Bought an MGI Zip Navigator Remote Control Cart

[boogielicious]

2 hours ago, Zippo said:

I now have a bit over 60 miles walking with this cart (yes, it does have an odometer - actually 3 odometers - Trip A - Trip B and Total). I think I know a bit more about the good and not so good so thought I'd update this post in case someone is contemplating one of these in the future. These are my opinions, though, and not in any particular order:

1 - The cart has a GPS holder but, because of the placement, it's not very useful. It is located just about the bag portion holding my driver and fairway woods which makes it somewhat difficult to pull the clubs without bumping the GPD holder. I use Arccos and it would be very useful to be able to clamp my phone into the holder so that I could see the Arccos yardages, etc, as I worked my way around the fairways. 

2 - The scorecard holder is just a clip on the handle. This means that you need to remove the card from the clip and hold it in your hand to mark down a score and then return it to the clip. It would be nice if it was located on an accessible flat spot so you could mark down a score without having to remove and replace the card.

3 - Speed control. I would prefer if speed control was smoothly variable in an increasing or decreasing manner. Currently, the speed increases or decreases in small increments and I find that one speed is just a hair too fast for me and the next lower is just a hair too slow. Not a big deal and I find, as I walk more, it's getting a bit easier to keep up with the faster speed for more holes, but still.

4. - I've found that the cart works well on very wet and muddy courses. I've also found that it's best to slow down for mud and water otherwise the cart gets painted with an interesting pattern of muddy dots necessitating another cleaning. Also, traction is improved at the lower speed and the wheels don't spin out in the mud.

5 - I've found that the cart will climb some amazing slopes without tipping over and I enjoy the fact that going downhill the cart maintains its speed without going faster and faster.  On those hills that I think might be just a bit too steep for it I just walk alongside and gently hold the handle to help keep it from tipping backwards but most of the time it does just fine on its own.

6 - The cart is a bit harder to clean than I might like. It would be great if one could just take the hose and spray it off after one of those muddy rounds but they say not to do that so I put it on a table in the garage and go at it with damp rags. The wheel design is somewhat intricate and I've found it best to remove them for cleaning. Easy to do - just push a button and pull the wheel but they do take a bit of time to clean.

7 - The Lithium battery lasts a long time. A couple of times I've forgotten to charge the battery before the round but so far, knock on wood, it has not let me down. I'm pretty pleased with how long it lasts.

8 - There is a button the the top of the handle that allows you to control the speed while walking with the cart instead of using the remote. I don't use it but at least twice in the last 60+ miles I've bumped the button while pulling a club and had the cart unexpectedly begin to move forward. I can stop it by tapping the button again or pressing Stop on the remote but I do wish there was a way to deactivate the button on the cart so that it was controlled by the remote only. Or, conversely, deactivate the remote so it was controlled by the handle only.

9 - I really like that it will rotate 360 degrees in place. Choosing the rotating front wheels was the right choice. I've had the cart on the edge of a pond or bunker and can easily 180 it away from the hazard when done. A great feature.

10 - The cart folds easily and fits alongside my bag in the back of my car very easily. Of course I do have a Jeep Grand Cherokee so there is a goodly amount of room back there! It's light enough that I can pick it up and place it in the back or remove it and place it on the ground without straining. And it unfolds just as easily.

So, would I buy it again? Oh, yeah. It's been great for me not feeling like I'm trudging along shoving the cart ahead of me. I really enjoy being able to walk down the course freely. I like that I can bring it to me when needed and send it along when not needed. I can leave it on one side of a green or tee box and have it meet  me on the other side. It's been a great addition to my game. I hope the info above will help someone else make a more informed choice should they be contemplating a similar purchase.

Great comments. Thanks!

[golface55]

i have a zip navigator as well and i love it .  You are able to lock the remote so it won't respond.  He is correct about the handle controls.  no way to lock them which would be useful.

[Darkfrog]

Hey @Zippo - how has the MGI Zip Navigator held up for you since your last update on 3/9/21?

