Ping Hoofer Lite vs. Linksoul Souldier Golf bag

[prussell24]

Got my hands on both the Ping Hoofer lite and the Linksoul linksouldier bag.  I thought it might be useful to others if I did a comparison review for both bags.  I also threw in the bag I have been using which is an old Maxfli bag that I got way back in 2000 I will be using this as a sort of baseline.  

     

Weight

I mostly walk so weight is pretty important so lets start there.  Both the Ping and Linksoul are way lighter then the maxfli.  The Linksoul is slightly lighter then the Ping bag at 4.6lbs to 4.9lbs (the maxfli weighted in at 8.1lbs lol).  I was actually surprised that the weight difference between the Linksoul and Ping wasn't more as lifting both the Linksoul felt lighter.  

Dividers 

The main job of the golf bag is to carry the golf clubs.  duh. But how the bag divides the different clubs plays a huge part in how well the bag achieves this goal.  

Ping

  

The Ping bag has a four way divider which extends to almost the whole bag.  The top of the bag is slightly bigger then the Linksoul which helped give each club a bit more room.  I found the four way divider to be ample and separate the clubs nicely.  I had no trouble moving clubs in and out of the bag.  Not as much room as my Maxfli bag and also I couldnt decide were I would prefer to put my putter but still plenty of room.

Linksoul

     

The linksoul also had a 4 way divider but the top is not as large as the Ping and non of the dividers run the length of the bag.  I found the divider on the Linksoul to be a little bit difficult to operate with a full 14 clubs.  The clubs felt a little bit crowded in the bag.  I didnt have any trouble removing clubs from the bag but sometimes they would catch going back in.  I think it would work better with a different club setup then mine, if you had a hybrid instead of a 3 iron I think the clubs would fit better.  I tried throwing the 3 iron up with the driver and fairway but it kept smacking into the other clubs shafts which I didnt like.  

Pockets 

     

The Linksoul has 5 pockets (its really 4 and a drink sleeve) and the Ping has 7 pockets (I would say its 5 a drink sleeve and a raincover pocket). Ill be honest this is were the Ping bag kinda kicked the crap out of the Linksoul.  The Ping has more pockets they are better organized roomier and just nicer.  While the Linksoul pockets are just pockets the Ping pockets all had little details to make them more useful for there intended purpose.  For instance the large garment pocket on the Ping has mesh pockets inside it and a key chain while the Linksoul is just a large pocket but its also the only place to put the rain cover so I would think throwing in a full rain suit and some gloves might be tight.  Which brings me to the single best thing about the Ping bag, the rain cover pocket! The ping has a zippered pocket under the back padding that holds the raincover.  It adds padding and makes sure you dont lose other storage space in the bag to the raincover.  If other golf manufactures dont copy this idea then they really just arn't trying. The Ping also has a ball pocket and range finder pocket while the Linksoul only has a ball pocket.  This brings us to the water bottle pocket.  I bring a largish double walled REI water bottle with me when I play so having a space big enough for it to slide in and out is important.  When I unwrapped the Ping bag and saw and full zippered pocket for the water bottle I thought "well this is going to be a problem"  But I was wrong.  Once unzipped it can expand and easily carried my water bottle. The Linksoul has a sleeve which was very nice and worked perfectly for the way I carry water.  I would still give the Ping the win here because if you wanted to carry just a plastic water bottle or an adult beverage it would fit in the insulated pocket and zip closed which is nice.  

     

Final Thoughts

The Linksoul is a very good looking bag and would say that it wins on style and the quality is top notch.  I would say that the Linksoul really is not a lighter stand bag but a heavy sunday bag with a stand.  Nothing wrong with that at all, infact if you have a cart bag but want something to walk every now and then maybe with 9 clubs instead of a full 14 then the Linksoul is a really good option but as a main carry bag the Ping is just way better.  The most impressive part of the Ping bag is just how they think of all the little things, like a zipper inside the garment pocket that gives you access to clean the bottom of the bag.  The Ping bag is just super impressive and I will be keeping it.