IM Florida 2012 - really nice bag, quality construction, use for swimming bag since race. Nothing Inside
IM Florida 2013 - Crap bag, flimsy construction. Nothing Inside
IM Chattanooga 2014 - Crap bag flimsy construction. Nothing Inside

If your goal is to get a nice backpack, do yourself a favor by bypassing triathlon registration all together and heading straight to a sports equipment store. Enjoy the hundreds of dollars saving too.

No I'm just curious on how these two compete at all levels. I am pretty much set on the first long course race I'll be doing. I often hear talk about how Challenge is more athlete friendly and focused so naturally I want to see how they handle this aspect of there events vs Ironman.

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"Train so you have no regrets @ the finish line"

I've done 2 non-IM, non-Challenge branded 140.6, so I can't help you with that but I have done a couple of IM branded 70.3's. At 70.3's they give out sling bags with nothing inside. For being simple sling bags they are pretty nice and I have used them as my pool bags. I have seen the backpacks that they have given out at recent IM's (from friends) and I am not impressed. I aslo wonder if the SWAG at Challenge events is of higher quality...

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http://dontletitdefeatyou.blogspot.com

It varies between events rather than brands. I've gotten good and bad quality stuff at Ironman events of either distance. The best daysack was an Ironman branded Zoot one given out at IM70. 3 Austria in 2010.

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29 years and counting

IM Timberman 70.3: tech shirt & hat
Toughman NY 70.3: long sleve tech shirt, 1 arm backpack(ok quality)
Rev3 Quassy 70.3: t shirt
IMMT: 2 arm backpack(good quality). Finisher tech shirt & hat (if you finish)

I got an amazing back pack at IMLOU a few years ago.

Last year, it was cheap

My Challenge Roth backpack seems to be holding up after 1.5 years of abuse as my swim bag.
My Ironman Regensburg didn't last as long.

However, swag is highly dependent on the event, not the brand.

My best bag is a TYR duffel that I bought myself.

It really does seem that way doesn't it. I'm still curious to know what people have gotten. Overall is the consensus that quality has dropped over the past few years?

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"Train so you have no regrets @ the finish line"

The swag is pretty lean in Ironman events, although they came with a decent bike tool at IM Boulder last year. The bags seem to have gotten worse though. My '12 IMAZ bag is still holding up quite well, while the '14 Boulder bag is crap. I had to exchange it twice at the expo for various issues (broken zipper pulls, threading coming undone, etc), and still have issues with the one I have. Stitched logos were replaced with silk-screened imprinting, and the material feels too plastic'y for my taste.

It's a souvenir, not sure why RD's would spend a lot of money on quality?
I bet more than half the participants never use their swag bags.
I use mine til they fall apart, then I do another race and start the cycle again.
Hmm... I guess that means I better sign up for a race that gives them out this year....

I'm still using a water bottle from Roth, 2010. It's still not yucky. I throw out most bottles within a couple of months. Got me thinking about quality. German beer, cars, water bottles, schnitzel,

I always love getting SWAG, but most things are pretty flimsy.

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Ryne "TheMohawk" Hoover
Founder and CEO of The Mohawk Foundation, a 501(c)(3) charity
Raising funds for breast cancer and ALS research through endurance sports
Sponsored by: Rudy Project, INFINIT Nutrition, Brooks Running, MyBikeShop.com, TriTats, TriDot, T-Blocks, Wicked Audio, Zealios and Zone3. WE NOW SELL AIR RELAX! MESSAGE ME FOR YOUR BEST PRICE!
RyneHoover@TheMohawkFoundation.org

Challenge AC had laptop bags. I use my every day as my work computer bag. I also use my IM Tahoe 2013 bag as a gym bag. The IM backpack is definitely a bit flimsy and likely won't last much longer. The Challenge bag is pretty sturdy.

IMLP '12-nice big transition bag that's held up well, crappy cotton finisher T-shirt
IMMT '13-favorite bag by far, big transition bag with lots of pockets, Merrell tech finisher T-shirt
Both the LP and MT ones from before 2014 had small samples from sponsors in it and such

IMLP and IMMD '14-much smaller bag, with nothing in it besides a bike tool which was somewhat useful. Quality definitely went down, zipper on my IMLP broke the first time I used it. Finisher T-shirts seemed to be nicer overall though, womens specific sizes and tech material.

