I have been doing the bag + stool thing for the last couple of months and finally realized I wanted to go to a cart because 1) I have a chronic lower back issue and slinging a bag over one shoulder and twisting while lifting any load is bad news and 2) 'yard sales' when the bag loses its balance on the stool and releases all of its contents onto the sticker burrs which were the point of getting the bag off the ground in the first place.
I really love the Golf Mahal bag platform, so I figured a modified golf cart that would hold my bag would be the best option, as opposed to a dedicated disc golf cart, many of which have their disc compartments essentially on the ground, which multiplies the amount of bending over I have to do during the round. Crappy back, etc. No bueno.
I ended up ordering a Clicgear 3.5+, which I received on Monday. I have used it for 2 rounds since then and am rather impressed with it thus far.
Price, Shipping, Purchase Experience:
I got the cart on Amazon for $195 with free Prime shipping. Price was 20% off the $250 MSRP. Excellent! I ordered late Friday evening and it arrived on Monday afternoon, which was great, as it was literally less than one full business day after I ordered. I love Amazon Prime.
I got the white on white version. There are a number of different color options, and they all look pretty good. I tend towards murdered everything - black on black on black, but the white version looked so good I went for it, and it looks great!
Specs:
The folded cart is rather compact, around 13" x 15" x 24". I have it sitting on the 1/4 jump seat in the back seat of my truck. It's tubing is aluminum and the cart weighs in at 18 lbs.
Assembly / Disassembly:
Unfolding and folding the cart is a piece of cake. Just read the instruction sheet and you are good to go. After doing it a couple of times, I can unfold or fold in 20 seconds. Whatever engineer figured out all of the angels to get this thing to get to where it needs to be for a stable platform when open and a small package when closed should get a bonus. The whole operation works very well.
The Top:
The uppermost portion of the cart, the hand grip, is adjustable vertically using a large knurled plastic knob on the right hand side of the cart towards the upper bag support. It is adjustable in notches, which makes sense because once it is locked into place, it will not move at all unless you want it to. I find the second notch from the top to be the most useful. This gives the storage compartment / card & pencil holder a slightly upward orientation while keeping the grip at a comfortable level. I am 6'3" tall and that second notch is perfect. If you are shorter, the third notch basically orients the handle at horizontal, which would obviously be ideal for using the card holder as a writing surface, as well as keeping the stuff in your storage compartment from getting all mixed up.
The storage compartment closes with a magnetic connection and is rather secure. The lid has elastic bands for your paper score card and a smaller band for a golf pencil. The interior has a little golfball holder for 3 balls, and a main section that is plenty large for your personal effects that you don't want exposed to the weather, like your phone, wallet, keys, etc. My bag has so much storage, and is set up to my liking so well, that I use the Clicgear storage compartment for my sunflower seeds and that is about it.
Between the handle and the bag support is a sizable cargo net, which is actually really usable. I almost always play late in the day, and this cargo net is great for stashing my hat and shades securely around hole 16 when they are no longer needed. It is deep enough to hold your phone and keys if you want them handy, and you could probably fit around 3-4 12 oz. canned beverages in there if you were so inclined. Just drink fast, because they aren't going to stay cold forever.
The storage compartment is surrounded by 4 proprietary Clicgear attachment points for attaching Clicgear accessories, which generally seem overpriced and not terribly useful for disc golf. The cart comes with a cupholder, which to my surprise fits my large Yeti Rambler tumbler (if you like an iced beverage that holds ice for an entire round, this is the be-all end-all solution. It holds ice better than a Yeti cooler a lot of the time - amazing!). More surprising is that the cup holder holds an oversized cup very securely. There is also an included umbrella mount on the top of the storage compartment that is secure. I don't use an umbrella, so I don't have much to say about this.
There is a solid braking system that actuates using a lever under the crossbar. Pull it out and it it affixes the front wheel using a cable mechanism. It keeps the cart from rolling. Push it in and it rolls again. It works and is great. You can adjust the brake to get it dialed in if it isn't locking up correctly, but mine worked fine out of the box.
