Golf clubs make noise. That’s just part of golf, right?
Maybe not.
I’ve been using the ASK ECHO Soundless 2.0 Cart Bag for the past few months, and its big claim to fame is right there in the name: Soundless. The bag is designed to keep your clubs from banging into each other while you’re driving around the course.
And yes, it works.
So, Is It Really Soundless?
This is easily the biggest selling point of the bag for me.
I have expensive irons. The last thing I want is those irons banging into each other every time the cart hits a bump. Besides the potential dings and chatter marks, listening to clank-clank-clank for four hours isn’t exactly my favorite soundtrack.
The Soundless 2.0 uses what ASK ECHO calls its Grip-Lock system. There are individual slots for the clubs at the top of the bag, but the important part happens farther down. Push the club all the way into the bag and the system grips it at the bottom.
You can actually feel when the club is properly seated.
It takes slightly more effort than simply dropping a club into a traditional bag—you need to make sure you’ve pushed it down far enough—but it’s not difficult or cumbersome. Once it’s seated, the club stays put.
It works remarkably well.
The irons stay in place and don’t bonk into each other. That’s a much more convincing demonstration than anything I could write about it.
The system works just as well carrying the bag around as it does riding in a cart. Instead of your clubs swinging around and banging into each other as you move the bag, they stay where they’re supposed to.
It’s quieter, and my irons aren’t beating each other up.
Mission accomplished.
Plenty of Room for the Clubs
The Soundless 2.0 has a 15-way top, and I haven’t had any problems with club spacing.
There’s also a separate putter well that keeps the putter away from the other clubs and helps protect it from dings. Even with an oversized putter grip, I haven’t had any fit issues.
The important thing here is that the club-locking system doesn’t make the bag a pain to use. Pulling clubs out is easy, putting them back is easy, and after using the bag for a while, pushing the clubs down until they’re seated becomes second nature.
Lots of Storage
This is a full-size cart bag, and there’s a ton of storage on both sides.
The included rain cover deserves a mention. It’s pretty bulky, but that’s because it’s substantial and actually feels like a quality rain cover rather than something included as an afterthought. More importantly, there’s enough storage that it easily disappears into one of the side pockets when you’re not using it.
There’s an insulated cooler pocket as well. I’ve put a couple of Gatorades in there without a problem.
Interestingly, I find myself using the two exterior drink holders on the sides of the ball pocket more often. It gets plenty hot around here during summer golf, and being able to grab a drink immediately without opening anything is convenient.
There are also magnetic-access pockets, including one that’s handy for a rangefinder. I’m a fan. Flip it open, grab what you need and close it. No messing around with a zipper every time you need your rangefinder or something else during a round.
I did find one minor annoyance. Depending on where they’re sitting, the zipper pulls from the pocket above can occasionally get in the way of the magnetic pocket below it. It’s not a major problem, but it’s one little design detail I’d change.
A Cart Strap Done Right
One of my favorite features actually has nothing to do with making the bag quiet.
It’s the cart-strap system.
Anyone who uses a cart bag regularly knows what usually happens. You put the bag on the cart, cinch down the strap, and the strap runs directly across the pockets. Now your tee pocket is partially crushed, a zipper is harder to reach, or you’re fighting the cart strap every time you want something out of the bag.
ASK ECHO routes the cart strap underneath some of the exterior pockets.
It’s such a simple idea that you wonder why every cart bag isn’t designed this way.
The bag stays secured to the cart, but the strap isn’t smashing your pockets against it. Your tee pocket remains usable, the zippers remain accessible, and the magnetic pockets can still do what they’re supposed to do.
After actually using the bag on a golf cart, this has become one of my favorite features.
I haven’t experienced any issues with the bag fitting or sitting properly on a cart, either.
Build Quality and Looks
Build quality is very good.
The bag feels substantial without feeling ridiculously heavy. ASK ECHO lists the Soundless 2.0 at a little over eight pounds, but frankly, I don’t care. It’s a cart bag. I’m not carrying it for 18 holes, and in normal use its weight has never been something I’ve thought about.
My bag has a tan, white and black color combination that looks great. It’s also different. I’ve seen countless golf bags over the years, and I can’t remember seeing another one with quite this color scheme.
It stands out without being obnoxious about it.
The Verdict
The ASK ECHO Soundless 2.0 isn’t just a cart bag with a gimmick attached to it.
The soundless system legitimately works.
My clubs stay separated, my irons aren’t banging into each other, and the bag is noticeably quieter both on the golf cart and while I’m moving it around. If you’ve spent a lot of money on a set of irons and would rather not have them constantly knocking against each other, that’s a pretty compelling feature.
But ASK ECHO also got most of the regular cart-bag stuff right. There’s plenty of storage, the putter well handles an oversized grip, the magnetic pockets are useful, the drink storage is good, build quality is very good, and that under-pocket cart-strap routing is one of those clever features you don’t fully appreciate until you’ve used it.
The Soundless 2.0 isn’t inexpensive, but considering the construction, features and club-protection system, I think it’s priced appropriately.
Probably the best endorsement I can give it is also the simplest:
It’s already replaced my previous cart bag.
