5 Best Mesh Bags for Your Swim Gear

Go to any local swim practice or meet, and the first thing you will likely notice is the mass of brightly colored mesh bags littering the end of each lane.

As the amount of gear that swimmers use in training has exploded—up significantly from the basic pull buoy and kick board of yesteryear—swimmers have grown to need mesh bags to transport and hold their swimming gear.

With your different types of swim paddles, fins, swimmer’s snorkel, spare swimming goggles, and more, the mesh bag is basically your own personal equipment locker.

The big perk of a mesh bag is that it keeps your swim equipment together. This makes your swim gear a lot easier to carry around and also keeps your stuff from getting mixed in (and potentially lost or taken) with that of your teammates or other swimmers.

Choosing the Perfect Mesh Bag for Swimmers

Here are a couple of quick things you should look for when choosing a mesh swim bag:

• Drawstring. If you put your mesh bag in your main swim bag (whether duffel or backpack), or you store it at the pool in your team’s equipment bin, make sure the mesh bag has a draw-string at the top of the bag that closes. The long drawstring doubles down as your shoulder strap so that you can carry the bag around the pool deck.
• Side pocket for small items. As someone who wears ear plugs (Mack’s silicone for life!) I usually end up having to root around the bottom of my mesh bag looking for the small plastic case the earplugs are stored in. The same for goggles and even a swimmer’s nose clip—with the items being so small they fall into the depths of your fins, paddles, DragSox, and so on. Pockets keep those smaller items easily accessible.
• Name tag. The whole point of your mesh bag is to keep everything together so you don’t lose anything. Being able to mark down your name/club on your bag helps keep the chlorinated mitts of other swimmers off your fins and paddles.
• Construction. Mesh bags should be made with nylon or polyester, which don’t absorb water and are very durable. Nylon and polyester are highly long-lasting and are typically used in training swimsuits as these synthetic fibers resist corrosion from chlorine and UV rays.

Most of the major swim gear companies make them, so here’s our little roundup of the best mesh bags for swimmers.

The Best Mesh Bags for Swimmers

The top mesh bags for storing swim gear include:

• Speedo Ventilator Mesh Bag: Best overall mesh bag
• Sporti Mesh Bag: Best budget-friendly mesh bag
• TYR Alliance Mesh Swim Bag: Best large mesh swim bag
• FINIS Mesh Bag
• Arena Team Mesh Bag

Next, we’ll look at each mesh bag, detail key highlights and help you get a crystal-clear idea of which one is best for you and your mountain of swim equipment!

1. Speedo Ventilator Mesh Bag

⭐ Best overall mesh bag for swimmers

Of course Speedo would make a mesh bag—they are probably the world’s most recognizable brand for swimming apparel and equipment. Whether it’s Speedo goggles, their line of high-end tech suits, or their Speedo Teamster swim bag (which I presently also use), they make stuff for all levels of chlorinated athletes.

The Speedo Ventilator Mesh Bag is a simple water-proof design, with a small side pocket (which is great for storing goggles, nose clips, ear plugs, etc), and they are available in a wide variety of colors—a dozen at last count. (Click through to see the full-color selection at Amazon.)

The Speedo Ventilator has a volume of 33L (to get an idea of how much that is the large Speedo Teamster Backpack is 35L), which should be more than enough space for all your swim toys.

Key features:

• 33L of storage for your swim gear
• Available in six different colors
• YKK zippers for durability and extended lifespan
• Side pocket for storing smaller items like googles and earplugs

Speedo Ventilator Mesh Equipment Bag

$13.12

Shop Now @ Amazon Shop Now @ SwimOutlet

08/30/2024 08:05 pm GMT

2. Sporti Mesh Bag

⭐ Best budget-friendly mesh bag

In terms of bang for your buck, the Sporti Mesh Swim Equipment Bag is your best best. While the cheapest bag on this little list, it comes with the size and volume you’d expect from a mesh bag. I am able to put two of my size 14 swim fins in the bag with room to spare.

The bag comes with a big label at the bottom corner so that you can scrawl “No touchie touchie!” along with your name and team name. It’s made of 100% polyester, and the only drawback of this bag is that there is no smaller pocket where I can stash my easily losable items.

The Sporti Mesh Bag is available in seven different colors, from black to pink.

