coach tawnee

I’ll admit, I use Trader Joe’s reusable grocery bags for more than just groceries. One serves as my purse, yes for real, and up until recently I was using several to lug around my workout gear. It got to the point where I was carrying about three TJ bags at once! Psychotic! Personally, it didn’t bother me much, but apparently the universe wanted me to change my ways and get it together.

At Oceanside 70.3 I had a chance to meet the guys at Ogio. Ogio is traditionally known for making super quality golf bags, backpacks, luggage, work bags and more. Recently they have added an endurance sports bag collection to their product line–bags specifically tailored to triathletes or any endurance athlete who’s going to be lugging around multiple accessories, outfits, nutrition, sunglasses, watches, gear… you name it.

So, given my pathetic baggage situation, I decided to test out a couple of these bad boys for my on-the-go life of SBR/gym/coaching. Now, I already have a pretty nice triathlon race day bag/backpack that serves me well, but it’s too big and bulky for the day to day. So I got an Ogio 8.0 bag, their second to largest, to try out. The bag retails for $140, and I can say every penny is worth it! I’m converted, seriously.

Here’s what I love about the Ogio 8.0 Endurance Bag:

-The material stays dry so my sweaty clothes and wet swim gear doesn’t make for a soggy bag, nor does the bag soak up my sweaty stuff, haha.

-It’s both backpack & duffle bag… It’s shaped like a duffle bag so it’s really easy to throw things in, organize, and dig around to find things (this is something I find annoying with backpacks–they’re “stuffy” and it’s impossible to search in them/organize). That said, I hate carrying duffle bags. Go figure. So Ogio scored big points with me because it’s a duffle bag that you can wear as a backpack! Brilliant!!!

-There are about 6 different compartments: a main pouch for the big stuff/clothes; two side pouches (I use one for shoes); a front pouch for small items/nutrition. All very roomy and great for organization. The other two pouches…

-There’s a hard-case pouch with a soft/fuzzy lining where you can store sunglasses, watches and delicate items that you don’t want to get smashed or scratched. This is probably my favorite thing about the bag!!!

-The “wet-dry” pocket. The bottom pouch is for wet items, like a wetsuit, swim tools, swimsuit, etc… the protective material blocks it from the other parts of the bag so nothing else will get wet. Plus, there’s a ventilation option to open it up further and let the wet stuff breathe so it doesn’t get moldy or stagnant if it’s sitting in there for a long time. I will leave wet swim tools in overnight and not worry about it.

-It has a water bottle holder on the outside so my leaky bottles don’t spill on the stuff I’m carrying inside (usually a change of clothes or two are inside, things I need dry).

-The overall size is perfect. I can fit in multiple outfits, a helmet, couple pairs of shoes, toiletries, towel, food/nutrition, bottles, misc. things, etc… and still have room. And even with all that in there I don’t fee like I have to carry a gagillion-pound bag around thanks to the backpack straps.

The Negatives?

To be honest, I really don’t have any. Heck, I was a little skeptical about choosing their white bag and it getting dirty; figured that would be a negative. But after a month-plus of use–and I use this bag 24/7 in places where it is susceptible to getting dirty–it’s clean! Will it stay that way? Only time will tell. Same goes for the longevity of the bag. Will it hold up well with hard use? Only time will tell. But I have a good feeling.

The Ogio 9.0

I also got an Ogio 9.0 to try for big weekends of travel and/or racing. It’s basically the 8.0 but a bit bigger with some extra features, like another water bottle holder, more pockets/organization in the front for nutrition, etc. This will be a rival to the aforementioned triathlon race bag I already have. Hmmmm. Haven’t used it yet… but I guarantee it’s going to be in use soon 🙂

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Last word… you don’t have to be an “endurance athlete” to find this bag useful. It’s great for any active person who’s on the go and needs a bag to keep things sensibly organized and fresh. Find out more about the Ogio Enduance Bags by clicking here.