I added a RAM Mounts EZ ON/OFF phone mount to the handlebar. This version of the RAM is designed for mounting on a single location with the hardware and zip ties provided. I use an extra iPhone 5 that I have in a Lifeproof case running UDisc for scoring, and just tested this out today as a platform for using the iPhone as a video camera for recording my form, which worked perfectly. So be prepared to run to the corner of your bedroom, curl up in a fetal position, and rock back and forth as I subject you to my form videos on this very forum.
The Middle:
The middle section of the cart is, of course, going to hold your bag. As with any ball golf cart that is being co-opted for disc golf use, there are compromises in the design as far as holding a disc golf backpack. To be honest, I am not 100% sure as to the best mounting option for a wide platform disc golf backpack on this cart. What I have done is to wrap the elastic straps around the front of the top of the Mystery Ranch bag yoke, through the handle on the top of the bag, and connect in the back. This holds the top of the bag very securely. It leaves the bag lower on the cart than I would like. Ideally, there would be space beneath the bag for a little cooler. My current setup does not really allow for that. Furthermore, the bottom of the bag has a tendency to shift way too much from left to right, so it needs to be tied down. Today I tried using a couple of bungie cords attaching the rain flap straps to the ball golf bag shelf at the bottom of the cart, which really helped the lateral movement of the bag, but tends to bow the bag in a way that makes using the great putter pocket on the front of the Mahal barely usable. I may make a shelf or some other engineering solution to this problem, but it is a work in progress. I don't love the way it works at a couple of days into owning the cart.
On a lark, I e-mailed Clicgear last night to recommend that they engineer a disc golf backpack support for the 3.5+, and mentioned that a lot of disc golfers are using their carts for something other than ball golf. I received a response this morning indicating that they were thrilled that disc golfers were using their carts, and that they were submitting the idea to their engineering guys to see if they would come up with something. If it wasn't just a blow-off e-mail, I would imagine there will be some Clicgear engineers watching Youtube videos and probably disc golfing in the near future. One can only hope.
The Bottom:
The bottom section of the cart is what makes it a cart - a platform with wheels and tires. The platform here is extremely stable. There is no circumstance that you could find on a disc golf course that is going to tip this thing over, unless you are trying to rest it on the side of a steep mountain. There is a nice spring to the cart. Although there is no suspension, per se, the cart just kind of bounces over bumps. The wheels are wrapped in tubeless solid tires made from closed cell foam. The big upside of this is that you are never going to have a flat (a constant problem amongst other cart players I play with, even when they use slime). The downside of this is that the tires become encrusted with sticker burrs if you have them on the course. My home course is Live Oak Red in Ingleside, Texas, and right now, this area is lousy with sticker burrs. I knock off what I can before folding the cart, but a lot remain. If they made solid rubber tires to replace the foam ones that come on this cart, I would buy them, and then the cart would be almost perfect.
There is an adjustment point if you find your front wheel is out of alignment. It seems easy to do. I have not had to mess with it after two days.
The cart rolls well over all sorts of terrain. My home course is largely sand, which is the worst case scenario for dry conditions for anything that rolls. Yay for coastal south Texas. The cart bogs down in full-on beach sand, but anything would, and the ground clearance of the 3.5+ allows you to just jam through the sand without some part of the cart digging into the ground.
Like I said, the cart is 18 lbs.. With a fully loaded Mahal (I included all of my practice putters (10), around 15 other discs, 2 full quart Nalgenes, and all of my personal effects) the whole assembly easily lifts over obstacles that are impassable. With my lame back, this was crucial and I am glad this cart is so mobile.