After reading through this thread, I just purchased an MGI Zip X5. I wanted an electric push cart with downhill speed control and electric parking brake because I play on really hilly courses. I did not want a remote control, so I went with the X5, which seems substantially similar to the Navigator, minus the remote. I purchased the 36 hole battery, although I don't think I will be playing 36 holes often, more just in case I forget to charge it before a round.

I decided to get an electric push cart to take some of the mundane physicality out of golf. I play on a really hilly course with terrible drainage, so mornings are usually damp and somewhat slippery, even in drought conditions here in California. My GPS watch tracks my walking mileage at about 6-6.5 miles per round, so I felt like I didn't need to be doing that while navigating a loaded push cart at the same time.

It's supposed to arrive on Friday 9/3 so I will be able to put it to the test in my Sunday morning round.

Edited September 1, 2021 by Darkfrog

[Sandy Divot]

1 hour ago, Darkfrog said:

Hey @Zippo - how has the MGI Zip Navigator held up for you since your last update on 3/9/21?

After reading through this thread, I just purchased an MGI Zip X5. I wanted an electric push cart with downhill speed control and electric parking brake because I play on really hilly courses. I did not want a remote control, so I went with the X5, which seems substantially similar to the Navigator, minus the remote. I purchased the 36 hole battery, although I don't think I will be playing 36 holes often, more just in case I forget to charge it before a round.

I decided to get an electric push cart to take some of the mundane physicality out of golf. I play on a really hilly course with terrible drainage, so mornings are usually damp and somewhat slippery, even in drought conditions here in California. My GPS watch tracks my walking mileage at about 6-6.5 miles per round, so I felt like I didn't need to be doing that while navigating a loaded push cart at the same time.

It's supposed to arrive on Friday 9/3 so I will be able to put it to the test in my Sunday morning round.

One great thing about the electric cart vs a push cart will be your ability to maintain your posture walking up the hills. Your back will thank you.

[Darkfrog]

2 minutes ago, Sandy Divot said:

One great thing about the electric cart vs a push cart will be your ability to maintain your posture walking up the hills. Your back will thank you.

Exactly this. And also, the awkward balance walking down a steep hill while holding tight to the push cart with one hand.

[Zippo]

2 hours ago, Darkfrog said:

Hey @Zippo - how has the MGI Zip Navigator held up for you since your last update on 3/9/21?

After reading through this thread, I just purchased an MGI Zip X5. I wanted an electric push cart with downhill speed control and electric parking brake because I play on really hilly courses. I did not want a remote control, so I went with the X5, which seems substantially similar to the Navigator, minus the remote. I purchased the 36 hole battery, although I don't think I will be playing 36 holes often, more just in case I forget to charge it before a round.

I decided to get an electric push cart to take some of the mundane physicality out of golf. I play on a really hilly course with terrible drainage, so mornings are usually damp and somewhat slippery, even in drought conditions here in California. My GPS watch tracks my walking mileage at about 6-6.5 miles per round, so I felt like I didn't need to be doing that while navigating a loaded push cart at the same time.

It's supposed to arrive on Friday 9/3 so I will be able to put it to the test in my Sunday morning round.

Hi @Darkfrog. I am thoroughly enjoying my Zip Navigator. It's is the best thing since plastic tee pegs! I just turned over 245 miles on it today and it just keeps on chugging along. Every one of those miles is a mile I spent walking so that's a very good thing. I hope you enjoy yours as much as I do mine. Please let me know how you do without the remote. I can't imagine not having that feature. It's second nature to me and I hardly ever think about it when walking the course. I walk up to my ball on the green while pulling my putter and sending the cart around to where I'll be exiting the green. It's great!

Please do update after you've had a chance to use yours for a bit. I'm betting you'll like it a lot.

[Darkfrog]

Got my first round in using the MGI X5. Can't believe I waited to so long to get a motorized push cart. It's amazing. Still got around 6 miles walking per my GPS watch, but all in good walking posture with no added load to deal with.

On 9/1/2021 at 6:39 PM, Zippo said:

Please let me know how you do without the remote.

