Vessel Player Air Review: The Lightweight Bag We’ve Been Waiting For

For the last 4 years, Vessel bags have continued to get my pick as the best overall golf bag on the market.

Whether it was the old Player III or the new Player IV Pro – these bags continue to be best in class when it comes to quality and features.

There’s just one problem: weight.

Even the lighter Player IV DXR comes in over 6 pounds – which isn’t that much of a weight savings over the regular models.

So what do you do if you want to carry a Vessel bag, but don’t want it to weigh you down?

Well now, you might want to pick up the brand new Player Air.

What is the Vessel Player Air?

I first saw Player Air at the 2024 PGA Show, and it’s exactly the bag I’ve been hoping to see from Vessel.

It still has all of their hallmarks like a leather top handle, equilibrium straps, and jam-resistant base.

But they’re now using a super lightweight nylon material called Cordura that makes the bag significantly lighter.

The fact they’re able to do this while retaining most of the high-end features they’re known for is really impressive.

This bag isn’t quite as light as the new Jones Rover or the Stitch Airwalker – but you can expect a bump in fit and finishes with the Vessel over those two bags.

But while everything sounds good on paper, how does it perform? For as much as I love about it, there was one surprise that I’m not totally thrilled about.

Let’s jump in and I’ll cover it all in this Vessel Player Air review.

First Impressions of the Vessel Player Air

Taking the Player Air out of the box, it immediately feels like a Vessel bag.

One of my favorite features of their bag is often overlooked: the leather top handle.

This handle is how I almost always pick up a golf bag. Not only are Vessel top handles thick and sturdy, but the genuine leather wrap truly adds to the experience.

I thought they might do away with this on the Air in the name of weight savings, but am very happy to see it included.

This is especially true after being underwhelmed by the quality of the top handle on the Stitch Airwalker – and the fact the Jones Rover omits it altogether.

The top opening is the same size as the Player IV and has plenty of room for your clubs. It isn’t quite as spacious as the Player IV Pro models, which have a larger opening, but most people won’t notice.

The carbon fiber legs both look good and help keep the weight down.

Two other carryovers from standard bags are the Equilibrium straps and the Rotator base. Again, these are high-end touches that serve very functional purposes. So to see those make the cut on this bag was exciting to see.

The Cordura material the bag is made out of feels much more thin than I expected it to be. After the thick synthetic leather of the standard Player IV – this feels very different. Despite being so lightweight, the Cordura material still seems to be very durable. Just not quite as much so as their leather, or even DXR material used on other bags.

One very clear place they’re saving weight is on the zipper pulls. They are remarkably thin, but also have a cool minimalist look to them that’s different from other Vessel bags.

As I expected, the Vessel bag both looks and feels very high quality.

Light as Air? Not Quite.

From a style perspective, most people are either going to be all in or all out on the Vessel style.

Their bags have a modern, luxurious look, that sets them apart from other brands.

If you’re looking for a cool retro vibe, look to Jones or the Sun Mountain Mid Stripe – as you’re not gonna get that here.

The Player Air with the 6-way top is 4.45 pounds and an extra .5 pounds for the straps – just shy of 5 pounds all in.

Not bad, although the Jones Rover comes in at 4.2 pounds and the Stitch Airwalker at 4.6. 

So while it’s not as light as those bags, I like the fact they kept some of the high-end touches that make Vessel brand what it is.

Considering the whole point of the Air is to be a lightweight bag that’s easy to carry, I think most people will (and should) opt for the 6-way top as opposed to the 14, which adds an extra half pound.

As a comparison, Vessel’s previous lightweight full-featured bag is the Player IV DXR which comes in at 6.3 pounds with the strap. And if you opt for the Pro version it’ll jump up to 6.65 pounds.

So the Air does represent a solid weight savings when compared to the DXR, but it’s still slightly heavier than lightweight bags from other brands.

Player Air Features: Yep, This Feels like a Vessel Bag.

Carrying the Player Air is fantastic. The bag is lightweight and the equilibrium strap system continues to be one of my favorites in the industry.