Overall PROS:
Lightweight
Sturdy
Compact for travel
Highly adjustable grip options
Ability to attach whatever accessories you desire
Good storage options
Cheaper than many dedicated disc golf carts
Awesome included drink holder
Tires will never go flat
Superb braking system keeps your cart immobile on hills
Overall CONS:
Bag securement is workable, but not ideal if you have a wide bag
Foam tires will aggressively collect sticker burrs
More expensive than many other ball golf carts you can find on Craigslist
I really love the Golf Mahal bag platform, so I figured a modified golf cart that would hold my bag would be the best option, as opposed to a dedicated disc golf cart, many of which have their disc compartments essentially on the ground, which multiplies the amount of bending over I have to do during the round. Crappy back, etc. No bueno.
I ended up ordering a Clicgear 3.5+, which I received on Monday. I have used it for 2 rounds since then and am rather impressed with it thus far.
Price, Shipping, Purchase Experience:
I got the cart on Amazon for $195 with free Prime shipping. Price was 20% off the $250 MSRP. Excellent! I ordered late Friday evening and it arrived on Monday afternoon, which was great, as it was literally less than one full business day after I ordered. I love Amazon Prime.
I got the white on white version. There are a number of different color options, and they all look pretty good. I tend towards murdered everything - black on black on black, but the white version looked so good I went for it, and it looks great!
Specs:
The folded cart is rather compact, around 13" x 15" x 24". I have it sitting on the 1/4 jump seat in the back seat of my truck. It's tubing is aluminum and the cart weighs in at 18 lbs.
Assembly / Disassembly:
Unfolding and folding the cart is a piece of cake. Just read the instruction sheet and you are good to go. After doing it a couple of times, I can unfold or fold in 20 seconds. Whatever engineer figured out all of the angels to get this thing to get to where it needs to be for a stable platform when open and a small package when closed should get a bonus. The whole operation works very well.
The Top:
The uppermost portion of the cart, the hand grip, is adjustable vertically using a large knurled plastic knob on the right hand side of the cart towards the upper bag support. It is adjustable in notches, which makes sense because once it is locked into place, it will not move at all unless you want it to. I find the second notch from the top to be the most useful. This gives the storage compartment / card & pencil holder a slightly upward orientation while keeping the grip at a comfortable level. I am 6'3" tall and that second notch is perfect. If you are shorter, the third notch basically orients the handle at horizontal, which would obviously be ideal for using the card holder as a writing surface, as well as keeping the stuff in your storage compartment from getting all mixed up.
The storage compartment closes with a magnetic connection and is rather secure. The lid has elastic bands for your paper score card and a smaller band for a golf pencil. The interior has a little golfball holder for 3 balls, and a main section that is plenty large for your personal effects that you don't want exposed to the weather, like your phone, wallet, keys, etc. My bag has so much storage, and is set up to my liking so well, that I use the Clicgear storage compartment for my sunflower seeds and that is about it.
Between the handle and the bag support is a sizable cargo net, which is actually really usable. I almost always play late in the day, and this cargo net is great for stashing my hat and shades securely around hole 16 when they are no longer needed. It is deep enough to hold your phone and keys if you want them handy, and you could probably fit around 3-4 12 oz. canned beverages in there if you were so inclined. Just drink fast, because they aren't going to stay cold forever.
The storage compartment is surrounded by 4 proprietary Clicgear attachment points for attaching Clicgear accessories, which generally seem overpriced and not terribly useful for disc golf. The cart comes with a cupholder, which to my surprise fits my large Yeti Rambler tumbler (if you like an iced beverage that holds ice for an entire round, this is the be-all end-all solution. It holds ice better than a Yeti cooler a lot of the time - amazing!). More surprising is that the cup holder holds an oversized cup very securely. There is also an included umbrella mount on the top of the storage compartment that is secure. I don't use an umbrella, so I don't have much to say about this.
There is a solid braking system that actuates using a lever under the crossbar. Pull it out and it it affixes the front wheel using a cable mechanism. It keeps the cart from rolling. Push it in and it rolls again. It works and is great. You can adjust the brake to get it dialed in if it isn't locking up correctly, but mine worked fine out of the box.
