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McGillivray Piping Inc. carries pipe bags and moisture control systems (MCS) made by the two most proven and accomplished synthetic bag makers on the planet:  Ross Bagpipe Bags Propriety, Ltd. from Bentleigh Australia, and Bannytyne Ltd. from West Lothian, Scotland.

I have personally played a synthetic pipe bag for nearly 25 years, as do many leading pipers. A school of thought exists widely that natural and leather bags can give your pipes a more vibrant tone. If this is indeed true, the difference is so minor that it applies to only the uppermost levels of piping. For 99% of the pipers in the world, the convenience and longevity of synthetic bags over the maintenance demands of natural bags far outweigh any minor tonal advantages. With this principle in mind, and with all due respect, I leave natural bags for the purists to source elsewhere.

Moisture control is absolutely crucial if you are to keep your pipes in tune. Moist air being blown into the bag will condense on the reeds, or it will condense inside the drone bores, bead up, and run down into the reeds. Either way, your pipes go out of tune, drone reeds shut off, and chanter reeds go flat and lose their longevity. For some, a simple watertrap will do. For wetter blowers, a desiccant-based moisture control system (MCS) is crucial. Both are described in this section.

A brilliant piping innovator, Geoff Ross of Melbourne, Australia developed the first synthetic pipe bag in the 1980s, though it didn’t see wide usage until the 1990s when the Victoria Police Pipe Band won the World Pipe Band Championship in 1998 playing the Ross Canister Bag exclusively.

The bag consists of a suede synthetic outer material and an airtight but breathable inner lining. The stocks fit into plastic grommets. The bag has a heavy duty, airtight zip on the side, positioned not to interfere with the arm.

McGillivray Piping carries Ross Canister Bags in five sizes. The height recommendations shown directly below (along with recommended blowpipe lengths) are mine, developed after many years of experience with the Ross bag. These recommendations are not set in stone, and can depend on whether your build is heavy or slight.  Bag sizes in inches, below, refer to the diameter of the bag from tip to bottom when deflated, and the length.

Livingstone small (9” x 27.5”) — the smallest Ross bag, slightly smaller than the Extended Small (below), with the drone grommets moved 1” forward
— for pipers 5’ 3” or shorter; recommended blowpipe 8 inches or less (from mouthpiece tip to top of hemp).

Extended Small Special (10” x 27.5”) — same size as the Extended Small (below), but with the drone grommets moved slightly forward
— for pipers 5’ 4” to 5’ 7”; recommended blowpipe 8-9 inches (from mouthpiece tip to top of hemp).

Extended Small (10” x 27.5”)— same size as the Extended Small Special, with the drone grommets in their traditional position
— for pipers 5’ 7” to 5’ 10”; recommended blowpipe 9-10 inches (from mouthpiece tip to top of hemp).

Medium (10.5” x 28”)
— for pipers 5’ 9” to 6’ 2”; recommended blowpipe 10-11 inches (from mouthpiece tip to top of hemp).

Large (11” x 28.5”) — very few pipers will play a bag this size
— for pipers 6’ 3” and taller; recommended blowpipe 11-12 inches (from mouthpiece tip to top of hemp).

Each Ross bag is guaranteed for three years against breakdown of the material, grommets or zip, provided the damage is not due to mistreatment. Installation of the bag is quick and easy, and the instructions are excellent.

CAD $215 without canister system.  Note that bags and canister system are sold separately.

See the shopping cart below to purchase Ross Suede Zip Bags.

The basic premise of the Ross Canister System has not changed since it was invented, though the components have evolved to be more efficient and user-friendly.

The central component is a small, chambered canister that sits inside the bag. It is filled with a desiccant material that absorbs breath moisture. Four tubes extend from the canister to the drone and chanter stocks. The air entering the bag must exit through the canister, after which the moisture content is substantially reduced before the air proceeds through the tubes and out through the drones and chanter.  You can adjust the amount of desiccant in each chamber.  Some people substantially reduce the amount of desiccant in the chanter chamber to allow the chanter reed to absorb a bit more moisture.  Some pipers don’t use the chanter hose at all.

Periodically you remove the canister and dry the granules (commonly called “rocks”) in a microwave. Installation of the bag and canister is very well documented in the instructions.

CAD $120.  You can purchase the canister system and replacement components from the shopping cart below.

Craig Bannatyne in West Lothian, Scotland, has also been one of the great innovators in synthetic pipe bags and bagpipe moisture control.  

