Yuck... Out of focus. Sorry about that. Anyway... In that first picture you will remember the zippers. This is the same inside of the bag. At first, when I saw those zippers I only saw the top one and assumed that was the shoe compartment. I was a little upset and thought that was a very odd way of doing things until I realized there are zippers on BOTH sides of the cover. I'm quite happy with that and think it's a nice touch! In this picture I have unzipped both so you can see clearly through the shoe compartment. The bottom storage unit does this as well.
To clarify: you can reach your shoe compartment and main storage compartment either with the top open or closed. There are zippers on both sides for added convenience. I would have been happy if the zippers were only on the outside, I would have been annoyed if the zippers were only on the inside, but Im pleasantly surprised and pleased to find you have an option of opening those compartments either way!
Here is a picture of my shoes in the shoe compartment. I wear a men's size 11, and the shoes fit quite comfortably. While they look tight in this picture, the sides of the compartment offer some flexibility, and I think fitting a larger pair in there wouldn't be a problem.
The shoe compartment also has two ventilation pieces sewn into the side (which can be seen clearly in the 3rd post that has the bag standing straight to show you the angle). I do not feel like two are sufficient. I would have preferred more ventilation. On one hand, less ventilation keeps the smell on the inside, but it also doesnt give as much air to dry the shoes quickly. Two more on the other side could have been a good thing. Perhaps 6? I dunno... Im sure its by design, and maybe Im the only one whose feet tend to sweat in 100+ degree Texas weather.
On one of our threads, I remember someone asked a question about a bag that can fit TWO pairs of shoes. I don't think this one could, in the shoe compartment, BUT if the second pair of shoes are small enough, I do think the bottom compartment could be an option if you work it right.
Here is a picture of my bowling balls in the bag (and The Fonz, who is quite interested in my new toy). Not much to see... I have always used my towels to wrap up my bowling balls and provide a little extra protection to them during transit (and a tighter fit to prevent movement). This was no problem at all. They are in there snug, and I don't feel like they would be in any real danger during reasonable transport.
Here is a picture of the wheels. They are a soft, clear, rubber and roll very smoothly. The bearings spin freely, and the base is at least a few inches wider than my 2 ball roller I used to have. I am VERY happy with this, and the soft rubber wheels were one of the strongest selling points when I decided to purchase this bag. My old 2 ball Ebonite Grand Tour had larger (oversized) wheels and that made a difference, BUT they were still that hard plastic and made for a difficult roll at times. These wheels are slightly larger than those on my 2 ball Ebonite bag, and I anticipate the material used will make a substantial difference over the hard plastic wheels I hate.
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