Can you help me find the right push cart?

[Roenie]

What push carts exist for which the manufacturer has winter wheels available? I'm having a hard time finding them.

At my local course, winter wheels / hedgehogs are mandatory for many (winter) months each year and I'm looking to upgrade from my 2 wheel pull cart to a push cart. I've noticed that Clicgear seem to make the most reliable cart (source: amazon reviews) but they don't offer winter wheels, only slip-on "hedgehogs" to fit over the regular wheels. I've read horror stories about those slipping off, and being a pain to install in general. Not to mention the accessories are very expensive, including the bag for storage/transporatation.

Further requirements: a strap/bungee at the bottom bag support is a must, and a deal breaker. A two wheel hand activated brake would be great. I don't like small front wheels, because they're harder to push over bumpy surfaces / rough where I spend a lot of my time. 😉

I know some prefer to carry in winter, but for me that's not an option unless I play with half a set of clubs.
I'm in Europe, so any brands unavailable in the EU are off limits. Shipping cost from the US would be prohibitive.

Thanks.

P.S. I can see one alternative would be to buy a Clicgear 3.5+ and an extra set of wheels, plus hedgehogs and screw or glue them on. It's an option, but a very, very expensive one.

Edited August 31, 2018 by Roenie

[iacas]

Why do you need the hedgehog wheels? (First time I'd heard of them - they're basically wheels with little soft spikes on them.)

They seem to apply mostly to electric carts. I'm not sure why you'd need them on a non-motorized push cart - you're either pushing the cart or it's sliding a little bit. The wheels don't need their own traction much, unless you're mostly worried about them sliding down hills.

In which case… your best option seems to be to buy a cart, and a set of replacement wheels, and use those wheels in the winter when you need them.

[billchao]

43 minutes ago, iacas said:

Why do you need the hedgehog wheels? (First time I'd heard of them - they're basically wheels with little soft spikes on them.)

They seem to apply mostly to electric carts. I'm not sure why you'd need them on a non-motorized push cart - you're either pushing the cart or it's sliding a little bit. The wheels don't need their own traction much, unless you're mostly worried about them sliding down hills.

In which case… your best option seems to be to buy a cart, and a set of replacement wheels, and use those wheels in the winter when you need them.

I've read (and this is primarily in the UK) that trolleys can be prohibited on courses in the winter when the turf is soft. The wheels can damage the course, so that's why they require winter wheels.

I've never seen it around here, even during muddy conditions. Yes I've dragged mud tracks across the course, but they don't cause any permanent damage. Usually this happens in the spring and then it warms up so the grass grows well. Maybe the different climate affects the course differently.

[iacas]

Just now, billchao said:

I've read (and this is primarily in the UK) that trolleys can be prohibited on courses in the winter when the turf is soft. The wheels can damage the course, so that's why they require winter wheels.

I've never seen it around here, even during muddy conditions. Yes I've dragged mud tracks across the course, but they don't cause any permanent damage. Usually this happens in the spring and then it warms up so the grass grows well. Maybe the different climate affects the course differently.

I guess, yeah.

So I'll stand by what I said second: get the cart you want to use most of the time and then get replacement wheels for the winter/muddy conditions.

[Sandy Divot]

I would have thought wheels with a more aggressive tread would cause more damage to a soft course.

[billchao]

2 hours ago, Sandy Divot said:

I would have thought wheels with a more aggressive tread would cause more damage to a soft course.

The Hedgehog Wheels don't have more aggressive tread They're spikes that I'm assuming go into the turf a bit but leave the bulk of the wheel suspended above it so it leaves less of a footprint on the ground as the wheel rolls.

I have no experience with them. Here in the winter, courses close.

[Sandy Divot]

After watching the video, I can see their benefit on an electric cart, but I can't see a benefit on a manual push cart.

[billchao]

6 hours ago, Sandy Divot said:

After watching the video, I can see their benefit on an electric cart, but I can't see a benefit on a manual push cart.

