Rocket Science Sports Rocket Bag Transition Pack Review

Rocket Science Sports Rocket Bag Transition Pack Review



Big enough to carry all my 70.3 gear and is water resistant.

Quick Summary
* Dimensions: Height (20"), Width (13"), Depth (9"), Depth with pocket (10")
* Easily hold both running and cycling shoe (fits my size 11 US easily)
* Water resistant zippers
* Hard case glasses case.
* Smart-Compartment Design
* Includes Transition Mat
* Air-Flight Ventilation Padded Back
* Heart Rate Monitor Compartment
* Water Resistant Material
* Helmet Compartment (although it is a little small)
* 2 Expandable Dual-Sided Pockets with Zippers (Holds water bottle nicely)
* Removable Cell Phone Pocket
* Hard Case Glasses Holder
* Removable Wet-Dry Compartment
* Reflective Strips
* Inner Organizer Mesh Pocket 

Just before my first 70.3 in May I decided to give myself a gift.  I always wanted a transition bag.  Like always I did way too much research to find out what most people liked and recommended.  For some reason there is little information about transition bags on the internet.  There are very few bag reviews on the internet.  To make matters worse almost no stores carry them so you kind of have to go on blind faith (not something I like to do on an expensive purchase). After much research I took a leap of faith and decided to purchase the Rocket Science Rocket Bag from Rocket Science Sports.  Hey, it was designed by a rocket scientist so it has to be good. 

I have now used this bag for two 70.3s and I have got to say the bag rocks.  It rained cats and dogs at the beginning of 70.3 Florida.  There were large puddles of water in the transition areas.  I decided to not lay out my gear due to the rain and puddles.  I left everything in my bag.  Since the bag is water resistant all my equipment stayed nice and dry.  And since everything has its place in the bag (and is nicely labeled with pictures) it was easy to find everything with very little lost time.

The bag completely opens up a like a clam shell and has three areas.  Each area is made of mesh to allow your equipment to air out and breath.  The mesh is also see through so you can see all of your equipment without having to unzip everything thing.  Each area has a ton of space.

The first area has two separate compartments for your shoes.  One is label with a picture of a runner and one of a bike.  These two compartments hold my size 11 US shoes with relative ease.  It’s pretty easy to get my shoes in and out of these compartments.

Enough space for my cycling & running shoes (size 11).
Both are nicely labled.

 

The second area has a hard case for your glasses (labeled with a red sun) and a soft case for your heart rate/computers (labeled with a red heart). 



Hard sunglass case and soft heart rate pouch.
Also nicely labled.



The third area has removable waterproof bag for storing you wet and stinky clothing.  This is a nice feature.  It allows you to keep all your other equipment nice and dry.  It also allows you to quickly remove the wet and dirty clothing after a race and throw them in the laundry.



Removable waterproof bag.



The outside of the bag is made of a heavy duty plastic like material that is highly water resistant.  The zippers are also water resistant.  The bag has reflective tape and a place to hold a blinking light.  Both features are nice when riding in the dark to get to a race.  Each side of the bag has a pocket to hold your water bottles.  These pockets can be zip closed when you do not have water bottles in them.  There are several additional zipped areas on the outside of the bag.  One area holds business cards, pencils, money change, ID cards, etc. There is a large pocket that is suppose to store your helmet but is too small to hold my helmet.

The “Air-Flight Ventilation Padded Back” is a really nice feature.  The back of the bag is made up of several soft padded areas that provide air ventilation.  This makes the bag comfortable and cool to wear even when it fully loaded and hot outside.

The ventalated cushioned back
makes it comfortable to wear.

This bag is made to wear like a regular back pack.  This is a great feature.  When the race is over and you have to take your bag and bike to the car, just through the back pack on and ride to your car.  Riding a bike with the bag is a breeze and is safe.  I use to try this with a duffle bag and nearly killed myself a few times.

The bag also came with a water proof transition mat and a small computer carrying case.

My only complaints about this are:

1) It is expensive but isn’t everything in this sport.

 2) The helmet carrying area sucks.  It is way too small.  I usually use the straps to carry my helmet so it is not really a big deal

3) There are no Velcro straps to carry your floor pump.  Some other bags have this feature and I think it would be very useful.

4) It is pretty heavy but it is still very comfortable to wear on your back.

Overall this is a great bag and I would highly recommend it.  Since buying the bag I have seen and checked out several of the other transition bags and was not impressed.  Thus far the Rocket Science Rocket Bag from Rocket Science Sports is far superior to the other bags I have seen.

If you decided to buy a Rocket Science Rocket bag from TRIbug (or anything else for that matter) don't forget to use my 10% discount code/coupon. Just enter HalfTRIing in the promo code area during checkout.  They also offer free shipping/handling with many purchases.  Those guys are really cool and have great customer service.  See my review of TRIBug.com here.

TRIBug Discount Promo Coupon Code * 10%: HalfTRIing

Don't just take my word for it.  Here are other reviews of the Rocket Science Rocket Bag

http://dumbfocus.wordpress.com/2008/05/18/63-rocket-science-sports-tri-bag-review/

http://www.truesport.com/rzone/articles/article.asp?recid=792

http://autobus.cyclingnews.com/tech.php?id=/tech/2008/reviews/rocket_science_sports_bag08

http://fitegg.com/2010/03/rocket-science-sports-elite-triathlon-bag-initial-review/

http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/Gear/gear.asp?pid=484

http://blog.trinationsports.com/2009/02/26/rocket-science-sports--rocket-bag.aspx