How Much Lighter Is The New Vessel Player Carbon Air Golf Bag?

A few weeks ago, Vessel released their new Player Air Carbon stand bag. The new bag’s general design plan is based upon their popular Player V stand bag. The key difference is that the Player Air Carbon bag is lighter, making it more appropriate for bag-on-back rounds of golf.

This new bag caught my attention for numerous reasons.

First of all, I am currently using a Vessel Player V bag and I love it. There is no denying that Vessel bags are expensive but the quality of the bags is industry-leading. There is a reason why other companies copy Vessel designs.

If you missed it, I wrote a piece about what goes into the Vessel model upgrade process. Learning about the Vessel design process and using a Vessel bag for the last two seasons has made me a believer in the brand.

The main reason I am so interested in the Player Air Carbon is that I try to walk as many rounds as I can with my bag on my back during the summer.

Initially, I started carrying my clubs last summer just to see if I could still do it. After a couple of rounds, I realized that I really enjoy carrying more than pushing.

(Riding is almost punishment …)

I shot my career low round last summer with my bag on my back so it seems like carrying may help my play as well.

As such, I needed to explore the new Vessel Carbon Air. Could this bag actually deliver the Player V design and playability in a lighter package?

Comparing the Vessel Carbon Air to the Player V

The purpose of this project was to compare the new Player Air Carbon stand bag to the Player V bag. Obviously, I’d need to check the weight differences.

More importantly, I wanted to see what aspects of the Player V were still present in the Player Air Carbon and what features were sacrificed for weight reduction.

I was also curious to see if the Player Air Carbon has any new features besides the lighter weight. Maybe these would also make it a better carry choice than the Player V.

Overall designs are very similar

Vessel was not kidding when they said the design of the Player Carbon Air was similar to the Player V stand bag. Side by side, you can tell that they are siblings.

Both feature many of the same Vessel elements. Here are a few of the shared features:

• Velour-lined 6-way or 14-way tops
• Rivet-free top design (no rivets=no scratches on shafts)
• Rotator Stand System with integrated club dividers at base
• Leather touch points
• Two water bottle holders
• Magnetic and zippered pockets
• Velour-lined rangefinder and valuables pockets
• Carbon fiber legs
• Removable, self-adjusting EQ2 Double Carry Strap System
• Elevated strap attachment points for improved carry balance

The list keeps going but you get the idea. Vessel made some significant weight-saving changes to the Vessel Carbon Air design but they preserved many of the features of the Player V bag.

Giving up everything that makes Vessel bags exceptional just to save weight was not the plan. To me, it seems like the plan was to first maintain the Vessel design but make it lighter.

Obvious and subtle weight-saving changes

The most obvious weight-saving difference between the Vessel Player Carbon Air and the Vessel Player V is the material change. The Vessel Player V is constructed from “tour-grade synthetic leather.” The new Player Carbon Air is primarily made from lighter-weight CORDURA® Naturalle nylon fabric.

The fabrics are very different in weight and in feel. However, both are interesting tactile experiences. I expected the nylon to be too smooth feeling but it has some texture to it. It feels very light but also very strong. Not as strong as the synthetic leather of the Player V but I don’t foresee a bunch of random rending this summer.

Additionally, the spine of the Player Carbon Air is constructed from flexible carbon fiber. The carbon fiber panel “reinforces the bag’s spine for enhanced structure and stability without added weight.”

I think that it makes the bag about 1,000 percent more attractive than it would be without the carbon fiber element.

Although this material switch likely accounts for most of the weight change, Vessel made some other design changes that contributed as well.

Pocket changes

Although the Player Carbon Air looks a great deal like the Player V stand bag, there are some differences. These changes cut the weight and fine-tune the bag to the needs of the carrying golfer.

First of all, the internal valuable pocket is missing from the full-length storage pocket. With the Player V, this internal pocket is extra secure for your keys and wallet but also a bit redundant since there are two other velour-lined pockets.

Both of these lined pockets are still present in the Player Carbon Air. So far, I’ve not lost my keys on the course.

(I probably shouldn’t’ have said that …)

The next two pocket changes affect your hydration plan.

To save weight, Vessel did not include insulation material in the Player Carbon Air’s lower pocket. The weight saving likely was not significant on its own but the ounces add up.

While this change results in a loss of functionality, it does make sense if you are carrying the bag.