Key features:

• Best priced mesh bag for swimmers
• Lots of solid color options
• Name tag to identify your bag at the end of the lane
• Made with breathable mesh to let swim gear “breathe” after practice is done

Sporti Mesh Swim Bag

4.8

$11.00

Shop Now @ SwimOutlet Shop Now @ Amazon

3. TYR Alliance Mesh Equipment Bag

⭐ Best mesh bag for swimmers with lots of gear

While the TYR mesh bag doesn’t have the small pocket, there are some other features of this bag that are legit.

The bottom and top collars of the bag are thick and reinforced. Mesh bags take a beating, not only from the dropping, throwing, and storing in wet, dark places, but also from being subjected to all the chemicals are local swimming pools have to offer. The thicker collars on the bag are appreciated in this instance.

A diagonal shoulder strap (much thicker than the drawstring other mesh bags use for their “shoulder strap”) makes it easy to carry. It’s also the biggest bag on this list.

The bag is also friggin huge, easily the biggest on our little list. It comes in at 75L. To give you an idea of how big it is, the model wearing the bag below is American Olympian Matt Grevers…who is 6’7”.

The TYR Mesh Bag color combos give you some options, as well. There’s the default flat black, but you also got some black/yellow, pink/purple/white, and blue/yellow beyond the flat colors.

TYR Alliance Mesh Swim Bag

$14.95

Shop Now @ Amazon Shop Now @ SwimOutlet

08/30/2024 08:26 pm GMT

4. FINIS Mesh Gear Bag

Longtime readers of this website will know that I am a pretty hardcore fanboy for FINIS swim gear. You got their Tempo Trainer PRO, the swimmer’s snorkel, and the FINIS Duo underwater mp3 player, which I ranked as my favorite underwater music player for swimming.

Mesh bags aren’t nearly as techy as any of those items, and FINIS actually goes away from their trademark yellow with this product (or is it gold?). The bags come in peach, a baby blueish color, or the standard black.

The standout features of the FINIS Mesh Gear Bag are a small zipped-up compartment at the top of the bag (I likey), volume that is right up there with the other bags on this list (giddyup), and a name tag at the bottom of the bag to identify your stuff.

Made of durable nylon and safe to machine wash.

Key features:

• Made with with nylon mesh to promote ventilation and quick drying
• Waterproof name tag (so you don’t lose it)
• Available in three different colors
• Side pocket for easy access to smaller swim gear

FINIS Mesh Swim Gear Bag

$15.00

Shop Now @ Amazon

08/30/2024 08:20 pm GMT

5. Arena Team Mesh Swim Bag

Another big player in the competitive swim gear world is Arena. They make a ton of stuff that I like and use, including the Cobra Ultra goggles, Powerskin ST 2.0 racing suit, and much more.

Their mesh bag offering is a little different than the others on this list as it is designed basically as a backpack. It’s got dual drawstrings that you can loop around your shoulders and carry your stuff around on your backside and comes in a TON of different colors and color combinations.

The Arena Team Mesh Bag also has an easy-carry handle at the top of the bag for swimmers who prefer to handle their gear that way. The main downside with this mesh bag is that there is no small storage pocket for separating smaller items like goggles, caps, and so on.

Key features

• Lots of bright colorways to choose from
• Drawstring and easy carry handle
• Made with quick-drying polyester
• No side or small pocket for smaller items, however.

ARENA Swim Gear Mesh Drawstring Bag

$20.00

Shop Now @ Amazon Shop Now @ SwimOutlet

08/30/2024 08:25 pm GMT

What’s the largest mesh swim bag?

Mesh bags vary by volume and size. The largest mesh bags for swimmers is the TYR Alliance Mesh Bag, which has a whopping 75L of volume. Compare that to the Speedo Ventilator, which as 33L of volume.

Here is an overview of the mesh bags reviewed above by size:

Where can you order custom mesh swim bags?

Custom mesh swim bags are an excellent option for groups and teams looking to rep team colors and logos. DJ Sports is the most popular reseller of customized mesh bags for swim teams. They are based out of Texas and offer 18” x 30” mesh bags with team logos for only $10 per unit. Learn more here.

More Swim Gear Guides

The 9 Best Kickboads for Swimmers. Itching to get your kick on? Here’s a full breakdown of the best kickboards for swimming, including how to choose the perfect kickboard for you.