The Upper Park Shift is my every-round bag.
And that’s saying something. Because, given the nature of this blog, I’ve got tons of bags sitting around the house collecting dust. They were used. They were reviewed. Soon, they’ll be sold.
The Shift, though?
Not a chance.
If you’d like to read my long-form thoughts on why the Upper Park Shift is the best bag in all of disc golf for my specific needs, click here. Who knows? Maybe it’ll work for yours, too.
But today, I want to focus on what I consider the single-greatest feature the Upper Park Shift offers. It’s light-weight, making it great for backs familiar with nagging, never-ending pain.
The portfolio-style presentation of discs is awesome, too. With a quick glance at your setup, you instantly know if you’ve left one behind. Even something as simple as the placement of the water-bottle holder keeps the minimalist bag from toppling over when set aside for shots.
But without a doubt, the crème de la crème of the Shift’s features are the two zippered waist-stash pockets that run along both sides of the hip belt – not enough people know this.
Up close and personal, here’s one of ‘em ….
I could be wrong, but I can’t think of another backpack-style bag in our sport that offers something similar. Of this much I’m certain: Waist-level pockets are criminally uncommon.
They shouldn’t be.
What I love most about these things is that, while walking down the fairway with your bag on, you’re able to access much-needed, oft-used items without having to stop and place your backpack on the ground to rummage through a bunch of crap to find what you need.
Yes, these are relatively small pockets, but they’re hardly microscopic – lots of stuff fits in there. In mine, for example, I carry a Sharpie, my keys, some cash, Band-Aids, athletic tape, a granola bar, pain and allergy pills and a small, worn piece of sandpaper for smoothing scuffed discs.
And while I shy away from using my phone on the course, my Google Pixel fits in there, too. If you’re a UDisc lover, serial texter or Instagram aficionado, these pockets will rock your world.
* Note: My phone fits snugly in one of these pockets, but all phones might not.
To me, these waist-stash pockets make the Shift a true hiking backpack – but for disc golf, of course. Living in Utah, many of the tracks I frequent are rocky, rough and severely uphill.
These pockets help navigate them.
If the terrain you tackle is similar, the Shift is a no-brainer. And even if it’s not, the waist-stash pockets alone make this bag at a minimum a must-try item for gear-enthused disc golfers.
Once you go stash, you never go back.
Eight years later …
I’m proof of it.
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Editor’s Suggestions:
- D-rings weren’t meant for disc golf towels
- I can’t disc golf with a smartphone in my pocket
- What’s a ‘dad putt’ in disc golf? (and why you’d use one)
Real quick, if you happen to buy something through a link in this article, there’s a chance we’ll get a small share of the sale. It’s how we keep the lights on. To learn more, click here.