If your goal is to reduce the carry weight, adding a couple of beers and ice to an insulated pocket is not a good plan.

Vessel also decreased the size of the pop-out water bottle holders. As with the loss of insulation, this seems like a negative change at first pass. Once you really think about it, you realize that 40-ounces of water adds 2.5 pounds to your carry weight.

If you really want this bag riding on your back, you’ll be skipping the stealth sodas and going with a smaller water bottle that you will just refill more frequently on the course.

Say goodbye to the bottle opener

The last change is one that I understand but am not that excited about. To save weight, Vessel swapped out their iconic metal towel holder/bottle opener for a simple loop of fabric. In their defence, the removal of the metal tool did drop the overall weight of the bag.

Not sure about the savings from removing the glove-holding Velcro, though.

I’m not sure that the amount of weight saved justifies the loss of one of the bag’s iconic elements. Players who found the weight excessive could just remove the tool.

(By the way, removing the tool first makes it way easier to use as a bottle opener.)

I suppose that if using the Player Carbon Air means that you are not bringing bottles to the course in the now-absent insulated pocket, you also don’t need an opener.

Weight differences between models

Although Vessel publishes all of the bag weights on their site, I thought it would be interesting to see how they compared in person.

Unlike Vessel’s published weights, I weighed all of the bags with the straps attached.

As you can see, the Vessel Carbon Air bags are about 1.75 pounds lighter than the equivalent Player V model.

Vessel’s posted weight differences of 1.5 pounds for the six-way top and 1.35 pounds for the 14-way top were close to what I measured. Remember that the straps of the Player Carbon Air are 0.1 pounds lighter as well.

What surprised me was the minimal measured weight difference between the six-way and 14-way versions of the same model bags. On their site, Vessel shows a 0.4-pound difference for the six-way versus 14-way Player V and a 0.35-pound difference for the Player Carbon Air six-way versus 14-way.

I prefer the 14-way top but I assumed I would need to avoid it to save weight. However, the actual weight saved is not enough, for me at least, to not play my preferred 14-way top.

On the back, on the course

Once I got the bag on the course, I was able to see if the loss in weight also came with a loss of Vessel-ness. The way that Vessel makes their bags is why I’ve played one for the past two years.

After some minor water bottle and snack plan adjustments, I found myself not even really paying attention to the bag during the round. That’s not a knock; it’s a testament to the design familiarity of the bag.

The Player Carbon Air bag plays very similar to the Vessel Player V. The only notable difference was how much lighter it felt on my back compared to the Monarch Player V six-way. That delightfully purple bag was the last bag I was carrying prior to the switch to the Player Carbon Air.

To be fair, the Monarch bag allowed me to pack stealth beverages and the larger water bottle which added to the carry weight. Since this is not possible with the Player Carbon Air, it forced me to modify my behavior and I lost the weight.

It’s like the golf bag version of Ozempic.

Lightweight but still Vessel-designed

All in all, I am impressed with how Vessel was able to shave some weight from the Player Carbon Air and maintain the functionality and quality of their Player V bag. If you are a Vessel fan and looking to remove some weight from your back, you will be happy with the Player Carbon Air.

The only thing I would like to see Vessel change with the Player Carbon Air line is the color palette. Though the olive-green pops with my purple headcovers, the current color choices are pretty mundane.

If they made a Monarch version of the Player Carbon Air, I would consider buying multiples to make sure I had backups.

(Dear Vessel: Please ditch the Monarch’s chunky gold metal zippers. They are just not as smooth zipping or smooth looking as the normal Player V zippers.)

When I first wrote about the Vessel Player Carbon Air bag, a few of you commented about other carry bags that were lighter. I appreciate that information and I’ll check out those bags as well. I’m ever bag-curious.

However, those other lightweight bags are not Vessel bags. For me, that matters. I appreciate the design commitment and the durability of Vessel golf bags. I’m not looking for the lightest bag out there. I’m looking for a lighter Vessel bag.

I’m not sure how much weight savings would be needed for me to forgo Vessel design quality. In fact, I’m currently using a new training aid to get stronger rather than searching for a lighter bag.

Switching to the Vessel Carbon Air made the carrying task easier but if I want it to be even easier, that is on me.

Find out more about the Vessel Carbon Air stand bag at VesselGolf.com.