The best (and most underrated) feature of the Upper Park Shift

Disc golf companies send me bags all the time.

Writing every day is tough.

This is a welcomed perk.

And still, for as many bags as I’ve test-driven over the years, the Upper Park Shift remains my personal favorite. Which, considering I purchased my first one with my own money, is kind of lame. As a creature of habit, it’s earned a tenured, disc-totting post within my disc golf arsenal.

Click here for a (lengthy) review of it.

If you hate reading, here are the highlights:

• It’s lightweight.
• It carries enough discs.
• It fans out the discs it carries.

That last one is BIG for me …

That way, I know if I’ve left a man behind.

But here’s a feature of the Upper Park Shift that’s almost never mentioned. It’s included in the above review, but only in passing. If you’re not paying attention, you won’t even notice …

The water bottle holder.

Yeah, it holds 40 ounces (gasp) of liquid.

It’s insulated and sturdy and blah, blah, blah …

But the best part?

It’s centrally located.

I get that this is mind-numbingly stupid, but I can’t think of another bag that does this. And there should be, because it’s great on the back. Ninety-nine percent of D.G. backpacks have two water bottle holders – one on each side. The problem with this is that disc golfers rarely carry two water bottles for 18 holes. It’s a lop-sided approach to playing the part of a packing mule …

Your spine suffers for it.

Also, the popular knock on the Shift is that it regularly tips over. If you’re hucking plastic along the face of Alpe d’Huez, yes – it’s going to tip over. But so will a cinder block on that kind of incline. Don’t let the naysayers fool you on this one: This thing’s sturdy. And it’s thanks in large part to the ingenious, center-aligned water bottle carrier that acts as a third pivot point.

If you’re looking for a reason to nab a Shift, the water bottle holder might be it.

Weird, but true.

I call ‘em like I see ‘em.

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Editor’s Suggestions:

• Disc golf: How to know if you’ve got a ‘dirty flick’
• Gripe No. 44: Misplaced mini markers in disc golf
• Disc golf: Bad form? Build your bag around this one thing

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