Well, I would see it as a very good opportunity for some good advertising that gets right at your target audience. Stick your branding on a bag/bidon/towel/t-shirt/socks/whatever then every time someone uses that item, down the gym or on a club run, you've got the possibility for people to start talking about your event (and there's nothing triathletes like more than talking about their races). If it falls apart after a few uses then those opportunities become much more limited.

Of course for WTC who sell out all of their events regardless, maybe they're just more interested in the bottom line at each race.

Here's the challenge Dubai bag

This is my take on it. I carry that Challenge AC bag around all the time and love when someone asks me about it. I get people asking me about my IMLT bag when I go to the pool all the time.

If you give out something that people want to use, it can turn into advertising. If I *hated* the race I probably wouldn't use the giveaway item, so the fact that I am out using the item indicates I enjoyed the experience and am more likely to tell people that if they ask.

Penticton Challenge (both full & half I think) gave out bags that seem OK. IM Calgary (half), the usual crap drawstring bag with promotional material in it. The best thing about IM Calgary is the belt buckle finishing medal. Sure, it isn't rodeo size BUT it is a decent size for a belt buckle and means you can actually use it.

I think that they are missing the boat here though. Giving out crap is, well, crap. I'd love a simple bag for say swimming but the bags that are given out have all sorts of pockets and extra crap that makes them pretty useless. How about a rain poncho? Can still be cheap, those are great for your SO if you don't use them. Arm warmers, leg warmers, neckerchiefs, sweat bands (use for indoor workouts), towels, tools, razor (to shave the hair off your arm before marking?), goggles, sunglasses, sunglasses holders, lights (who doesn't need a headlamp early in the AM?), small bottle if sun screen you can carry, mosquito repellant. . Sure, not everyone would like all the above but lets get some variety and they can brand it all - advertising. Plus, getting a few thousand of an item, especially when advertising of the product is involved means the price drops.

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BC Don
Pain is temporary, not giving it your all lasts all Winter.

BC Don:
These are great suggestions. The headlamp idea is genius, and those are just now available in the promo catalogs/websites.
Most of the swag that comes in race bags comes from sponsors. From my days in "the industry,"
we'd simply run out of time and energy to come up with something new that people would like, wasn't cheap garbage, and wouldn't cost a fortune for the 15K items needed to cover a whole season of races and expos.
I do recall how discouraging it was to see the swag we'd bought, and paid to have included in race bags:
1. In the trash
2. On the ground next to packet pickup
3. On the hotel housekeeping cart the AM after race day.
Thanks for the branding ideas.
KS

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Karen ST Concierge

x2. The WTC/Ironman bags are crap. IM Boulder ripped out after a couple uses. The IM Hawaii (big orange one) was even worse. While it looked great, it ripped out while using it the first time. You'd think they'd get some robust zippers and nylon in there when making them. Of course, if they did that, brands that carry the Ironman name on them (like OGIO) wouldn't sell any because you'd be getting them for free as a part of the race swag. Why buy one if they give you one right? Can't say about the Challenge races...so few that I'd even be able to get to--plus WTC races are a dime a dozen. Okay...several thousands dimes...

There is a lot of merit in what you're saying here. I would bet it's more crucial for the Challenge Family to do this as they are the "unknown" brand. I would bet if you walked around with a Challenge Family backpack on nobody would say a word to you where as they would if it said IRONMAN. I think some big branded items that other athletes whether they be runners, cyclists, gym rats, etc can say "What's this Challenge Family all about" to get a word of mouth dialog going. Building the brand presence should be as important as expanding the number of events.

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"Train so you have no regrets @ the finish line"

I did Challenge Rancho Cordova and the bag was okay - actual backpack, cheap construction but with a computer sleeve (that will only fit small computers, but that's fine). I haven't used it very much, but I'm guessing I'd probably get six months of use out of it before disintegration.

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http://aclockworkmango.com

They gave us the Xterra wetsuit dry bag (http://www.xterrawetsuits.com/...-accessories/dry-bag) for HITS Palm Springs last year. Best swag I've received so far, and actually use regularly.