Stitch Birdie Bag Review: The Bag You Didn’t Know You Needed
I’ve always really liked Stitch golf products.
Their SL2 golf bag is one of the best-looking bags on the market. You could say the same about their accessories and apparel as well.
But it’s been a while since I’ve tested out anything new from Stitch.
The SL2 is largely the same as it was a couple years ago, and with so many other products coming to market, I haven’t seen much from the brand lately.
But then I found out about the Birdie Bag – and got really intrigued.
7 or 8 years ago, golf was my life.
All my travel was golf, all my socializing was golf – it pretty much consumed my life.
These days, golf is still a huge part of it (obviously), but there’s more.
I have a toddler, and despite my best efforts, she’s not quite at golfing age yet. Many of my solo golf trips have been replaced with family trips to places like Sunriver or to more tropical locales with lazy rivers and pools.
And because of that, I’ve started getting more interested in products that can be more versatile.
Golf shoes that I can wear anywhere like these, or these, are now more appealing than ever.
Clothes that can be worn both on and off the course make up much of my wardrobe.
And that’s what is so interesting about the Birdie Bag from Stitch. It’s not necessarily a golf bag, but it can be a bag for the golf course, for travel, for work – and more.
I’m all for that kind of versatility.
But at over $300*, it’s not cheap. So is it worth the investment?
Let’s find out.
What is the Stitch Birdie Bag?
Before we go any further, I think we need to talk about what this bag is and what it does.
The name “Birdie” is a little misleading, because that makes it sound like its primary purpose is for the golf course.
While yes, Sitch is a golf brand, but this is a bag that feels like it’s primarily for travel and day-to-day life, rather than being golf-focused.
The Birdie Bag uses a modular system to allow the bag to perform a variety of tasks.
When you unzip the bag you’ll find the removable laptop sleeve and removable cooler pouch.
The most obvious one is a cooler. There’s a cooler insert that allows you to fit a surprisingly large number of beers, bottles of wine, food, or whatever else you want to keep cold.
It’s extremely easy to pop in and out, and is very well insulated.
If you’re looking to use the bag as a day or travel pack, you can just pull out the cooler and have all of the space for whatever you’d like.
There’s a removable laptop sleeve, that comfortably fits my 16″ MacBook Pro as well.
Laptop sleeve.
With this bag, there are a number of little features everywhere that have taken me days to discover. Every time I use it, I discover some other little touch that I missed previously.
The more I use the Birdie Bag, the more I find reasons to use it. We’ll talk more about what those are in a minute.
First Impressions of the Stitch Birdie Bag
As soon as I picked this bag up, I could tell a lot of thought went into its design.
The Birdie Bag is made of a very high-quality canvas, that both looks and feels worthy of its price point.
From a looks perspective, I think this bag is a little polarizing.
It’s not a traditional backpack, and people expecting it to look like one may be caught off guard.
But if you treat it as more of a utility pack that can do a variety of things, the slightly square look makes a lot more sense.
If I’m being totally honest, the design wasn’t love at first sight for me. However the more I’ve used the bag, the more I’ve truly grown to enjoy everything about it.
The bag has extremely high-quality YKK zippers, which function really well.
Very high quality zippers and construction on the Birdie Bag.
There are hidden magnets throughout the bag, that add to both the versatility and high-end feel of the bag.
For instance, the laptop sleeve attaches to the inside of the bag via magnets. The top opening can be zipped and closed via magnet, making grabbing beers or clothes even easier.
This is how the laptop sleeve can attach via magnet.
Overall, I’m impressed with the build quality of the bag.
The only exception to this might be the plastic clips for the strap system, which feel a little on the cheap side.
I would have liked to see slightly more robust straps and clips – but otherwise this thing is extremely well built.
Whether it's on the course, at the pool, on a flight, or in your office - this might be the most versatile bag on the planet. Use code "BE20" to save 20%!
Why Would You Buy the Birdie Bag?
If you’re the type of person who would rather buy one thing that can function in multiple situations, rather than buying 2 or 3 dedicated products – this bag is for you.
But for all the talk in this review of “versatility,” what are some real-world use cases for the bag?
Here are just a few of the ways I’ve considered using the bag over the last few weeks:
Golf Cart Bag
For this audience, this may be the headline feature.
If you want a bag you can load up with ice, beers, snacks, etc. and pop it in the back of your golf cart? Look no further.
It fits perfectly in a cart, and will hold plenty of stuff to get you through 18 holes.
Gym or Club Bag
Frequently heading out to the club, but don’t necessarily need a cooler full of beer?
No problem.
Top down view of the insulated cooler in the Birdie Bag.
This bag is great for throwing in a change of clothes, shoes, toiletries, and whatever else you need.
The Birdie Bag is perfect for using as a day pack as well.
If you need a change of shoes, golf clothes, and need to do a couple of hours of work on your laptop before your tee time?
This is perfect. Rather than needing a dedicated computer bag or briefcase, this allows you to just have one bag.
Pool or Picnic Bag
Like I said, I have a toddler. So I’ve actually used the Birdie Bag more for doing things with her. Specifically a couple of times a week we go to the pool.
Rather than take out the cooler bag, I basically use it as a waterproof backpack. I can put some snacks/drinks in there to help them stay cold, and then I can pile clothes on top of it, and use the copious pocket space for other misc. items.
What the bag looks like if you remove the cooler insert.
After we’re done, I can dump all of our wet swimsuits into the cooler. It’s turned out to be even more handy than I expected it to be.
Carry On Bag
The Birdie Bag was designed to be the perfect airplane carry-on bag. The small exterior pockets are great for items like AirPods and keys.
By taking out the cooler insert, you have tons of storage space for clothes, an iPad, a book, or anything else you need to take with you on the plane.
You can access the main compartment from both the side or the top which is really nice.
And because of the removable laptop sleeve, it’s easy to grab that right before you sit down on the plane.
There’s a strap along the bag that allows you to easily slide it over the handle of a rolling suitcase.
The only reason I haven’t personally used this bag for travel is because I have a dedicated camera bag that includes way too much stuff, like my camera, lenses, and a drone.
Final Thoughts on the Stitch Birdie Bag
This was a bag that I thought I’d like before I got it, but I didn’t expect to use it as much as I have.
On a regular basis, I’m carrying both a gym bag and my computer backpack with me when I spend days working at my club. It’s a pain, and this bag completely solved this problem.
Throw in the fact the Birdie Bag has made for the perfect Summer pool, picnic, and camping bag – and I’m a legit fan.
While I may still prefer the look of a more standard-looking backpack, I’m willing to overlook the fact it’s not my favorite pack aesthetically for the fact that it’s extremely well-built, and is the most versatile bag I own.
For an extra $10 you can personalize the “ingot” on the back, and even better than that, you can use the Stitch coupon code “BE20” to save 20% on this!
This takes the price from $328 all the way down to $262.
It’s a lot of money to spend on a backpack, but considering you’d easily be spending more buying multiple dedicated bags, this is actually a really good deal.
So whether you golf, have kids, or travel on a regular basis, there may not be a better “do anything” bag on the market.
Whether it's on the course, at the pool, on a flight, or in your office - this might be the most versatile bag on the planet. Use code "BE20" to save 20%!
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Good Things
- Overall great build quality
- Very versatile and multi-functional
Bad Things
- A bit on the expensive side
- Would like to see more robust straps
Sean –
Have the bag and I’m a big fan with one caveat. The bottom has some sort of firm shelf-like insert at the bottom, which allows it to be sturdy. But when I used this for a weekend trip that included a plane ride (so lots of backpack type use), that same insert dug into my lower back and caused significant discomfort for a few days.