by
Olivier Poirier-Leroy
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.
Here are a couple of quick things you should look for when choosing a mesh swim bag:
Most of the major swim gear companies make them, so here’s our little roundup of the best mesh bags for swimmers.
The top mesh bags for storing swim gear include:
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!
⭐ 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:
⭐ 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 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.
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:
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
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:
| Bag | Dimensions |
| TYR Alliance Mesh Bag | 28” x 27” |
| Arena Team Mesh Bag | 25” x 21” |
| Speedo Ventilator | 19” x 28” |
| Sporti Mesh Bag | 18” x 29” |
| FINIS Mesh Gear Bag | 27” x 20” |
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.
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.
Olivier Poirier-Leroy Olivier Poirier-Leroy is the founder of YourSwimLog.com. He is an author, former national level swimmer, two-time Olympic Trials qualifier, and swim coach.
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