Warrior Messiah Wheeled Goalie Bag

[Netminder32 32]

Stopped by the local Perani's Hockey World today and was pleased to see they received the new 2010 Warrior Messiah Wheeled Goalie Bags. And reasonably priced too at $139.99. I asked the clerk "if my gear doesn't fit can I return it?" he said "yes, no problem, if you don't like it for any reason bring it back with the receipt" and the deal was done...

Now my last two bags have both been CCM/Heaton Gatekeeper Wheel Bags of varying vintage. Why? They aren't durable, they have no internal compartments, no ventilation, cheap ass wheels, no proper end handles... essentially a really really crap example of a goalie bag. BUT, They were huge! Ask anyone from the various MSH Games. I could roll in all my gear and two cases of beer all neatly contained inside. Size = 44" x 24" x 24" So going to a measly 42" x 20" x 20" Warrior bag, I had my reservations but I thought I'd sacrafice the beer storage if at least my equipment would fit....

So we pick up the bag, snag Miss Conduct a sweet deal on another Dolomite stick ($99.99...WOW) on the way out the door and race home to test fit the new bag.

Observation number 1. (Call it "Strike One") This Warrior bag has the exact same cheap ass plastic pull handle that broke within the first couple weeks on both my Gatekeeper bags. It is a well documented design flaw on the Gatekeepers that has me wondering why Warrior wouldn't use something a little more durable. Talk about the perfect application for carbon fibre (very strong, very light and appealing to the eye) should have been a natural for a company like Warrior. But I overlook this flaw figuring when the handle breaks in a couple weeks I'll do my home made wood dowel handle retrofit that has served me well for so long now and carry on.

Observation number 2. (Strike Two) They forgot a handle! Goalie equipment is kind of heavy. You need a handle at BOTH ends of the bag to lift it into your vehicle. I couldn't believe there was only one webbed handle at the wheel end and nothing at the pull end. Again I figured no biggie. I've got lots of 2" nylon webbing material laying around for repairs and stuff, I'll simply bring the new bag to a shoe maker and have them stitch in the missing handle.

Observation number 3. (Strike Three, and this bags going back) The bottom of the bag is not fully supported. Or at least not properly supported. I packed the gear inside (though barely) and was really liking the overall look and feel of the new bag until I noticed there is a gap between the bottom of the curb runner and the top of the wheel housing and the bag is bending SIGNIFICANTLY right there. I've seen and dealt with enough wheel bags to know that when the wheel is collapsing under the bag at approximately 10 minutes of age it is a sure sign of premature failure. Miss C's old Itech and Team Canada player bags did exactly the same thing in exactly the same place rendering the wheel completely useless as it would fold up when the bag was loaded and the bag would simply drag across the pavement (mind you it took a good season to break down, not 10 minutes). I couldn't believe such and obvious design flaw was not addressed.

So tomorrow, much to my great disappointment the Messiah is returning to Perani's.

I have to say for all the great things this bag had going for it, if someone had simply asked a goalie what needed to be done to make it right before it hit the shelves it could have been a HUGE success. We've all had the bad experiences with all the various wheeled bags on the market and any of us could have easily pointed out these issues. What makes it worse is I really liked the ventilation along either side of the double zipper opening. I loved the look and quality of the materials. It even fit my gear (although snug). It was soo close to being a real contender in a severly lacking goalie bag market...it could have finally been the bag we've all been waiting for. Unfortunately the flimsy base is simply too much of a deal breaker.

Sorry about no pictures... grabbed the camera only to find out the batteries were dead. Again I want to stress this is not actually a review as there was no way I was keeping this bag long enough to do a long term review on it. Simply a warning regarding the things I discovered "out of the box" so to speak. I'm going to bring it to the attention of the staff at Perani's tomorrow when I return the bag. Perhaps this one bag simply has a defective base. If that's the case I'll give you an update on the replacement bag tomorrow. But I'm not counting on it... pretty sure they're all gonna be weak in the same spot.

[Miseaujeu 291]

Stopped by the local Perani's Hockey World today and was pleased to see they received the new 2010 Warrior Messiah Wheeled Goalie Bags. And reasonably priced too at $139.99. I asked the clerk "if my gear doesn't fit can I return it?" he said "yes, no problem, if you don't like it for any reason bring it back with the receipt" and the deal was done...

