CaddyTek Caddylite EZ V8

[fixyurdivot]

@edingc, I hope you don't mind me building onto your stellar review.  I thought about creating a new thread but figured this would be a better option. 

My cart arrived today and I assembled it in the family room while watching the Travelers Championship (how's that for multi-tasking ).  Assembly was a snap once I figured out why the main handle and wheel arms would not extend (protective cardboard tape around the frame and wheel arm needs to be cut loose).  So as not to cover what's already been reviewed, I'll just point out some initial thoughts, highlights, likes, and dislikes.

Initial Thoughts & Highlights

• The quality and construction is quite sound and leave one with the impression this cart will provide many, many years of great service.
• It's a nice looking design that come standard with some great (normally added cost) accessories.
• Tony Finau is making an absolute mess of his first round... whoops 
• At first glance, fully extended and ready for use, it looked HUGE to me.  I thought, wow, this is much larger than my Sun Mountain Speed Cart

Likes

• The cart is light weight and folds up to a really small compact envelope.
• The rear wheels can be readily removed w/o tools which offers additional option to reduce size if packing for a trip (say to snowbird destinations .  This could come in quite handy
• Folding is essentially as quick and easy as the Sun Mountain
• NO MORE FLAT TIRES!  Just pushing the cart across my lawn, they seem to glide pretty effortlessly
• Comes with a no tools required moveable (left or right side) cup holder
• Also comes with an umbrella holder - a feature I plan to use more
• Decent storage cargo net and pouch.  
• Zippered "insulated" storage pouch (though not sure how much insulation it will provide)
• Like the SpeedCart, it works well with kickstand bags (I've always flipped mine 180 from normal)... works for me.

Dislikes 

• The bungee-cord bag straps look to be effective but I would have preferred an D-loop adjustable Velcro strap like the SM.  Bungee cords tend to stretch-out/wear out with continued use; particularly with constant sun exposure.
• The handle grip area could be a little larger
• The top storage compartment has a plastic flip lid with a bungee for securing a scorecard. It's not dead flat (to facilitate writing) and a clip vs. the bungee would be a better design IMO.
• The foot brake lever requires a pin engage a cog-wheel.  If you don't make sure the pin finds an open slot, I could see this ending in a runaway.  It is also a little awkward to reach under and activate. You have to push down on it it to extend the pin and then use the top of your shoe to retract.  The design is simple enough but I think this feature could be much improved.  A cable/lever activate pin on the handle frame would be better.

Here are pictures of both carts.  Turns out the extended footprint is very close (the CaddyTek just looks bigger).

Final Score

• 4.6/5.0 stars or 92/100

[edingc]

6 minutes ago, fixyurdivot said:

@edingc, I hope you don't mind me building onto your stellar review.  I thought about creating a new thread but figured this would be a better option. 

My cart arrived today and I assembled it in the family room while watching the Travelers Championship (how's that for multi-tasking ).  Assembly was a snap once I figured out why the main handle and wheel arms would not extend (protective cardboard tape around the frame and wheel arm needs to be cut loose).  So as not to cover what's already been reviewed, I'll just point out some initial thoughts, highlights, likes, and dislikes.

Initial Thoughts & Highlights

• The quality and construction is quite sound and leave one with the impression this cart will provide many, many years of great service.
• It's a nice looking design that come standard with some great (normally added cost) accessories.
• Tony Finau is making an absolute mess of his first round... whoops 
• At first glance, fully extended and ready for use, it looked HUGE to me.  I thought, wow, this is much larger than my Sun Mountain Speed Cart

Likes

• The cart is light weight and folds up to a really small compact envelope.
• The rear wheels can be readily removed w/o tools which offers additional option to reduce size if packing for a trip (say to snowbird destinations .  This could come in quite handy
• Folding is essentially as quick and easy as the Sun Mountain
• NO MORE FLAT TIRES!  Just pushing the cart across my lawn, they seem to glide pretty effortlessly
• Comes with a no tools required moveable (left or right side) cup holder
• Also comes with an umbrella holder - a feature I plan to use more
• Decent storage cargo net and pouch.  
• Zippered "insulated" storage pouch (though not sure how much insulation it will provide)
• Like the SpeedCart, it works well with kickstand bags (I've always flipped mine 180 from normal)... works for me.

Dislikes 

• The bungee-cord bag straps look to be effective but I would have preferred an D-loop adjustable Velcro strap like the SM.  Bungee cords tend to stretch-out/wear out with continued use; particularly with constant sun exposure.
• The handle grip area could be a little larger
• The top storage compartment has a plastic flip lid with a bungee for securing a scorecard. It's not dead flat (to facilitate writing) and a clip vs. the bungee would be a better design IMO.
• The foot brake lever requires a pin engage a cog-wheel.  If you don't make sure the pin finds an open slot, I could see this ending in a runaway.  It is also a little awkward to reach under and activate. You have to push down on it it to extend the pin and then use the top of your shoe to retract.  The design is simple enough but I think this feature could be much improved.  A cable/lever activate pin on the handle frame would be better.

