New Gear Bag needed

[Texas Aggie]

I work both football and basketball and this past year used my basketball roller bag for football. It doesn't work too well for that. Not only is it too small (OK, but not great for hoops), it doesn't have the compartments I need for hats, dirty shoes, dirty clothes, etc. What I'd like is a roller case of some sort that is sturdy (doesn't have to be, but can be, hard shelled), with at least 3 separate compartments -- including one for shoes and a smaller area where I can put 2-3 hats. Ideally, the main compartment could break into 2 and offset to separate dirty clothes from those unworn (say, a long sleeve shirt) after the game.

Anyone recently found something similar? Otherwise, what do you guys use for football?

[HLin NC]

If you have a Bass shoe outlet store near you, check and see if they still carry their rolling duffles. I have one with two compartments top and bottom and then two end pouches for small stuff. I've only used it during playoffs as we arrive dressed in the regular season so a regular large athletic bag works fine for me usually.

I have found that the soccer bags usually provide good shoe compartment.

USA Football's store has a nice Under Armor bag that seems pretty durable.

[tjones1]

I bought my roller case for basketball from this site: Save 85% on Luggage, Briefcases and Bags at LuggageBase.com

I was very happy with my order and was able to find what I was looking for as far as comparments, size, and price.

I had to do a little searching through their site, but found what I was looking for.

[Texas Aggie]

I found one today, similar to the posted one.

Samsonite Detour 35
Samsonite Detour 3 35" Over/Under Duffle

The link posted above is of a discontinued bag and doesn't come up.

Anyway, this sucker is HUGE! It has a total of 3 small individual compartments on the top level, plus the big one. Great for hats in one, and either shoes or dirty clothes in the other two. Then, you have the bottom one for shoes, dirty clothes, all sorts of other stuff. I won't really fill it up for an early season game, but this will shine on later season games and perhaps college games where you take multiple shirts (long and short) and perhaps a backup shirt with a different placard. Plus backups of everything. Since I no longer have to worry about dirty stuff (shoes and clothes) or wet stuff (towels, clothes) getting on the clean, dry stuff, I can leave my backup gear in here for the entire season.

I'll do a further report at the end of the season. I wish it had a top compartment for papers, notes, pregame materials, etc.

[Texas Aggie]

OK, I officially hate this thing. First season, it was OK. Last year, I started to tire of it and ordered another one, but didn't like that one and sent it back. Now, I can't stand it any longer. Yes, I have a lot of room, but this bag with even a few things in it is way too heavy. And I don't like the fact that it doesn't have a pull out handle. I dread carrying this thing into the house after a game when I get home late.

So, I'm back to looking for recommendations. I really want the following:

-- dual compartments with a fairly rigid bottom and enough room in the bottom compartment for shoes
-- roller bag with pull out handle
-- skateboard/rollerblade smooth wheels
-- some compartments up top, preferably
-- a place up top or in front that you can put a small laptop sleeve (I have my written materials in there)

All this in a carry on size! (Just kidding; however the smaller the better).

[BktBallRef]

Originally Posted by HLin NC

I've only used it during playoffs as we arrive dressed in the regular season so a regular large athletic bag works fine for me usually.

Arrived dressed??? Really???

[Forksref]

Originally Posted by BktBallRef

Arrived dressed??? Really???

Yes, really. Never worked 9-man at a small school where they park their pickups around the field and there are no bleachers? There is no ticket booth, just the school secretary at the entrance to the grass/dirt parking lot taking the money and offering you a one-page roster for free. I love the atmosphere!

Yes we come dressed except for putting on our shirts since there is no dressing room available. We either stay on the field or go to our car at half-time.

Sure, we don't have a nice dressing room with shower, etc. but we do have the small town football atmosphere. Give me the small schools any day.

[JasonTX]

Originally Posted by Forksref

Yes, really. Never worked 9-man at a small school where they park their pickups around the field and there are no bleachers? There is no ticket booth, just the school secretary at the entrance to the grass/dirt parking lot taking the money and offering you a one-page roster for free. I love the atmosphere!

Yes we come dressed except for putting on our shirts since there is no dressing room available. We either stay on the field or go to our car at half-time.

Sure, we don't have a nice dressing room with shower, etc. but we do have the small town football atmosphere. Give me the small schools any day.

We had a 6 man jr. high team with that setup. They could only afford 2 officials so yep, we'd 2 man crew the game.

[Welpe]

Originally Posted by Forksref

Yes, really. Never worked 9-man at a small school where they park their pickups around the field and there are no bleachers? There is no ticket booth, just the school secretary at the entrance to the grass/dirt parking lot taking the money and offering you a one-page roster for free. I love the atmosphere!

Yes we come dressed except for putting on our shirts since there is no dressing room available. We either stay on the field or go to our car at half-time.

Sure, we don't have a nice dressing room with shower, etc. but we do have the small town football atmosphere. Give me the small schools any day.

Sounds like six man football out in Texas. I had one game out in the sticks where I overheard the following before the game: "Oh hey, let me go get the score board."

Sure enough, the AD parked a pickup near the field with a scoreboard in the bed. The best part of it was when the quarter ended, the truck's horn went off.

[HLin NC]

Arrived dressed??? Really???

When in Rome......

I'm not a fan of it but I've been in this group for 10 + years now and I see no change coming. My guess is that it saves the dressing time so pregame can start later but I've never really been told why.

Some of the facilities the schools give us are sub-standard. One school gives us the ROTC classroom but we share it with ROTC flag corps and the hallway with the cheerleaders. Another wants to put us in the gym way up the hill behind the stadium so we just use the tractor shed next to the field to pre-game. This may have something to do with it also.

With knickers, I wore a pair of black jogging pants over them to keep them clean and put my striped shirt on at the game site. Now I have dispensed with the jogging pants.

NState dressed/(es) on site.

[CT1]

Originally Posted by BktBallRef

Arrived dressed??? Really???

We do that here, too.

There's a practical reason: We're required to be on the field one hour before scheduled kickoff time, which can be no later than 7:00 PM. Allowing for Friday traffic, pregame, and travel time to the meeting site and game site doesn't allow much time to dress for guys who can't get off work until 5:00.

[ChickenOfNC]

Originally Posted by CT1

We do that here, too.

There's a practical reason: We're required to be on the field one hour before scheduled kickoff time, which can be no later than 7:00 PM. Allowing for Friday traffic, pregame, and travel time to the meeting site and game site doesn't allow much time to dress for guys who can't get off work until 5:00.

What the heck do you do for an hour?

[BuckeyeRef]

Originally Posted by ChickenOfNC

What the heck do you do for an hour?

I was wondering the same thing. In Ohio we arrive at the game site 1 1/2 hours before kickoff (usually 5:30), we dress and have pregame, then take the field 30 minutes before kickoff (usually 6:30).