Only n=1, but I don't have any regrets about not having the remote yet. Part of my desire to get a non-remote cart was there are a lot of steep hills, uneven terrain, cracked/beat up cart paths, etc. on my course, and I watched a couple guys with MGI Zip Navigators crash their carts/bags using the remotes (to be fair, the day I saw them was the first time they'd been on course with their carts, so it could have been they were not comfortable with the controls). I can definitely see how in some situations a remote would be really convenient.

The MGI X5 feels really sturdy and well built, and had no trouble going up and down steep and damp hills. On some particularly steep inclines, the cart would tip back a bit onto the anti-tip wheel and the rear wheels would slip a bit, but this was only on the steepest of the inclines on the course. All it took was one hand on the handle to tip the cart forward and regain full traction. These were hills where you wouldn't want to let go of the cart anyways, so not a big deal.

The cart had no issues powering through some muddy sections of rough with crappy drainage.

The electronic break worked great, parking on some severe sidehill/uphill/downhill sections of the course.

In areas with lots of bumps and clumps (my course has a lot of clay in the soil, so there are more than a few areas of rough like this), keeping hold of the handle with at least one hand was necessary to keep it moving in the right direction.

On steep descents, the downhill speed control was really nice. With my non-electric push cart, these are sections where I would be holding on for dear life.

The X5 tracked really straight on flat sections of the course (rare on my course), even with the front wheel unlocked. Because my home course is so hilly with very few flat sections, I didn't use the automatic fixed-yardage advance feature, but nice to know it is there for times when I play courses in the flat lands.

I had no maneuverability problems at all, even thought the cart is much heavier than the non-electric one I used previously.

Battery life was great for the first use. Didn't even lose one bar of the battery indicator over a full 18 holes  in hilly terrain. This of course will change as usage increases.

A few gripes:

• The speed control knob isn't as easy to use as it could be. It sits in a spot on the handle where if you want to change speed while moving you have to let go with one hand and twist while the cart is moving, which isn't as easy to do as you would think. Up/down buttons that are reachable with a hand on the handle would be better, IMO.
• It would be nice to have more speed increments. I found that my normal walking pace was somewhere between speeds 4 and 6 depending on uphill/downhill, but not on any whole number, so I was either walking a touch slower or faster than I prefer. I assume I will eventually adjust my walking pace to sync up with the cart the more I use it.
• The cart has very minimal onboard storage. Yes, there are accessories to buy that can provide this, but it would be nice to have a bit more storage near the console for tees/balls/snacks. I have a cart bag with a lot of storage, so not really a big deal.

On 9/1/2021 at 6:39 PM, Zippo said:

Please do update after you've had a chance to use yours for a bit. I'm betting you'll like it a lot.

I'll check back in this thread with an update in a month or two after I have gotten some more rounds in with it, but I don't think my opinion will change much.

[Spokane]

After approximately 9 months, 30 rounds.  Forgot to extend 5 wheel and the MGI Zip Navigator tipped over.  Oops, it happened a couple times before, this time however, I went to upright it, and the main shaft had broken in 2.  No warranty.  $175 part.  I was shocked the plastic had broken so easily. Happy until the response by MGI.  I was offered a 20% discount on the part to fix it myself.  

[Zippo]

13 hours ago, Spokane said:

After approximately 9 months, 30 rounds.  Forgot to extend 5 wheel and the MGI Zip Navigator tipped over.  Oops, it happened a couple times before, this time however, I went to upright it, and the main shaft had broken in 2.  No warranty.  $175 part.  I was shocked the plastic had broken so easily. Happy until the response by MGI.  I was offered a 20% discount on the part to fix it myself.  

Bummer. Sorry to hear that happened. I never retract the 5th wheel so, hopefully, I'm immune to that particular situation. Thanks for the warning, though.

[Darkfrog]

31 minutes ago, Zippo said:

I never retract the 5th wheel so, hopefully, I'm immune to that particular situation.

Same here. It doesn't really take up any extra space to leave it deployed, so no reason for me to fold and unfold every round.