Pipe Bag Dimensions

This information comes from Andrew Lenz's Bagpipe Journey.

NB*  the internal bore of Bannatyne bag collars are 36.5 mm.

So you are having a hard time keeping your bagpipe inflated while playing. Assuming you are not new to piping and are just "getting your chops up," then there's a chance that bagpipe has a leak somewhere or your drone reeds are not set efficiently. This page will guide you through the steps to troubleshoot your bagpipes for this problem.

Tracking down the issues of an inefficient bagpipe.

There is nothing too mysterious about how a bagpipe works. Air goes in, air goes out. If a bag is not maintaining nominal pressure during performance, it's one of two things: not enough air going in or too much air coming out. If it's the former, the player simply has to blow deeper or more often to increase the flow of air into the bag. If it's the later, one needs to isolate the problem with the instrument itself.

Potential air efficiency issues with bagpipes:

• leaky bag (violated seams, holes in body of bag)
• poor tie-in (leaky stocks seal)
• inefficient drone reeds (bridle too close to reed seat, serious crack)
• bad blowpipe valve (air escapes from the bag)
• cracked stocks
• poorly seated stock tenon (air escapes past hemping in the stock)

(Air leaks in the drones past the drone reeds themselves will be insignificant—unless the drone's reed seat has major issues—but it's good practice to check to make sure they are well seated.)

Whatever you do, resist the temptation to dunk your pipes into a full bathtub to look for air bubbles. This is very risky and may result in cracked wood and a stiff hide bag. Even if your bagpipes are fully synthetic—plastic stocks/drones and Gortex or similar bag and doesn't have any rustable metal fittings—still resist the temptation. Soaking is detrimental to glued seams found on many synthetic bag seams. The other problem with dunking is that the materials are all somewhat breathable, that is, if you wait long enough, you'll see small air bubbles all over the bag surface.

Isolating the problem

Before embarking on all these items, if you are using a hide bag and it's been a while since you've seasoned it, start by doing a seasoning and see if that solves the problem.

Visual inspection.

Fully and closely inspect all your stocks, blowpipe and lower drone sections for cracks. Hairline cracks can sometimes be resealed by oiling. Larger cracks need to be repaired and may require the attention of a professional bagpipe repair service.

Fully and closely inspect your bag seams. Look for beads of moisure after playing. Look for loose or missing stitching. Look for anything out of the ordinary—mouse nibblings, for instance!

Fully and closely inspect the bag around all your stocks. Make sure the bag has not slipped out from under the tie-in cord (or whatever method you are using to hold the stocks in the bag). Also look for tears or holes in the bag due to wear by rocking the stock around to make any such flaws apparent. Grip the stock with one hand and the bag itself with the other. Try twisting the stock. If it doesn't turn, that's a good sign. If the stock turns or if there are any gaps, resecure the stock to the bag.

Experimentally eliminating possibilities.

1) Remove all the drones and the chanter. Plug all the stocks tightly with corks. (Rubber corks/stoppers are preferred to natural corks—more airtight.) Inflate the bag. Listen to make sure all the corks are sealed well.

2) Fully inflate the bag, set it down, and press it down with your hand. The bag should stay fairly hard for at least a minute or two before you notice any change. If it does stay hard, any problems are most likely outside the instrument, that is, the piper. (But also make sure the valve doesn't suddenly fail at a lower pressure for some oddball reason.) If the bag deflates relatively quickly, the problem is either the blowpipe valve, the blowpipe hemping, the stock tie-ins or the bag itself.

3) Checking the blowpipe: With the bag fully inflated, check the blowpipe valve by holding the opening to your ear listening for escaping air, as well as slightly wetting your cheek and feeling for a chill. If you hear/feel air escaping through the blowpipe, fix or replace your valve. Make sure your mouthpiece is securely screwed onto the blowpipe. Also make sure the blowpipe is well sealed in its stock. It should not be loose, but snug. This is the most variable hemping in the entire bagpipe due to the proximity to the piper's mouth—a fair amount of swelling and shrinking occurs due to moisture. After a while off the pipes, it's not unusual for the blowpipe to easily slip out of its stock. Check it every time you play. If it swells too much, it can crack the stock. If you are using some kind of moisture control system in your pipes, it may be less of an issue, but it's still a good idea to check.

4) With all your stocks still corked, remove the blowpipe and pour about 12 oz (350 ml) of lukewarm water into your bag. Replace your blowpipe and inflate. Rock your bag around then look carefully for escaping water. Rotate the stocks around to open up any possible tears. Notice if the bag suddenly deflates quicker and/or moisture escapes when you have one of the stocks tipped into a new position. If you still don't experience any problems, fully drain your bag and move onto step 5.

