So which is best?

For many years, the bagpipe was supplied with a sheepskin or hide bag. The hide bag was usually a cow hide but many people also played an elk skin bag, which came in from abroad.

Nowadays, most people want a synthetic bag. There are two main advantages to the synthetic bag:

1. They do not require any maintenance i.e. you do not have to season them. This saves pipers a lot of time (and also money, as you do not have to buy the bagpipe seasoning).

2. You can get access to a moisture control system via most synthetic bags.

Many pipers discover that they are wet blowers – this means that they are putting too much moisture into the bag and this can affect the tone of the drone and pipe chanter reeds. To control this moisture, there are a number of different control systems on the market. The most basic is a simple water trap tube, which captures the moisture but allows the air to flow through to the bag, and subsequently, the reeds.

The more expensive synthetic bags have zips on them, which allows the player to unzip the bag, empty the moisture from the trap, and then re-zip the bag. This can be done in seconds and on a frequent basis, thus ensuring that the reeds remain in a good, playable condition.

Verdict: Synthetic bags beat the traditional ones hands down.