50 Words or Less
The Sun Mountain Eclipse E-4.5 is a great stand bag for the golfer who primarily pushes or rides. Ample, organized storage. VLO design improves performance on carts of all kinds.
Introduction
The Sun Mountain Eclipse family was built to celebrate the company’s history as the originator of the stand bag. Across the four models – 1.5, 2.5, 3.5, and 4.5 VLO – Sun Mountain has made a bag for every stand bag user from the dedicated walker to the player who predominantly pushes or rides. In this review, I’ll take a close look at the Sun Mountain Eclipse E-4.5 to find out if this is among the best bags for golfers who want the best of all worlds.
Looks
As with the other bags in the Eclipse family, the Sun Mountain Eclipse E-4.5 shows the company’s design evolution. Sun Mountain used to cover their bags in branding. Now, there are just a couple small mountain silhouettes on the sides and a modestly sized “Sun Mountain” on the bag’s back.
The other thing I like about the Eclipse E-4.5 is the lack of writing. Some bags feel the need to label every feature and pocket. While that’s not a deal breaker for me, I do prefer the more understated approach that Sun Mountain has taken with their Eclipse bags.
The Sun Mountain Eclipse E-4.5 VLO is available in five colorways at the time of this writing (a sixth is sold out) – Black/Olive/Inferno (seen here), Navy/Falcon Blue, Black, Grey/White/Black, and Nickel/Black/Red. The description of Black/Olive/Inferno is a bit strange because three sides are predominantly navy, a color that isn’t mentioned. It’s a cool, unique colorway, but have a careful look at the pictures before you order it.
Features
As the biggest bag in the family, the Sun Mountain Eclipse E-4.5 is also the most feature-rich. Starting on the left side, there’s a medium-sized zippered pocket that houses the bag’s rain hood. Whether you keep the rain hood there or not, this pocket is perfectly sized for a GPS unit, snacks, or sunscreen. There is also a water bottle pouch that’s bigger than your average plastic bottle but not sized for massive Yetis/Stanleys/etc.
The back of the bag has a ball pocket capable of holding more than three dozen balls. Above that is a velour-lined rangefinder pouch with a magnetic closure. This is easily one of the strongest magnetic closures I’ve ever seen on a golf bag, so you don’t need to worry about your laser falling out. Higher up, next to the spine handle, there’s a slot for a pen or pencil.
Finally, on the right side of the bag, there are four separate zippered pockets alongside a Velcro glove holder and two accessory loops. The velour-lined valuables pocket is one of the biggest I’ve seen. That sits on top of two medium-sized pockets where you can keep tees and ball markers well-organized. There’s also a full-length apparel pocket that has internal organization. While the 24.6 L of capacity is impressive on its own, it’s the level of organization that makes it really useful.
Performance
What is VLO and why is it so important that it’s in the bag’s name? VLO is the design technology that Sun Mountain has developed to make their “hybrid” bags (golf bags meant for carrying, riding, and pushing) perform better on carts. It includes the aggressively textured collar (above) that keeps the bag in place on push carts, a lowered, re-balanced leg mechanism, and internal structures to handle the unique stresses of cart use.
When you put the Sun Mountain Eclipse E-4.5 on your push cart, will the two come to life and start singing “Endless Love” to each other? No. But do these features improve the experience? Yes. I’d wager that everyone who has ever pushed their bag has watched it twist around. VLO reduces or eliminates that. It’s the kind of smart, iterative improvement that I appreciate from an industry leader like Sun Mountain.
Sticking with the cart uses, the Eclipse E-4.5 has a smart array of handles for moving the bag. The molded plastic handle is part of the top/VLO system, and it feels very sturdy. I had no qualms about moving the bag by this handle alone, even when fully loaded. There’s also a traditional spine handle as well as a loop on the bottom.
Now let’s turn to that marvelous top. The Sun Mountain Eclipse E-4.5 features a 14-way top with full length dividers. Even as an avowed minimalist, half set, Sunday bag guy, I can’t deny the joy of a well-executed 14-way top. Every club slides in and out effortlessly. You know instantly if you left your wedge by the green. If you’re going to ride or push most of the time, I can’t see why you’d want anything else.
Which brings us to the question, “Is the Sun Mountain Eclipse E-4.5 really a hybrid, or is it just a cart bag?” My opinion is that it’s a hybrid that tilts toward the ride/push end of the spectrum. At 5.8 pounds with all this storage capacity, it’s too heavy for the player who walks every round. That said, the backpack strap system is excellent, (it’s the same one used on the other Eclipse models) and the legs are perfect. They’re triggered by a hinged based (no weak footplates here), they snap in and out with purpose, and they hold the bag at an ideal angle.
Having reviewed three of the four Sun Mountain Eclipse bags (and having read Meeker’s review of the fourth), I’ll close with model recommendations. The E-4.5 VLO is the bag for the player who rides or pushes the majority of the time. The VLO features and added capacity are very well done, but there’s too much added weight for the regular walker. If you’re a true “do everything” player, I’d go with the Eclipse E-3.5 [review HERE]. It’s a pound lighter than the 4.5 with a bit less storage. Dedicated walkers have two great choices in the Eclipse E-1.5 [review HERE] and the E-2.5 [review HERE]. The E-1.5 is the lightest, but the E-2.5 has slightly more storage capacity.
Conclusion
The Sun Mountain Eclipse E-4.5 rounds out the Eclipse family perfectly by offering a stand bag to the golfers who primarily push or ride. VLO technology, alongside a perfectly executed 14-way top, make this bag a pleasure to use on the course.
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He founded Plugged In Golf in 2013 with the goal of helping all golfers play better and enjoy the game more.
Matt lives in the northwest suburbs of Chicago with his wife and two daughters.
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