Now my last two bags have both been CCM/Heaton Gatekeeper Wheel Bags of varying vintage. Why? They aren't durable, they have no internal compartments, no ventilation, cheap ass wheels, no proper end handles... essentially a really really crap example of a goalie bag. BUT, They were huge! Ask anyone from the various MSH Games. I could roll in all my gear and two cases of beer all neatly contained inside. Size = 44" x 24" x 24" So going to a measly 42" x 20" x 20" Warrior bag, I had my reservations but I thought I'd sacrafice the beer storage if at least my equipment would fit....

So we pick up the bag, snag Miss Conduct a sweet deal on another Dolomite stick ($99.99...WOW) on the way out the door and race home to test fit the new bag.

Observation number 1. (Call it "Strike One") This Warrior bag has the exact same cheap ass plastic pull handle that broke within the first couple weeks on both my Gatekeeper bags. It is a well documented design flaw on the Gatekeepers that has me wondering why Warrior wouldn't use something a little more durable. Talk about the perfect application for carbon fibre (very strong, very light and appealing to the eye) should have been a natural for a company like Warrior. But I overlook this flaw figuring when the handle breaks in a couple weeks I'll do my home made wood dowel handle retrofit that has served me well for so long now and carry on.

Observation number 2. (Strike Two) They forgot a handle! Goalie equipment is kind of heavy. You need a handle at BOTH ends of the bag to lift it into your vehicle. I couldn't believe there was only one webbed handle at the wheel end and nothing at the pull end. Again I figured no biggie. I've got lots of 2" nylon webbing material laying around for repairs and stuff, I'll simply bring the new bag to a shoe maker and have them stitch in the missing handle.

Observation number 3. (Strike Three, and this bags going back) The bottom of the bag is not fully supported. Or at least not properly supported. I packed the gear inside (though barely) and was really liking the overall look and feel of the new bag until I noticed there is a gap between the bottom of the curb runner and the top of the wheel housing and the bag is bending SIGNIFICANTLY right there. I've seen and dealt with enough wheel bags to know that when the wheel is collapsing under the bag at approximately 10 minutes of age it is a sure sign of premature failure. Miss C's old Itech and Team Canada player bags did exactly the same thing in exactly the same place rendering the wheel completely useless as it would fold up when the bag was loaded and the bag would simply drag across the pavement (mind you it took a good season to break down, not 10 minutes). I couldn't believe such and obvious design flaw was not addressed.

So tomorrow, much to my great disappointment the Messiah is returning to Perani's.

I have to say for all the great things this bag had going for it, if someone had simply asked a goalie what needed to be done to make it right before it hit the shelves it could have been a HUGE success. We've all had the bad experiences with all the various wheeled bags on the market and any of us could have easily pointed out these issues. What makes it worse is I really liked the ventilation along either side of the double zipper opening. I loved the look and quality of the materials. It even fit my gear (although snug). It was soo close to being a real contender in a severly lacking goalie bag market...it could have finally been the bag we've all been waiting for. Unfortunately the flimsy base is simply too much of a deal breaker.

Sorry about no pictures... grabbed the camera only to find out the batteries were dead. Again I want to stress this is not actually a review as there was no way I was keeping this bag long enough to do a long term review on it. Simply a warning regarding the things I discovered "out of the box" so to speak. I'm going to bring it to the attention of the staff at Perani's tomorrow when I return the bag. Perhaps this one bag simply has a defective base. If that's the case I'll give you an update on the replacement bag tomorrow. But I'm not counting on it... pretty sure they're all gonna be weak in the same spot.

Wow...many assumptions, no real review.

I'll send you a bag, do a real review. PM me your address.

Just so everyone knows, the bottom (between wheels) and between your the gap you see are reinforced with steel on the internal.

We talked to goalies and we did miss the mark on the side end handles. It'll be on the new one.

Keith

[lukejameslarson 5]

Haha... Awesome!

Netminder32's sewing maching he found to put the end handles on this bag featured by American Pickers..