If you don't notice any water leaks but your bag is deflating quickly and you've determined that your valve, stocks and tie-ins are fine, then your bag is probably still the culprit and needs replacement (or seasoning if it's hide and you skipped that step). Even if it's a new bag, it may be defective.

5) Check the fit of each lower drone section into its stock. The drones should require one hand on the drone and one hand on the stock to fully seat the drone into the stock. If it can be inserted completely with one hand, it's too loose. Insert one lower drone section, plugging the end of the tuning pin with a very small cork. (A variety of cork sizes are usually found at a hardware store.) Repeat the "inflate bag, press with hand" exercise. If the bag holds pressure, proceed to the next lower drone section, each in turn. If the adding of a particular drone section compromises how long the bag can hold air, then most likely the hemping on the drone's bottom tenon is the issue and should be redone.

6) Check the chanter hemping. Plug the chanter's reed seat using either a old chanter reed plugged with wax in the staple or a rubber stopper (a Piper's Pal stopper works great). Repeat the "inflate bag, press with hand" exercise. If the bag loses pressure, you may need to rehemp your chanter's tenon. If the bag holds its pressure then move on.

7) Check the drone reed for efficiency. Make sure all your reeds are properly seated and are not allowing air pass around the reed and into the drone. The bridles on your drone reeds should be set as far from the reed seat as is reasonable for consistent and reliable performance.


There are only so many ways that air can get out of your bag. But if it is getting out in a manner you don't want, it can make your life miserable. It pays to have an air efficient bagpipe.

This is a guide to the dimensions of different brands of bagpipe bags on the market. These measurements should help you compare and select a bag that is appropriate for you. Height below represents the meaurement taken, while the bag is laid flat, from the fold at the top of the bag down the widest part of the middle bag to the opposite side. Length is the full length of the bag from tail end to the tip of neck, though what this measurement really means may vary a bit if the bag is a swan neck. In the case of a swan neck, the bag should be considered equivalent to a somewhat longer bag.

Please keep in mind that there will be some variation in the manufacturing of bags. While they should be fairly uniform, most are stitched by hand feeding through a heavy-duty sewing machine which results in a bit of variation. Plus most materials will shrink and expand some depending on temperature and humidity. Just don't be surprised if a bag is off by the width of your finger.

Also be aware that there will be differences in the diameter of bags with grommets (stock collars) versus bags that are tied in. A bag requiring a tie-in will "lose" material from its effective diameter in order to hold the stock in place. For otherwise equal bags, a collared bag will have a larger effective diameter.

In the chart below there are references to "color codes" for the Ross bags. These color codes are located inside the collar for the blowpipe stock. For the Monarch bags, color codes refer to the color of the circle material surrounding each grommet: maroon is small, green is medium and blue is large.

Please note: Gortex/Canmore bagpipe bags have not been confirmed with the manufacturer, so take their numbers with a "grain of salt" as they may change. I submitted web contact form back on Jan.20,2005 and never heard back. Spring 2009, it was reported in the UK news the Canmore bags manufacturing was shutting down.

