What case/gig bag do you use and why?

ghost219

ghost219

Inspired
I just got a PRS Starla and I'm in love. It came with a nice PRS gig bag but I'm looking into better protection with flying in mind. I'm looking at MONO and Reunion Blues for weight and protection and storage. Any ideas are welcome.
 
ghost219 said:
Gig bags have come a long way, friend.
Click to expand...

Well, they may have, but DO NOT check in your guitar in a Mono bag. It does not give any structural support for the neck whatsoever.

And if you try to bring it onboard as carry-on, there's a big chance they won't let you. So it's kind of the worst case. Too big and bulky for carry-on, too soft for checked luggage.
 
I love the MONO cases, and they're my go-to for any gig where I am hand-carrying my guitar.

On tour (by ground or air), I use SKB iSeries cases. They're ATA-approved flight cases, but are significantly lighter than an Anvil-style case; I'd say they're probably about 30% heavier than a standard injection-molded guitar case. They're waterproof, have multiple handles, and a handy set of wheels on one end for towing like a suitcase. As near as I can tell, they are indestructible. I never feel 100% comfortable handing off my guitar when we fly to gigs, but so far this case has done a perfect job of protecting my instrument against the nightmares of baggage handling.

Most airlines will allow you to bring an electric guitar onboard in a gig bag if there is room in the overhead bins for it, and therein lies the rub. Because most airlines charge per bag, travelers want to bring their carry-on bags aboard. That means the bins are usually quite full, and even if you do happen to find one with room for your guitar, someone will not realize there is an instrument in there, and will attempt to cram a suitcase in on top of it. Not cool. If there isn't room for your guitar in the bins, the airline will require you to check it with the baggage, which is a terrifying prospect in any gig bag. I just pack up my guitar in that iSeries case, check it as baggage, and say a prayer to the patron saint of wandering minstrels.
 
Here, let me show you:

WP_20161006_00_27_30_Rich.jpg

This is what happens when you throw a 3 pound weight on a Mono bag.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: Rex
Sleestak said:
Most airlines will allow you to bring an electric guitar onboard in a gig bag if there is room in the overhead bins for it
Click to expand...

The most important thing to understand here, IMO, is that the airline has no obligation whatsoever to let you carry your guitar on board the plane. It's up for them to decide whether there's room or not, and it's totally a subjective judgment call which you cannot appeal. And they make that call by looking at your gig bag. The bulkier it looks the higher the chance they'll refuse. So, ironically, you have a better chance with a gig bag which is just a piece of cloth. It's either this or a flight case. A bulky gig bag is the worst option possible.
 
ghost219 said:
The MONO bags keep coming up as the standard. I'd be flying my guitar, for sure.


Gig bags have come a long way, friend.
Click to expand...
I would NOT check a MONO bag, but I'd consider carrying it on. Have friends who tour and carry-on MONO bags. Checking it would be insane IMHO. :)
 
Love my Mono Dual, but wouldn't fly with it. Ultimately, other things may survive it, but there's a reason for flight cases. If I was checking my guitar, that is what I'd be using.
 
I use cases made of structural foam whenever I can. They're as light as a gig bag, and they provide some structural rigidity. I know a ukulele that survived without a scratch when a 160-pound person fell in top of the foam case that it was in. If that case had been a gig bag—even a Mono—that story would not have had a happy ending.

As Ian said, checking in a guitar in anything less than a real flight case is just begging for disaster.


All bets are off if the case doesn't properly fit your guitar.
 
If you plan ahead, you can almost always get your guitar in the overhead (with an appropriately sized gig bag). When I travel, I either take my MONO Vertigo or (more often) my now-discontinued Incase bag. For my upcoming trip to SoCal, I'll be taking the OEM bag that came with my Strandberg, mainly because it's tiny and the guitar won't fit in a standard bag. ;)
 
aleclee said:
When I travel, I either take my MONO Vertigo or (more often) my now-discontinued Incase bag.
Click to expand...
+1 for the Incase bag. If you have to go with a gig bag, that's the one to use. It protects better than any other bag I've seen. Mono makes a nice bag, but if you think they're the best ever made, you haven't tried an Incase. It sucks that they don't make them anymore.
 
Sorry, I should've mentioned that I'll be trying to carry it on. It'll be Christmas travel so I know they'll try to make me check it BUT I'll be flying Delta. I know they have specific protocols for electric guitars in gig bags. I'd love to find a polyfoam-type bag to be honest. They're just too bulky. Isn't the M80 more rigid than the Vertigo? I'm also looking at the Reunion Blues Continental and that sucker has survived some insane drop tests and has a rigid exo skeleton.
 
ghost219 said:
I'm also looking at the Reunion Blues Continental and that sucker has survived some insane drop tests and has a rigid exo skeleton.
Click to expand...
They're good cases, and stiff for a gig bag, but they're not rigid. I think Reunion Blues calls it a "Flexoskeleton." That "flex" part of the name is there for a reason.

The RB Continental will survive some pretty high drops—if it lands right. I saw another video in which the case was tossed from a stepladder to the showroom floor and landed headstock-first. The headstock of the guitar inside snapped.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom