″ Woode top, Ball Silo,, and Crossbow shoulder strap system.

The Edge is available in 5 colors including the Juice/Black combo that brings back fond memories of my first OGIO; an Exo I bought 5 years ago.

From what I’ve been able to gather, the Nexos is OGIO’s flagship bag for the 2008 season. Described as a hybrid bag, the Nexos takes a load of features normally found only in cart bags, and blends them with a newly design stand system, to create what could be the ultimate bag for those of us equally as likely to walk or ride.

I’d admit to feeling a little bit paranoid the first time I read through the features of the Nexos bag. I found myself wondering if the OGIO engineers had spent the last year secretly following me around the links. While it’s safe to assume the guys in Utah have better things to do than watch me shank balls into the woods, one look at the specs of the new Nexos and it’s abundantly clear; this bag is designed both by and for people who play a lot of golf.

While I don’t mean to insinuate that the guys on the OGIO design team aren’t good golfers (although the video on the OGIO site does support that notion), it’s pretty clear the guys who designed the Exos think like your average Joe Duffer at the local Muni. Yeah, the Nexos will hold your clubs, and do it with more style than you’d expect from a bag with so many features, but with extras like dedicated pockets for GPS units, cigars, divot tools, sharpies, scorecards, and a pencil; the Nexos isn’t your standard off-the-rack club caddy. It might as well be a custom bag.

Here is the full list of features:

• 11 pockets (8 zippered)
• 10-way Wedge top w/dedicated putter pouch
• Crossbow Shoulder Strap System
• External Ball Silo
• Zipperless Ball Pocket (ZBP)
• Hoode clamshell style rainhood
• Glove/putter cover velcro strip
• Scorecard and Pencil Pocket
• Cigar pocket with included cigar case
• Walking-accessible beverage pouch
• External Divot tool pouch (tool included)
• Torq (anti-twist) strap for securing the bag to a cart
• External Sharpie pocket
• GPS/Range finder pocket with transparent easy view window
• Arc Lite Stand System

The Arc Lite Stand System is currently exclusive to the Nexos. It’s designed to eliminate all the annoyances that have, until now, been accepted as part of the deal when toting a stand bag.

The Arc Lite bag is designed to eliminate “leg catch syndrome”. The legs contract 50% faster than traditional systems, and takes a wide, arching path when doing so. This prevents the golfer from tripping over the legs as he lifts the bag. The legs of the Arc Lite system deploy 20% wider than most bags, which makes the Nexos much more stable when the legs are deployed.

Perhaps the best feature of the new Arc Lite is system are the magnets that hold at the base of the bag that help to hold the legs in place so they’re not knocking around when you’re walking, or trying to pop lose while the bag is attached to cart.

With an MSRP of $240.00 the Nexos (available in Sand/Navy, Black/Gold, and all-black) will be among the priciest stand bags on the market, but feature for feature, you won’t find a bag that provides more bang for your buck.

We expect we’ll have an OGIO Nexos available when they begin shipping early this summer. A detailed review will follow.

For those guys, like my buddy Jon, who have vowed never to walk a golf course, OGIO’s 2008 lineup of cart bags provides plenty of selection for the dedicated rider/lazy <expletive deleted>.

At under $100 the OGIO Section is one of the better, if not the best, values in cart bags. Among it’s features are a 9.5″ Woode top with full-length dividers, nine pockets including an internal cell phone pocket and a zip-off side pocket for easy embroidering or printing. The Section also has external, elastic tee holders, and a zippered rain hood. The look of the Section reminds me a bit of the Titleist S85, but at almost half the price.

Also back for 2008 are the OGIO Atlas and OGIO Syncro cart bags. The Syncro (MSRP: $180) weighs in at 6.9 lbs, which makes it an ideal choice for riders who occasionally chose to walk with a push or pull cart. The Syncro features a 10″ 15 club Uniter top, molded Ball Silo, and 9 zippered pockets, including an isolated wet/dry pocket which can be used, among other things, to keep your stinky socks away from your granola bars. The Syncro also offers an insulated hydration pocket, internal wallet and cell phone pockets, and a score card/pencil pocket. All of the pockets are forward-facing so you won’t have any trouble getting at your stuff when the bag is strapped to a cart. The Syncro package includes zippered rain hood and is available in your choice of 6 colors, including my personal favorite; Navy/Khaki.