I added a RAM Mounts EZ ON/OFF phone mount to the handlebar. This version of the RAM is designed for mounting on a single location with the hardware and zip ties provided. I use an extra iPhone 5 that I have in a Lifeproof case running UDisc for scoring, and just tested this out today as a platform for using the iPhone as a video camera for recording my form, which worked perfectly. So be prepared to run to the corner of your bedroom, curl up in a fetal position, and rock back and forth as I subject you to my form videos on this very forum.
The Middle:
The middle section of the cart is, of course, going to hold your bag. As with any ball golf cart that is being co-opted for disc golf use, there are compromises in the design as far as holding a disc golf backpack. To be honest, I am not 100% sure as to the best mounting option for a wide platform disc golf backpack on this cart. What I have done is to wrap the elastic straps around the front of the top of the Mystery Ranch bag yoke, through the handle on the top of the bag, and connect in the back. This holds the top of the bag very securely. It leaves the bag lower on the cart than I would like. Ideally, there would be space beneath the bag for a little cooler. My current setup does not really allow for that. Furthermore, the bottom of the bag has a tendency to shift way too much from left to right, so it needs to be tied down. Today I tried using a couple of bungie cords attaching the rain flap straps to the ball golf bag shelf at the bottom of the cart, which really helped the lateral movement of the bag, but tends to bow the bag in a way that makes using the great putter pocket on the front of the Mahal barely usable. I may make a shelf or some other engineering solution to this problem, but it is a work in progress. I don't love the way it works at a couple of days into owning the cart.
On a lark, I e-mailed Clicgear last night to recommend that they engineer a disc golf backpack support for the 3.5+, and mentioned that a lot of disc golfers are using their carts for something other than ball golf. I received a response this morning indicating that they were thrilled that disc golfers were using their carts, and that they were submitting the idea to their engineering guys to see if they would come up with something. If it wasn't just a blow-off e-mail, I would imagine there will be some Clicgear engineers watching Youtube videos and probably disc golfing in the near future. One can only hope.
The Bottom:
The bottom section of the cart is what makes it a cart - a platform with wheels and tires. The platform here is extremely stable. There is no circumstance that you could find on a disc golf course that is going to tip this thing over, unless you are trying to rest it on the side of a steep mountain. There is a nice spring to the cart. Although there is no suspension, per se, the cart just kind of bounces over bumps. The wheels are wrapped in tubeless solid tires made from closed cell foam. The big upside of this is that you are never going to have a flat (a constant problem amongst other cart players I play with, even when they use slime). The downside of this is that the tires become encrusted with sticker burrs if you have them on the course. My home course is Live Oak Red in Ingleside, Texas, and right now, this area is lousy with sticker burrs. I knock off what I can before folding the cart, but a lot remain. If they made solid rubber tires to replace the foam ones that come on this cart, I would buy them, and then the cart would be almost perfect.
There is an adjustment point if you find your front wheel is out of alignment. It seems easy to do. I have not had to mess with it after two days.
The cart rolls well over all sorts of terrain. My home course is largely sand, which is the worst case scenario for dry conditions for anything that rolls. Yay for coastal south Texas. The cart bogs down in full-on beach sand, but anything would, and the ground clearance of the 3.5+ allows you to just jam through the sand without some part of the cart digging into the ground.
Like I said, the cart is 18 lbs.. With a fully loaded Mahal (I included all of my practice putters (10), around 15 other discs, 2 full quart Nalgenes, and all of my personal effects) the whole assembly easily lifts over obstacles that are impassable. With my lame back, this was crucial and I am glad this cart is so mobile.
Overall PROS:
Lightweight
Sturdy
Compact for travel
Highly adjustable grip options
Ability to attach whatever accessories you desire
Good storage options
Cheaper than many dedicated disc golf carts
Awesome included drink holder
Tires will never go flat
Superb braking system keeps your cart immobile on hills
Overall CONS:
Bag securement is workable, but not ideal if you have a wide bag
Foam tires will aggressively collect sticker burrs
More expensive than many other ball golf carts you can find on Craigslist