It's for the benefit of the course, not the person pushing the cart. As I understand it, there are many courses across the pond that won't allow carts in the winter without them because standard wheels damage the turf.

The benefit to the player is not having to carry their bag.

[GolfLug]

I have a Click gear three wheel push cart. Meets all the OP requirements. Big wheels, hand brake, bottom and top straps, umbrella holder, cup holder, small  storage box, folds and opens fantastically well and quickly. High quality make, looks cool. Rolls really well on any turf. Price only con but IMO absolutely worth it.

I too do not understand the need for spikes on a manual push cart wheels. Traction is not  useful at all unless it has motorized torque/drive.

[Patch]

If Clicgear has a product with winter wheels, get that. Those things are built to outlast the original owner, plus 4 generations of hand me downs. Maybe more. Mine has several hundreds of thousands of yards on it. Maybe millions. Expect thousands more out of it. 

Edited September 1, 2018 by Patch

[Sandy Divot]

17 hours ago, billchao said:

It's for the benefit of the course, not the person pushing the cart. As I understand it, there are many courses across the pond that won't allow carts in the winter without them because standard wheels damage the turf.

The benefit to the player is not having to carry their bag.

I use a push cart in the winter, and I just try to avoid wet areas. I have a turf management degree, and never considered push carts to be much of a threat to course conditions. I live in the south, and if I had my way, golf carts would be restricted to cart paths once the Bermuda goes dormant.

[Roenie]

On 9/2/2018 at 12:56 AM, GolfLug said:

I have a Click gear three wheel push cart. Meets all the OP requirements.

I agree, except proper winter wheels.

On 9/2/2018 at 1:26 AM, Patch said:

If Clicgear has a product with winter wheels, get that.

They don't really, just the slip-on hedgehogs. Which you can tell from the reviews on that page, can be quite a pain to deal with. That said, there's downsides to every brand of push cart. I only found one brand (Motocaddy) with proper winter wheels available - and I'm not even sure if these are only for their electric carts or not, but if not I'd still be pushing a smaller front wheel through the rough all year long only for it to pay off during winter rounds not having to deal with hedgehogs, november through end of march. The months in which I play the least golf, obviously.

I bit the bullet and ordered myself a clicgear 3.5+ along with the adjustable umbrella holder, a nice big canopy on a stick that I hope will fit in it (H2NO 68"), and a new cart bag (Cobra King 2018). Should be quite the upgrade from my 2 wheeler pull cart + cheap & aging bag setup. Dealing with medical problems lately so I'm allowing myself a bit of fun.

Still on the fence about getting a spare set of wheels for the cart (€70) just to be able to permanently screw/glue the hedgehogs treads (€45) onto them. Means I could swap wheels before winter, and swap back after, without having to deal with mounting and unmounting the rubber treads to just one set of wheels. Getting them on, and getting them to stay on can be a pain because the provided mounting clips don't do their job very well. At least that seems to be the consensus, so most people use zip ties to secure them, and they still can slip off the wheels sideways under load. I guess I'll have to see how that goes.

Thanks for the replies.

Edited September 3, 2018 by Roenie

[Roenie]

For the sake of sharing as much info on winter wheels as I can for anyone finding this thread in the future, I should add that besides Motocaddy, Stewart also offer proper winter wheels for their R1-S push cart. I'm personally not a fan of a small front wheel so it's still clicgear + hedgehogs for me.

Edited September 3, 2018 by Roenie

[70sSanO]

I understand it is a UK/Europe thing.  From what I gather, on some courses a push cart will be banned if it does not have studded tires.  I have no info on arriving at this decision, but those are the rules.  If you are in the US and disagree, travel over there and plead your case... lol.  I'm in SoCal, so what do I know about winter conditions.

As for the wheels,  I'd have a separate winter set and make sure the sleeves won't come loose.  Having wheel issues in the middle of a round just isn't worth saving a few bucks.

John