I will say the straps on the Air do feel slightly cheaper than those on the Player IV models. Despite only weighing .05 pounds less than the Player IV straps, there’s something about them that just doesn’t feel quite as nice.

They still perform great and are very comfortable when carrying, but the slightly lighter weight feels less high end to me,.

The carbon fiber legs and stand system work as well as any Vessel bag I’ve used.

The Rotator base is designed to minimize club sticking and it works as expected. In my two rounds with the bag I’ve had no issues with this.

The magnetic rangefinder pouch is great, and continues to be one of my favorite features of Vessel bags. It’s easy to access and is velour-lined, so can double as another valuables pouch if necessary.

Speaking of which, there’s a dedicated valuables pouch on the side exactly where you’d expect it to be.

The garment pocket is excellent, and while not quite as spacious as the Player IV Pro, provides more space than other lightweight bags I’ve tested.

In general, this bag has a ton of space. As such it can be easy to overpack, so just be aware of this if you have a tendency to cram a lot of stuff in your bag.

The magnetic cooler-lined water bottle sleeve is in a perfect spot to use while carrying.

The One Big Problem With This Bag (That Might Keep Me from Buying It)

The Player Air is exactly the bag I’ve wanted from Vessel. A lightweight version of the Player IV that doesn’t skimp on the high-end aesthetic and performance touches that make Vessel so great.

But when it comes to performance, I’ve had one big quality-of-life issue with this bag:

The zippers.

The zippers themselves are still very high quality.

The issue rather, is the combination of the super lightweight Cordura Material and the razor-thin zipper pulls.

Because the material on the bag is so lightweight, there’s very little resistance to it. This makes trying to unzip the pockets quickly more of a problem than it should be.

If the pockets are fully packed it’s less of an issue. But if a pocket isn’t full, then the material on the bag doesn’t hold its form and makes it difficult to zip or unzip with one hand.

The tiny zipper pulls make this even more of a challenge – despite looking cool.

Carrying the bag, pulling clubs, getting your rangefinder – the bag works great for all of these actions.

But it feels like I’m fighting the bag every time I need to get something out of a pocket.

Is it a dealbreaker? Maybe, maybe not.

There’s so much to love about this bag. But when you’re spending $375 on a product, you want (and expect) minimal frustrations. And I found myself getting frustrated with the zippers just a little too often for my liking.

Final Thoughts on the Vessel Player Air

There’s going to be a subset of golfers out there, who should buy the Player Air with zero hesitation.

If you love the Vessel aesthetic, but you’ve been hesitant to buy one due to weight?

This bag is the answer.

It looks cool, it feels great, and it still features nearly everything you’ve come to expect from their Player series bags.

However, this comes at a cost when it comes to the zipper experience. It simply isn’t great.

To be clear, it’s not like they’re unusable by any means. It just often takes me a couple extra seconds to open or close pockets than it usually would.

If you’re cool with that tradeoff? Then this is an excellent golf bag in every other way.

But if your goal is a minimalist bag that you don’t have to think about when you’re on the golf course – then there may be some better options out there for you.

As for my personal opinion? For as much as I love aspects of the Air, I think I’d probably take on a little bit of extra weight and go for the Player IV DXR.

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A lightweight Vessel bag that doesn't skimp on the high end touches

8.5 Solid

There's so much to love about the Player Air. It looks great, has tons of storage and functionality, and is made of a super cool lightweight Cordura material. It wears well and is easy to carry. The downside are zippers that don't function as well as you'd expect. For some, this is a tradeoff you'll be happy to make. For others, you might look to the Player IV DXR or something else.

The Good

1. A fantastic looking bag
2. Unique Cordura material is both lightweight and durable
3. Far more storage options than you'd usually find on lightweight bags
4. Retains high end hallmarks of other Vessel bags

The Bad

1. Zippers can be tough to open and close
2. Straps don't feel quite as good as previous Vessel models

• Presentation 10
• Performance 8
• Price 8
• Personal Affinity 8