My current cart bag, the OGIO Atlas (MSRP: $220) is perfect for the golfer who wants a traditional looking bag that has all of OGIO’s technological features. The Atlas features the Uniter 15-club top, Hoode clamshell style rainhood, Zipperless Ball Pocket (ZBP), Ball Silo, and 10 pockets. Among those 10 pockets are an wet/dry isolation chamber, insulated hydration pocket, padded sunglasses pocket, a fleece-lined valuables pocket, and a dedicated cell phone pouch.

I love the Atlas, it’s a near-perfect cart bag. I wouldn’t recommend it as a carry bag, but if you occasionally walk with a high-end push cart (like Sun Mountain, or Bag Boy) and don’t mind pushing a little extra weight (the atlas weighs 9.5 lbs.), the Atlas fits the bill.

New for 2008 is the OGIO Kingpin. The Kingpin may look like an ordinary cart bag, but hidden beneath the unassuming exterior is the kind of simple innovation that makes one wonder why the hell somebody didn’t think of it sooner. The two top-most pockets, which sit where cart straps generally render pockets unusable, flip up and out of the way long enough for you to feed the strap around. Once the strap is in place, flip the Kingpin’s pockets back down over the strap, leaving you with two ideally located, easily accessible, compartments for a multitude of accessories.

If transforming pockets weren’t enough, the modestly priced Kingpin (MSRP: $140) features a 9.5″ Woode top, umbrella holder (for that OGIO umbrella you just bought), oversized towel loop, zippered rain hood, glove/putter cover velcro strip, and enough pockets to hold your business cards, cellphone, water, more water, and all your other valuables (fleece-lined of course).

Also new for 2008 is the OGIO Exodus. Like the recently announced Nexos, the Exodus features the OGIO Wedge top. The Wedge (pronounced wej-ee - maybe not the best choice, guys) is a new design that has dedicated compartments for your putter, individual woods, and hybrids. It also has a slightly larger section designed to hold 3-4 wedges. For a guy like me, who usually carries 4 wedges, and a hybrid, the new top makes a lot of sense. At 8.9 lbs. it’s a little bit lighter than than the Atlas, and that reduction does come at a cost. Gone from the Exodus is the external 3 Ball Silo, which could be a deal breaker for some dedicated OGIOns (that’s right OGIOns…lovers of OGIO golf bags and accessories). Depending on the mileage you get out of the Ball Silo (some days 3 balls doesn’t get me through the first hole), you may be more than willing to accept the loss in lieu of what you’re getting back.

The assortment of features (many of which you’ve already seen in the Nexos) of the 10 pocket Exodus include :

• Dedicated storage for divot tools (included), umbrellas, towels, tees, gloves, and cigars (embossed cigar case included)
• Isolation chamber to keep the dirty, wet, and smelly stuff away from stuff you might want wear, or possibly eat
• Elastic tee holders
• Zipperless Ball Pocket (ZBP)
• Hoode Clamshell-style rain hood
• Fleece-lined valuables pockets
• Two, that’s right two insulated hydration pockets, to hold your thermos, your beer, your other beer, and probably your third beer. Who are we kidding, you’re probably not actually carrying a thermos, so the Exodus will hold your other, other, other beer (Like I said, just like you do, the OGIO guys play a lot of golf)

The OGIO Exodus is competitively priced at a MSRP of $210.

The best of breed of any product is invariably born from experience. The 2008 OGIO lineup of bags shows that the OGIO design team really know bags. From top to bottom, OGIO’s 2008 golf bags reflect a level of commitment to detail that can only be achieved by a dedicated team of golfers who just happen to know a little bit about engineering.

We’ve seen some other compelling bags this year (the Cleveland V-14 foremost among them), but from form to function, and feature for feature, you won’t find a better bag than OGIO.

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