Kaces Razor 50" Hardware Bag Review

MrLeadFoot

Silver Member
Every review I've ever seen of Kaces bags are negative, so I wanted to be sure to let you all know about this new hardware bag.

First, I contacted the company directly, and their model line setup is a bit confusing. You see, in their drum bags lines, the HD series is the top, above the Razor series. However, this particular Razor hardware bag is an exception (not sure about the other hardware bags). For example their promottional photos for this bag show what looks like rip-stop nylon, or something, which is utterly ridiculous! In reality, the material is a super heavy-duty ballistic nylon, which I have not yet seen on any other hardware bag, or even on luggage. It really is "military grade", like they say.

Their literature also mentions a plastic reinforcement bottom lining to resist puncture, but they completely neglected to mention that the entire bottom is reinforced with wood! Not only does this help distribute weight, it also prevents any hardware from coming into contact with the bottom material of the bag. And, it is NOT just a piece of wood inserted as an aferthought. There is a fully lined and zippered compartment in the interior bottom designed specifically to accommodate the wood, so you don't see it, and your hardware does not touch it. And, if you have any experience with hardware bags, you know that when you lift them everything shifts to the center and all the weight seems to collect at one spot, which eventually causes the the bottom material to eventually wear out. That is simply NOT going to happen with this bag!

Speaking of the bottom, the bag rolls easily and smoothly on 3" inline skate wheels. It has 4 protection rails that are staggered such that the length of the entire bottom is protected from rubbing and contact wear.

It has 4 handles and a shoulder strap (which I will never use - you'll understand when you see the list of stuff I put in this bag). There is one handle on each end, which makes for easy sharing of the load between two people. One end has a dedicated handle for rolling, and there's a double handle in the middle. With everything you see listed below in the bag, I was able to lift the bag myself, which surprised me, because I've always had to split my stuff over two bags. I think the reason for the ease of lifting has to do with the wood botton distributing weight, and the heavyweight structure of the material.

I examined the handles and seams and there is not going to be a problem with stitching stressing out, again no doubt due to the wood bottom distributing weight. The company told me it's rated for 250 lbs., and while I previously had my doubts, from what I've seen so far this bag I believe it, but I don't plan on ever seeing that limit! As far as I am concerned, this bag can easily handle more than I need to fit in it, and if you look at the list below, that's a LOT, but it's sure not 250 lbs! Or, is it? :)

2 - 48" Straight Bars
3 - 48" Curved Bars
2 - 30" Straight Bars
1 - 24" Straight Bar
2 - 20" Straight Bars (feet)
1 - hi-hat stand (full length with pedal folded)
1 - snare stand
1 - throne base
4 - cymbal boom arms
2 - overhead mic booms
1- vocal mic stand (no base because it's rack mounted)
...and there's room for more!

There are straps on the inside, and exterior pockets - one on one end and one down the side, and I easily fit 3 rack tom mounts in the side pocket, and cowbell and other stuff in the end pocket.

Forget about the Gibraltar rack bag with no wheels and an ABS insert, forget about Gator and every other bag that uses plastic or other flexible material for a bottom. Forget about any bag that doesn't have the military in mind in their material selection. if you want a REALLY TOUGH bag for a rack, or any other hardware for that matter, I highly recommend that you get this bag NOW, before they discontinue it or something! In fact, I'm thinking about getting another one, just in case! ;-)
 
Thanks for this. I will be needing something soon, my "Rockbag" rolling hardware case is pretty much at the end of it's life cycle.

Question, does this bag stand up on it's own? Or does it lie on the floor?
 
I assume you mean when it's empty, as in when storing it, right? The bottom is rigid, but the top is not, so if you try to have it freestand, it will topple over towards the front side. With that said, I store it standing up against wall and have the top facing the wall.
 
I'll get a pic of the empty bag tomorrow, if I have time. I'm gigging Friday night. If I'm not pressed for time, I'll try to remember to snap some shots with some hardware, but please understand that I would just shoot with the stuff in it, and not take shots showing every little thing as I load up. Also, no promises on the pics. I will promise this though: Pics or no pics, if you get this bag, you will absolutely love it!

I just heard back from Kaces (Ace Products) again, today. Head of the Development team said that even though it's listed as part of the Razor line, that bag I got is made of that special 1680D Ballistic Nylon specifcally because they know bags of that size are used for big and heavy stuff, so they make the hardware bags differently than the drum bags to accommodate the load.

Bottom line from them is that there is no better hardware bag in all of their lines. I told them they should not list it as part of the Razor line, because most people think that it's a lesser bag than it is. I also told them their marketing material needs to revamped. They seemed to be listening. We'll see if they at least get better info on their site.
 
As promised, here are pics:

This pic shows all the hardware I packed for Friday's gig. I did not need a 3-tiered rack for this gig, so only one 48" curved bar was taken. Note also that the hi-hat stand goes in just the way it is. I do NOT remove the pull-rod, and only fold the pedal up. The 3 tom mount arms on the right, and my electric snare trigger mount just to the left of them, go into a length-wise pocket on the other side of the bag. I was in gig mode, and did not have the presence of mind to position the bag so you could see that long pocket. Consider yourself lucky I even took these pics! :) My rack-mounted oscillating fan (in the blue box) is not put in the bag. It is far too precious, so it goes in its own box!

Hardware for Bag 1.jpg


Here's a better pic of the bag itself, empty. Also note in the foreground on the left you can see a close-up of 3 cymbal boom arms and a 1 straight arm. On right are two overhead mic booms and my custom rack-mounted vocal mic stand. The ONLY one of these that gets folded down is the vocal mic stand. That's right, the cymbal booms go into the bag as is! Images of my circa 1980 Anvil cases are no charge. :) You can also just make out my new Kaces HD Series Drum Bags in some of these pics, too. Nice bags, for sure, but I don't want to hijack my own thread! :)

Boom Hardware.jpg


This pic shows all of that hardware inside the bag before zipping. Note that although it looks like the bag is bulging, I can assure you it is not, I just spread it open for this pic. There is room for more! And, no, that is not the handtruck I use to cart my gear. That just happened to be in the vicinity.

Hardware Bag Filled.jpg


Here it is zipped closed. After I got everything in it, I discovered I could not lift it into my Suburban! This is one heavy bag! I wouldn't be surprised if it is close to 150 lbs. All I know is that it was heavier than the last dead body I dragged! Seriously, I think what put the weight over the edge for me was the tambourine and cowbell I put in the left end pocket at the last minute.:) No, seriously, what I did was wheel it over to the Suburban, laid the rear compartment's rug/mat so that it covered the edge of the rear bumper, leaned the bag against it and lifted/dragged it in, if you can picture that. The only reason I could do that is because of the protection rails on the bottom of the bag, and the wood bottom support in the bag. If I would've tried that with any other bag, the friction of all that weight would've worn out the bag, not to mention some, if not all, of my stands would've most likely been bent!

Hardware Bag Closed.jpg
 
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