It's a fact of hockey life—you have to schlep your hockey bag to and from the rink, no question about it. Manufacturers offer a variety of styles, but what size hockey bag do you need? Hockey bags and equipment can be a catch-22: you want something big enough to make packing easy, but something not so big it's going to cause you grief. When you're looking for the best hockey bag, finding the balance between convenience and function is key.

What Size Hockey Bag for Youths?

If your child needs a hockey bag, you're faced with the following question: who will be carrying it? Hopefully, your child will be responsible for carrying their own hockey bag—they'll be proud to take care of their own business. It's an important part of the commitment to the sport. Mom and dad aren't on the team—their child is. (Mom and dad just pay for it.)

Most bags out there are available in the standard senior, intermediate, junior, or youth sizes. An adult does not necessarily use more equipment than a youth player—but the size of their gear is bigger. When buying a hockey bag for a child, you know already you're probably going to be looking at youth or junior bags. Instead of focusing strictly on size, look for the features you'd want in a senior-sized bag: interior compartments for pucks, socks, spare change; a dedicated skate pocket—a useful feature separating sharp blades from straps and cloth and whatever else you don't want cut up; and an external pocket or two for water bottles, tape and scissors, whatever.

Hockey Equipment Bag Styles

Because a child is usually small, some hockey bags may be easier for them to manage than others. A youth hockey bag on wheels might be useful for your squirt. Some wheeled hockey bags are available with standard handles for carrying, some come with backpack straps, and some backpack hockey bags come with wheels. A little research shows manufacturers are combining styles and features. Depending on the culture or your child's team, anything other than muscling a hockey duffle bag might be cause for amusement.

The backpack hockey bag or a wheeled bag may be the easiest for anyone to manage, especially a youth.

What Size Grit Hockey Bag to Buy?

Grit is a sporting equipment company known for its versatile and durable line of gear/equipment bags. Available in carry and tower styles, the Grit hockey bag would make an excellent choice for your youth skater.

The Grit Carry Bag

The Grit carry bag is available in 32-inch and 36-inch youth and senior dimensions. The Grit AirBox carry bag has a mesh exterior for excellent interior ventilation, helping your child's gear, or your own, stay aired out and dry. Bags typically come with interior dividers, and some come with cooler sleeves for drinks, an ID slot, and pouches for just about everything else.

Grit even offers an unprecedented 180-day warranty if your bag should not perform to your standards. Contact our experts at Pure Hockey for more information.

The Grit Hockey Tower

A lot of time and thought (12 years' worth) went into Grit's wheeled hockey tower design. As you might expect, the Grit tower does a lot of things and does them well. Available in 36-inch senior (HTFX), 33-inch Junior, and 30-inch youth (HYFX) sizes, the Grit hockey tower is extremely lightweight and durable. It includes a side strap for carrying and a composite frame for durability and flexibility. The tower can be compressed to fit beneath the bench or inside a locker or trunk and not lose its shape.

If you're an adult player, the senior bag will probably be the best fit for your adult-sized gear. The senior bag has the added feature of a blade port and stick strap that can hold up to two sticks. The youth bag is great for new-to-hockey kids, and the junior bag is perfect for those in the tweenage years.

A flip through online reviews suggest the Grit hockey tower is a great buy for youth players because it's easily moved (has wheels) and is plenty durable (includes a bottom anti-rip guard.)

Best Hockey Bag With Wheels

As mentioned, the Grit hockey towers have wheels. Other big hockey names, including CCM, Bauer, and Warrior, also offer wheeled bags in a variety of sizes and at varied performance levels. The difference, for example, between the Bauer 650 junior, intermediate, and senior bags is only the size. Each is made the same, with the same materials, offering the same features. The higher you go in price, the more features and durability you get.

Choosing the Best Hockey Bag: Final Considerations

The answer to what size hockey bag you need really depends on what age and/or size you are, and how frequently you play. The senior bags are bigger for a reason—they're meant to fit adult-sized equipment. It really is that simple. The more difficult question is what style of hockey bag you want. You can select from towers, backpacks, duffle-style, and carry bags. Some have shoulder straps, some have wheels. Some are easier to stow than others, some require less geometry to pack than others. The best thing you can do is research and then reflect on your needs: what size am I? How often do I play and how durable a bag do I reasonably need? And how do I want to carry the gear—on my back? Pulled behind me? Carried alongside?

As though there weren't enough decisions in life to puzzle through! This one, unlike many of the others, might just change your life. Well, your hockey life, at least. The right bag might make the least enjoyable part of being a hockey player—dragging your gear from game to game, or your child's gear—less of a burden, leaving you more time and energy to get your game face on. The only thing you should be worrying about is stuffing the puck in the net. Repeatedly.