Here are pictures of both carts.  Turns out the extended footprint is very close (the CaddyTek just looks bigger).

Final Score

• 4.6/5.0 stars or 92/100

Interesting. They modified the upper bag holders and added a strap there. Mine does not have that.

I have well over 150 rounds on mine now and it's still chugging along!

[MattF]

13 hours ago, fixyurdivot said:

@edingc, I hope you don't mind me building onto your stellar review.  I thought about creating a new thread but figured this would be a better option. 

My cart arrived today and I assembled it in the family room while watching the Travelers Championship (how's that for multi-tasking ).  Assembly was a snap once I figured out why the main handle and wheel arms would not extend (protective cardboard tape around the frame and wheel arm needs to be cut loose).  So as not to cover what's already been reviewed, I'll just point out some initial thoughts, highlights, likes, and dislikes.

Initial Thoughts & Highlights

• The quality and construction is quite sound and leave one with the impression this cart will provide many, many years of great service.
• It's a nice looking design that come standard with some great (normally added cost) accessories.
• Tony Finau is making an absolute mess of his first round... whoops 
• At first glance, fully extended and ready for use, it looked HUGE to me.  I thought, wow, this is much larger than my Sun Mountain Speed Cart

Likes

• The cart is light weight and folds up to a really small compact envelope.
• The rear wheels can be readily removed w/o tools which offers additional option to reduce size if packing for a trip (say to snowbird destinations .  This could come in quite handy
• Folding is essentially as quick and easy as the Sun Mountain
• NO MORE FLAT TIRES!  Just pushing the cart across my lawn, they seem to glide pretty effortlessly
• Comes with a no tools required moveable (left or right side) cup holder
• Also comes with an umbrella holder - a feature I plan to use more
• Decent storage cargo net and pouch.  
• Zippered "insulated" storage pouch (though not sure how much insulation it will provide)
• Like the SpeedCart, it works well with kickstand bags (I've always flipped mine 180 from normal)... works for me.

Dislikes 

• The bungee-cord bag straps look to be effective but I would have preferred an D-loop adjustable Velcro strap like the SM.  Bungee cords tend to stretch-out/wear out with continued use; particularly with constant sun exposure.
• The handle grip area could be a little larger
• The top storage compartment has a plastic flip lid with a bungee for securing a scorecard. It's not dead flat (to facilitate writing) and a clip vs. the bungee would be a better design IMO.
• The foot brake lever requires a pin engage a cog-wheel.  If you don't make sure the pin finds an open slot, I could see this ending in a runaway.  It is also a little awkward to reach under and activate. You have to push down on it it to extend the pin and then use the top of your shoe to retract.  The design is simple enough but I think this feature could be much improved.  A cable/lever activate pin on the handle frame would be better.

Here are pictures of both carts.  Turns out the extended footprint is very close (the CaddyTek just looks bigger).

Final Score

• 4.6/5.0 stars or 92/100

No idea how many rounds I have on mine in 2.5 years, not as many as @edingc but it's got a few and it's still great. I did purchase the seat for it and that has changed a lot for me with my back, although, the cart wants to go left because of the extra weight on that side, but it's not too bad.

As for the insulated drink compartment, on a really hot day, don't expect something that's frozen to remain frozen at the end of 9. I have a 32oz jug that I freeze and it's usually thawed by the turn, but not warm, still pretty cold.

[fixyurdivot]

Got my inaugural round in with the new cart yesterday and Madison Meadows is a good workout - elevation change and slopes.  It worked flawless and the foot brake lever wasn't all that bad.  It might actually be slightly easier through the ruff than the pneumatic tires, but they are a bit noisier rolling across the gravel.  I used the mesh net storage for a few balls and found myself chasing them across the parking lot while collapsing the cart .  

[edingc]

With the weather starting to change for the worst, I'm basically done with biggest chunk of season three on this Caddytek cart. I measured my 18 hole round yesterday morning with my Garmin GPS watch and figure a round of golf at my home course is somewhere between 5-6 miles walking on average. That means this cart must be nearing 1,000 miles on it by now. 

The Caddytek is still in good shape overall. The wheels continue to glide smoothly, the parking brake works (though I rarely need to use it) and it still holds my bag securely. Areas that have started to show wear include:

• The upper bag pressure mount. The mount no longer stays extended on its own, I assume from wear to the interference fit that previously allowed the mount to not collapse back into the folded position. This makes putting a bag on the cart a little bit more difficult as you need to maneuver the bag and the upper mount at the same time. 
• The spring-loaded door covering the storage compartment is not so "springy" anymore. This was not helped by me putting too many found golf balls in the compartment and accidentally popping the cover out of its hinges more than once.

I have not been tremendously easy on this cart. I've not really kept it all that clean nor have I ever performed maintenance on it. This fall I will take the time to clean it up and lubricate the wheels with some lithium spray grease before putting it away for the winter.

I've definitely gotten my value out of it!