Wednesday, March 5, 2014

Gaiam Everything Fits Gym Bag Review

Happy Day After National Pancake Day! I almost missed it, but luckily breakfast time in India on March 5 was still March 4 back in the US, so I celebrated by eating dosas, which are totally like an Indian pancake.



Besides being the day after National Pancake Day, today's also Wednesday which means it's time for another Workout Wednesday Linkup. I'm joining in today with a (hopefully) helpful review of one of my most complemented pieces of fitness gear: the Gaiam Everything Fits Gym Bag.


Right before I moved to Santa Barbara, I bought a LivingSocial deal for $30 for $60 at Gaiam.com. My plan was to use it to pick up some equipment for at-home workouts like a stability ball, resistance bands, and maybe a yoga DVD, but the Everything Fits Gym Bag caught my eye and I couldn't resist.

While I didn't technically need a gym bag, my current options were definitely less than ideal. I'd never really thought about buying a specific gym bag and always used whatever old duffle I had from volleyball or one of those free drawstring back packs. My volleyball bags were bigger than I needed for everything except day-long tournaments, while the drawstring bags were a little small and lacked organization. 

The Everything Fits bag looked small enough to be stylish, but was supposed to hold a lot for its size. Plus, it was also supposed to double as a great weekender/carry-on bag. Purchase totally justified.



When the bag arrived in the mail, I was really pleased with how it looked but was worried it would be too small to be useful. However, I was pleasantly surprised to find the bag super well organized with lots of useful pockets and compartments. It even has adjustable straps on the bottom to hold your yoga mat.


My favorite feature is definitely the separate vented shoe compartment. Placing the shoe compartment on the bottom minimizes the space it takes up while still keeping smelly shoes or other wet items to from infecting your whole bag. As a result it really can hold a LOT without looking over-stuffed. Here's what was in the bag for all the above photos. I definitely could have still thrown in another t-shirt, some toiletries, and a magazine or two. 


Pros

Style: I love the way the bag looks and have gotten a lot of compliments while carrying it.
Utility: It's really well organized, the perfect size for all my fitness classes, and I'd also definitely use it as a carry-on.
Quality: The bag feels really well made, the straps are comfortable and the recycled polyester material is sturdy but doesn't feel cheap. 

Cons

Price: $60 is definitely more than I'd spend on a gym bag and I probably wouldn't have bought it without the LivingSocial deal. However, Gaiam offers 15% off  and free shipping for signing up for their emails which puts it almost in my normal price range. And I'm really cheap.
Color Choice: This may be a temporary situation as I've seen other colors online, but right now the bag is only available in black or extremely bright purple. Since I wanted it to be more versatile, I bought the black version, but I wish there was a less boring and not loud color option.

Bottom Line

I love this bag! I've gotten tons of use and lots of compliments out of it after owning it for just over a month. If you're in the market for a new gym bag, I highly recommend it!

Q: What are your must-haves in a gym bag? Do you have a favorite bag?

Disclosure: I purchased this bag with my own hard-earned cash. I'm not affiliated with Gaiam in any way, none of the links are affiliate links, and I wasn't compensated for this post. Too bad, since I could definitely use the extra cash to support the insane amount of scarves I've been buying in India. I think I have a scarf problem.

18 comments:

  1. Looks good. I've got a similar model (made from Apera) that fits everything. It's a nice asset to have for a frequent gym goer...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Definitely! I never knew how much of a difference having a nice gym bag could make but I'm a big fan now!

      Delete
  2. Very cool. Thanks for the review I've been needing something to carry my stuff to work in and this is now in the running. : )

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yay glad it was helpful! Let me know what you think if you end up buying one :)

      Delete
  3. Thanks for the review. I definitely need a bag to carry workout stuff in. I usually wind up losing something cause I put all my stuff into a tote that doesn't have a zipper. But I am also cheap and can't bring myself to by something else :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Lol I know what you mean. I have a lot of trouble pulling the trigger on more expensive purchases, but I can definitely say this has been worth it so far!

      Delete
  4. I can't believe I missed another food holiday! The dosas you had look amazing! And it's a super cute bag, thank you so much for sharing! I'm glad you found something that works. Quick question, does it fit inside a small locker? We have small cubbies at CrossFit, so if it fits in a small locker it might fit at my gym. Thanks!
    ~Bre

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm never know what food holiday it is until I see everyone else's post on social media lol. I need a calendar or something! I'm not sure how small your lockers at CrossFit are, but I was able to stuff it into a fairly small cubbie at the barre class I took. I think as long as the length or height of the locker is bigger than the length of the bag (18 inches) you could probably fit it in.

      Delete
  5. Ahhh haha just laughed out loud at the disclaimer! I wouldn't have thought to get a gym bag but I actually really like that!

    ReplyDelete
  6. I like that your bag has a separate shoe compartment. My must have is a small bag I use for my shoes when I change from work to sneakers. PS- your disclaimer was great! PPS- do a posting on the scarves haha

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yea I definitely need to keep my shoes separate. They get super stinky! Glad you liked the disclaimer. I'm giving a lot of the scarves as presents so I don't want to spoil the surprise but maybe after :)

      Delete
  7. I have a go to GYM BAG which is by Nike! I honestly inherited it from my husband and throw EVERYTHING in it! I would love a sexier bag but ummm, haven't been able to make that happen yet. This bag is cute though. Thank you as always for being such a force on WOW Link Up every week!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Haha yea sexy wasn't on my bag must have list but is definitely nice to have. Thanks for hosting!

      Delete
  8. I purchased a gym bag from REI and I swear by it - everything about it is super efficient and perfect for carrying your gym things around. The current version is called the REI Vitality Gym bag.The best things about it are straps for a yoga mat, tons of compartments, and a separate area for shoes or dirty clothes. It's also very petite, while still being spacious. I also have a the classic "half moon" bag from Lululemon and it's just okay - just to compare it to something. It's $70 though so you'll still pay for it! But thanks for the review on this bag. I love Gaim products in general so I'm sure this is a solid bag.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for the info! Good to know about the REI bag and the eh feedback on the Lululemon bag!

      Delete
  9. It looks really stunning! For every athlete staying fit and active is quite essential and in most of the occasion, they used to take the help of gym and gym accessories. This gym bag consists of several kinds of accessories that we need in a gym and in my point of view, we must have gym bags so that we can easily carry things to the gym.
    Gym Accessories

    ReplyDelete
  10. Leading a life of distress? Well, to experience the best of creations right at the privacy of your own homes, visit Testo Max (Sustanon 250) review check out from TestosteroneOfficial.com.

    ReplyDelete