The concept of the Bannatyne “Hybrid” bag is the same: a hide external bag is covered on the inside with a breathable but airtight lining. The stocks snap into plastic grommets. Each bag has a heavy, airtight and durable zipper. 

Perhaps the chief difference between Ross and Bannatyne bags is that the Bannatyne external is thicker and heavier than the Ross, giving perhaps a more solid feel under the arm. Each Bannatyne bag comes with a tube/bottle watertrap that can be hemped and fit into the bottom of the blowstick stock.

McGillivray Piping carries Bannatyne bags in five sizes. The height recommendations (with recommended blowpipe lengths) are mine, developed after many years of experience with the Bannatyne bags. These recommendations are not set in stone, and can depend on whether your build is heavy or slight.  Bag sizes in inches below refer to the diameter of the bag from tip to bottom when deflated, and the length.

Small (9” x 24”) — slightly smaller than the extended small shown below
— for pipers 5’ 5” or shorter, recommended blowpipe 8 inches or less (from mouthpiece tip to top of hemp).

Extended Small (9.6” x 26.5”) — slightly longer and deeper than the small
— for pipers 5’ 5” to 5’ 8”,  recommended blowpipe 8-9 inches (from mouthpiece tip to top of hemp).

Willie McCallum Custom (10” x 27.5”) — slightly deeper than the small, but the arch in front of the drones is cut away a bit to allow less bag contact with the forearm
— for pipers 5’ 7” to 6’, recommended blowpipe 9-10 inches (from mouthpiece tip to top of hemp).

Medium (10.5” x 26.5”) — slightly deeper than the Willie McCallum, with the standard Bannatyne shape
— for pipers 5’ 10” to 6’ 2”, recommended blowpipe 10-11 inches (from mouthpiece tip to top of hemp).

Large (11.5” x 29”) — very few pipers will play a bag this size
— for pipers 6’ 3” and taller, recommended blowpipe 11-12 inches (from mouthpiece tip to top of hemp).

Each Bannatyne bag is guaranteed for two years against breakdown of the material, grommets or zip, provided the damage is not due to mistreatment. Installation of the bag is easy and instructions are provided.

CAD $215 (CAD $235 for Willie McCallum Custom) without canister system.

The Bannatyne light synthetic bag comes without the heavy external layer.

The Bannatyne Light Synthetic
Bannatyne also makes a light-weight gore-tex type of bag in the same sizes as described above. These are essentially the same bag as the hybrid, but without the heavier faux-leather exterior. They also have the zip on the bottom rather than on the side.

Though any moisture control system can be used with it, each light synthetic bag comes with a Bannatyne bottle/tube watertrap which can be hemped and inserted into the bottom of the blowstick stock.

CAD $177.50 including the bottle/tube watertrap.

See the shopping cart below to purchase Bannatyne Zip Hide Bags.

Developed as a collaboration between Craig Bannatyne and Willie McCallum, the Dri-Flo system does away with the canister, and places the desiccant beads inside the drone tubes, as shown in the photos.

The tubes can be hemped to fit into the drone stocks, or they can be fit into rubber sleeves that attach onto the bottom of the drones stocks, much like with the canister system shown below.

The orange beads turn dark green when they become saturated with water. The tubes can then be removed from the bag and the beads dried.

This system was released by the company in the spring of 2017 and is gaining popularity among top players.

Important:  when using this system, consider a tube watertrap.  Otherwise, you might find your chanter reed getting wet. The tube watertrap directs the incoming moist air to the back of the bag.

CAD $92.50 – See the shopping cart below to purchase the Dri-Flo system.

Similar to the Ross canister system, the Bannatyne MCS is based on the principle of the moist air blown into the bag passing through a desiccant-filled canister that reduces the moisture content.  The moisture-reduced air then passes through tubes into the drone and chanter stocks.

There are a number of differences between the Bannatyne MCS and the Ross:

-The Bannatyne system uses dust-free desiccant beads.
-The drone tubes can fit onto the bottom of the stock using rubber sleeves rather than being inserted.
-The canister is a round cylinder rather than a rectangular box.
-The desiccant beads must be air-dried or dried in an oven.
-The system comes with an optional filter that fits onto the canister, acting like drone plugs to reduce drone noise during strike-in or stops.
-The desiccant beads change colour from orange to dark green when they become saturated with moisture

Installation of the bag and canister is well documented in the instructions provided.

CAD $105  – You can purchase the canister system from the shopping cart below.