Back in the day (okay, only about five years ago) I would look every spring to see what the newest carry bags had to offer. About a decade ago, I had a carry bag that had 14-club individual dividers that I sorta liked (although the design left a lot to be desired) and I was always on the lookout for something similar but better.
I’ve since quite carrying my bag but the folks at Sun Mountain must have been thinking of me when they designed their new Four 5 carry bag. To top it off, they’ve also come out with one of the sweetest-looking push carts on the market today with the Micro Cart. I walk the vast majority of the time and my push cart is one of my most indispensable pieces of golf equipment, so I’m very intrigued by this offering.
Tag along as we check out the latest from Sun Mountain.
Micro Cart
The Micro Cart looks sweet! But besides looks, the Micro Cart has a lot going for it. It weighs only 13 pounds and – get this – folds down to 52 cubic inches and comes with no assembly required. Talk about being a space saver and ready to go from the start (unlike that play kitchen I had to put together for Christmas).
Interestingly, the smart folks at Sun Mountain added a fourth wheel to the Micro Cart to give it better stability on side hills (like no one here has ever tried to test the limits of their push cart on side hill before) and to eliminate the need to make tracking adjustments.
The four wheels come standard with low maintenance solid foam tires, which is nice feature to appreciate if you’ve ever had a flat on the back nine as well as an adjustable front axle to accommodate the largest of golf bags. The lightweight anodized aluminum frame folds and unfolds in one easy motion and offers two handle-height positions, a strapless bag bracket, and a console with a padded valuables tray, ball and tee holders, magnetic scorecard holder, and a drink holder (hopefully a very large-sized cupholder).
The Micro Cart boasts what Sun Mountain calls a “totally new, contemporary look” and it does look quite sharp. For those who like choices, the Micro Cart will be available in four colors: red, black, blue, and silver. Look for these at an authorized Sun Mountain retailer this spring and carrying a suggested retail price of $239 (street about $200).
Four 5 Bag
If you’re not the push cart kind of golfer, perhaps the Four 5 carry bag is more your style. The Four 5 bag combines a 4.5 pound lightweight stand bag with an individual club divider system. One of my first carry bags I had about 12 years ago had the individual club dividers which was a nice feature, although that particular company’s version was not very good. I’ve always longed for a good one since.
The biggest benefit one gets from having the individual 14-club dividers is to eliminate those times when you reach to pull out one club and end up getting half your bag as the club handles were all tangled up at the bottom of your bag. It doesn’t happen often but when it does, it is quite annoying to say the least.
The Four 5 comes loaded with a bunch of other features including Sun Mountain’s E-Z Fit dual strap system, their patented roller-bottom stand mechanism that adds stability and provides quick leg action, which just might be the second most important feature in a stand bag next to weight, a convenient lift assist strap to you load and unload the bag out of your car trunk, a top collar handle for easy on and off, and a whopping eight pockets that includes a water bottle pouch, full-length clothing pocket, velour-lined valuables pocket and multiple accessory pockets. With the amount of stuff we golfers seem to carry today, it’s nice to have plenty of pockets and space to store it all.
The Four 5 is available in six color combinations: black, black/red, black/dark green, black/yellow, black/cadet blue, and black/titanium (they all look pretty sharp) and is available now at your authorized Sun Mountain retailer for a suggested retail price of $219 (street price of about $190).
In the End
I quit carrying my clubs five years ago so while the Four 5 bag doesn’t excite me too much, having 14-club full dividers on something that lightweight should be a pretty popular choice among those who like to carry their sticks on their back.
I am pretty intrigued however by the Micro Cart. I really like my current cart and can’t see a reason to switch at this point but I must say that the Micro Cart not only looks cool but also quite functional. For push carts, being small is the big thing right now as they have a small of a footprint as possible in order to be able to keep it in your trunk along with the myriad of other items ones keeps there (if you have kids, you know what I mean). Smaller is better and Sun Mountain looks to have a winner on it’s hands.
something tells me this is what the lawn mowers of the future will look like. Pretty nice, but no orange color? Too bad.
I like the Sun Mountain bag and cart that I have. About fifteen years ago I had a SM Back Nine bag. It had a single strap and no stand. It also had a wooden dowel to give it shape. A nice bag for back then. One thing that other makers have had that I like is the foam wheels that don’t need to be pumped. Now Sun Mountain supplies kits to replace the pneumatic wheels with hard foam. It seems they have to be ordered through a shop that sells SM products. I thought that was good news! I might also like to try the seat for the V1 cart.
Does anyone else have a problem with 4 wheels? Three point will make a plane, so three wheeled carts will always have all wheels on the ground. This 4 wheeler could get a little wobbly.
With four wheels, you’re guaranteeing that at least three will be touching, and oftentimes four will be touching, and with a wider wheelbase, the cart should handle better on hills and should track better, as mentioned in the article.
For this cart to get “wobbly” you’d have to traveling over some awfully severe and very small bumps in the ground.
I can’t help but think of a shopping cart when I see that thing. Maybe it’ll look better to me with a bag on it….maybe….
Having gone with two Sun Mountain Speed Carts over the years, before now going with ClicGear, I am curious to actually see the SM Micro in person. The photo’s provided are intriguing, but I will wait to see it and try it out at my local golf store before passing judgement or opinion.
You should check out some of the New York City public courses, particularly the cart ‘paths’. It’s like the surface of the moon. I think on these types of courses, carts with just three larger wheels is the way to go…
The four-five is a great walking bag. If you are looking to ride sometimes it does not fit in golf properly. They don’t meention that on their website or in the store when you buy it.
I just saw the Micro in my local golf store. Loved it! This set up has a very small “footprint” unlike the latest 3-wheelers which are long and high. This is incredibly lightweight. I’m a short woman so I was interested to see if the handle adjusted down enough for me. It was a perfect push position–better than my bagboy. A bright yellow lever screams “grab me!” so I did and managed to collapse it in a flash. I think it took me two motions vs just one as the ad says, but I had no idea what I was doing and was stunned at how easy it was.
I know I’d notice having seven or so less pounds to push up the hills at my course. The only thing I’m wondering is whether or not it will roll as easily as a 3-wheeler. In the store, with no bag, it rolled fine and I can’t imagine it wouldn’t, but I don’t know. If not for the $199 pricetag I’d be writing about how it performs on the course instead of the store.
Micro cart looks great except for two glaring problems – no umbrella holder and only two handle positions. Can you buy an umbrella holder attachment?
There is an umbrella holder, and it screws into the handle like on their other carts.
Does anyone have any experience withe either the V1 or V2 seat?
Does the Micro have a break system to stop it from rolling on inclines?
My wife and I looked at the Micro yesterday. My wife had the same reaction to the weight and price as another writer. We did find the “brake” on the micro right where a V2 owner would expect it. The only difference was that it brakes and releases in a fashion opposite to my V2.
Yes it has a brake. There is a pin which slides into one of the holes in as small disc, on the axle.
Awesome bit of kit, very stable,cool looking and above all fitted in my car boot(convertible bmw) with a full size bag. Having a muddy trolley on the back seat is a thing of the past!!!!! 😛
I bought a four wheel sun mountain golf cart like the one above for my wife. I broke the plastic lid that on the top. It still holds with the magnet but am asking do you sell another that I can put on.
THANKS!!!!!