Height	Length	Brand and Name/Description of Bag
8.75 inch (22.2cm)	23 inch (58.5cm)	L&M - '1/2 Size Bag' - Cowhide
8.75 inch (22.2cm)	25.5 inch (65cm)	L&M - '3/4 Size Bag' - Cowhide
9 inch (22.8cm)	24 inch (61cm)	Bannatyne - 'Small'
9 inch (22.8cm)	28 inch (71.0cm)	L&M - '9" Regular' - Cowhide
9 inch (23.0cm)	27.5 inch (70.0cm)	Ross - Suede 'Small' [Grey coded]
9 inch (23.0cm)	27.5 inch (70.0cm)	Ross - Suede 'Livingstone'* [Green coded] (*Drones placed 25mm forward of standard.)
9.5 inch (24.1cm)	26.5 inch (67.5cm)	Bannatyne - 'Extended Small'
9.5 inch (24.1cm)	n/a	Canmore - 'Small' - Gortex
9.5 inch (24.1cm)	29 inch (73.5cm)	L&M - 'Scotian Small (Hot Dog)' - Zipper - Cowhide
9.5 inch (24.1cm)	26.5 inch (67.5cm)	MacHarg - 'Regular' - Cowhide
9.5 inch (24.0cm)	27.5 inch (70.0cm)	Monarch - 'Small Blank' - Synthetic (Tie-in)
9.75 inch (24.8cm)	26 inch (66cm)	Gannaway - 'Small' - Cowhide
9.75 inch (25.0cm)	28.3 inch (72.0cm)	Ross - 'Small' - Sealed [Grey coded]
9.75 inch (22.8cm)	26.5 inch (67.5cm)	Shepherd - 'Small' - Zipper - Hybrid
10 inch (25.4cm)	28 inch (71.0cm)	Begg - 'Small' - Sheepskin or Cowhide
10 inch (25.4cm)	28.5 inch (72.5cm)	Bowes - 'Small' - Sheepskin or Cowhide
10 inch (25.4cm)	28 inch (71.0cm)	R.G. Hardie Airtight - 'Small' - Sheepskin
10 inch (25.5cm)	27.5 inch (70.0cm)	Ross - Suede 'Small Extended' [Grey coded]
10.25 inch (26.1cm)	28 inch (71.0cm)	L&M - 'Regular' - Cowhide
10.25 inch (26.1cm)	28 inch (71.0cm)	L&M - 'Scotian Medium' - Zipper - Cowhide
10.25 inch (26.0cm)	28.0 inch (71.0cm)	Ross - 'Livingstone'* [Green coded] (*Drones placed 25mm forward of standard.)
10.5 inch (26.7cm)	26.5 inch (67.5cm)	Bannatyne - 'Medium'
10.5 inch (26.7cm)	29 inch (73.5cm)	Begg - 'Standard' - Sheepskin or Cowhide
10.5 inch (26.7cm)	29 inch (73.5cm)	Bennett - 'Small' - Sheepskin
10.5 inch (26.7cm)	28.5 inch (72.5cm)	Bowes - 'Medium' - Sheepskin or Cowhide
10.5 inch (26.7cm)	27 inch (69cm)	Gannaway - 'Medium'
10.5 inch (26.7cm)	28 inch (71.0cm)	MacHarg - 'Large' - Cowhide
10.5 inch (26.5cm)	27.5 inch (70.0cm)	Monarch - 'Standard Small' - Synthetic - Zipper/Grommet [Maroon coded]
10.5 inch (26.5cm)	27.5 inch (70.0cm)	Monarch - 'Swan Small' - Synthetic - Zipper/Grommet [Maroon coded]
10.5 inch (27.0cm)	29.3 inch (74.5cm)	Moose - 'Small' - Synthetic - Zipper/Grommet
10.5 inch (26.7cm)	29 inch (73.5cm)	R.G. Hardie Airtight - 'Medium' - Sheepskin
10.5 inch (27.0cm)	26.4 inch (67.0cm)	Ross - 'Small' - Zipper [Blue coded]
10.5 inch (27.0cm)	28.3 inch (72.0cm)	Ross - 'Small Extended' - Zipper [Grey coded]
10.5 inch (26.7cm)	28.5 inch (72.5cm)	Ross - Suede 'Medium' [Yellow coded]
10.5 inch (25.4cm)	27.5 inch (70.0cm)	Shepherd - 'Medium' - Zipper - Hybrid
10.75 inch (27.5cm	28.5 inch (72.5cm)	Monarch - 'Swan Medium' - Synthetic - Zipper/Grommet [Green coded]
11 inch (27.9cm)	29 inch (73.5cm)	Bennett - 'Medium' - Sheepskin
11 inch (27.9cm)	30 inch (76cm)	Bowes - 'Large' - Sheepskin or Cowhide
11 inch (27.9cm)	n/a	Canmore - 'Medium' - Gortex
11 inch (27.9cm)	28.5 inch (72.5cm)	L&M - 'Large' - Cowhide
11 inch (27.9cm)	28.5 inch (72.5cm)	L&M - 'Scotian Large' - Zipper - Cowhide
11 inch (28.0cm)	27.5 inch (70.0cm)	Monarch - 'Standard Medium' - Synthetic - Zipper/Grommet [Green coded]
11 inch (28.0cm)	28.7 inch (73.0cm)	Ross - 'Small' - Clamp [Grey coded]
11 inch (28.0cm)	28.7 inch (73.0cm)	Ross - 'Medium' - Zipper [Yellow coded]
11 inch (28.0cm)	28.5 inch (72.5cm)	Ross - Suede 'Large' [Red coded]
11.25 inch (28.6cm)	29 inch (73.5cm)	Begg - 'Medium' - Sheepskin or Cowhide
11.5 inch (29.2cm)	29 inch (73.5cm)	Bannatyne - 'Large'
11.5 inch (29.2cm)	29 inch (73.5cm)	Bennett - 'Large' - Sheepskin
11.5 inch (29.2cm)	28 inch (71.0cm)	Gannaway - 'Large'
11.5 inch (29.2cm)	28.5 inch (72.5cm)	MacHarg - 'Extra Large' - Cowhide
11.5 inch (29.0cm)	29.5 inch (75.0cm)	Moose - 'Medium' - Synthetic - Zipper/Grommet
11.5 inch (29.2cm)	29 inch (73.5cm)	R.G. Hardie Airtight - 'Large' - Sheepskin
11.5 inch (29.0cm)	28.7 inch (73.0cm)	Ross - 'Medium' - Sealed [Yellow coded]
11.5 inch (29.0cm)	28.7 inch (73.0cm)	Ross - 'Medium' - Clamp [Yellow coded]
11.75 inch (30.0cm)	29 inch (73.5cm)	L&M - 'Scotian Extra Large' - Zipper - Cowhide
11.75 inch (30.0cm)	28.5 inch (72.5cm)	Monarch - 'Standard Large' - Synthetic - Zipper/Grommet [Blue coded]
11.75 inch (29.5cm)	28.5 inch (72.5cm)	Monarch - 'Swan Large' - Synthetic - Zipper/Grommet [Blue coded]
11.75 inch (30.0cm)	29.3 inch (74.5cm)	Ross - 'Large' - Sealed [Red coded]
11.75 inch (30.0cm)	29.3 inch (74.5cm)	Ross - 'Large' - Zipper [Red coded]
11.75 inch (29.2cm)	29.5 inch (75.0cm)	Shepherd - 'Large' - Zipper - Hybrid
12 inch (30.5cm)	30 inch (76cm)	Begg - 'Large' - Sheepskin or Cowhide
12 inch (30.5cm)	30 inch (76cm)	Bennett - 'Large' - Sheepskin
12 inch (30.5cm)	30 inch (76cm)	L&M - 'Extra Large' - Cowhide
12 inch (30.5cm)	29.7 inch (75.5cm)	Moose - 'Large' - Synthetic - Zipper/Grommet
12 inch (30.5cm)	29.3 inch (74.5cm)	Ross - 'Large' - Zipper [Red coded]
12.5 inch (31.8cm)	n/a	Canmore - 'Large' - Gortex
13.5 inch (34cm)	28.5 inch (72.5cm)	MacHarg - 'Extra Large' - Cowhide
13.5 inch (34cm)	29.5 inch (75.0cm)	MacHarg - 'Extra Large Special' - Cowhide

The following brands were provided in inches and coverted to the nearest 0.5 cm:
Bannatyne, Begg, Bennett, Bowes, Gannaway, L&M, MacHarg, R.G. Hardie, Shepherd.
The following brands were provided in metric units and converted the nearest quarter inch:
Ross, Monarch, Moose.

Selecting a bag size for you

Probably the most common mistake pipers make is getting a bag that is too large for them. Things that affect appropriate bag size are overall arm length, chest shape, and blowing technique. If you are having trouble comfortably reaching the chanter (assuming your stocks are correctly positioned on the bag), or have a lot of pressure from the bag on the inside of your forearm, then your bag is too large. Sometimes a short, large chested person can have a custom longer bag made to compensate for a smaller circumference. Over the years a number of bands have mandated small bags for their members regardless of their physical proportions—small bags mean less air, less air means more reliable cut-offs. But bag size will also slightly affect the tone of your pipes, which may or may not be an issue for you. Some pipers swear that they get noticeably better resonance and tone with a larger bag. (Though if your bag is full of hoses, valves, water trap systems, car keys or other objects, all bets are off regarding a bag's tonal qualities!) Others say they have to blow less often with a larger bag. The best way to determine the ideal bag size for you is to simply try different sized bags. Short of that, consult your instructor, your pipe major, or favorite retailer for advice.

If you are wondering if your bag is too large, you can use a temporary "corset" to effectively shrink the size. A cut-off pants leg can serve the purpose or a swath of fabric sewn or securely stapled. Regardless of how it's constructed, the diameter should be smaller than your bag. The "corset" is slipped over the deflated bag then the pipes are played. If you find it's an improvement, consider a smaller bag. If it's not an improvement and you are still unhappy, perhaps investigate a different brand in a similar size.

Other things to consider

Aside from size and shape, there are other things which should influence your bag purchase decision. Obviously, one will be your budget. Also. whether moisture build-up is a concern. (Are you a wet blower? Do you play for long stretches? Do you play every day or multiple times each day?) If moisture is a problem, a sheepskin bag or a zipper/clamp bag with some form of trap or moisture control system could be for you. Also a consideration is if you play left-handed. Left-handed bags typically aren't stocked by retailers and custom bags mean a delay in delivery. An plain bag is a quick solution for such a restriction, since you can cut the stock holes exactly where you want. Which brings us to another consideration, are you comfortable with cutting holes in a bag and tying in the stocks? If not, pre-installed grommets are available as are tie-in services offered by many retailers.

Custom Bags

A number of bag makers will custom make a bag to your specifications. Providing a bag template—paper or otherwise—is a good idea and in some cases, is required. Expect to pay a higher price for all the extra handling involved by the maker. Also expect that turnaround time may be on the order of months rather than weeks. Most bag makers work through a retailer, that is, you contact a bagpipe supply shop and purchase your bag through them, who in turn places your order (usually along with a number of other bags at one time) with the bag maker.