Hiscox Mandolin Case

[Groundcoat]

I'm pondering the purchase of a nice Hiscox mandolin case. Any advice, recommendations or experience that you could share would be of great value to me. Thanks!

[mandowilli]

I bought one 5 years ago for my Collings MF5 and highly recommend it. It is larger than your standard case but very lightweight and strong, with lots of storage. When loading gear for a gig I don't worry at all about it being banged around and the rectangular shape makes it easy to stack.

I also like the latches on the case. It has a tight seal that has not weakened after 5 years of heavy use.

Because of my positive experience with this case, I bought a Hiscox case for my dobro which I am equally happy with.

[Danny Clark]

Very good cases I've owned a few over the years
Lightweight and strong

[Tavy]

+1 on a very good case.

One catch on mine is getting a bit loose - but that's because I've routinely stuffed too much gear in the compartment

[Ivan Kelsall]

They're a very good case,but i found that for me,mine was a bit too bulky. If you haul your mandolin around by car,then a Hiscox case is fine,but as a non-driver,it was too big to haul around by public transport. Other than that,they are a very good case (IMHO).
Eventually,i opted for a Gator moulded ABS case for my Weber. It has as much room for everything as i'll ever need - but,i do have to tuck a set of spare strings under the headstock - no problem,
Ivan

[Johnny60]

Hiscox make a very good case. It's bigger than a normal mandolin case, being rectangular and deeper in profile, and is also heavier than a normal plywood or fibre glass case (eg Superior cases). However, you get tons of storage space - in my case there's a cloth, spare strings, tuner, spare picks, spare strap (just in case!), and a capo.

In summary, it's bulkier than a typical smaller case, but you get tons more storage and a lot of protection.

[J Mangio]

Hiscox rules, if you want ultimate protection, forget about others.

[McIrish]

I bought one and think it's a great case. Nice and solid, yet light. It's a bit bigger than many cases but I can fit a lot of stuff in the compartment. Not many cases can fit strings, tuners and straps at the same time.

[sblock]

Hiscox rules, if you want ultimate protection, forget about others.

No, don't forget about the others! Yes, Hiscox makes a fine case, but the cases made by Calton, Hoffee, and Pegasus are sturdier and provide superior protection, in my opinion, especially against crushing-type loads (as opposed to shock-type). Also, a Travelite case provides excellent -- but not superior -- protection, but for far less weight. Look at what the pros who travel with their mandolin use. And look at what cases the high-end custom mandolins tend to come with. You will usually find the Calton and Hoffee names there, these days.

[Beanzy]

No, don't forget about the others! Yes, Hiscox makes a fine case, but the cases made by Calton, Hoffee, and Pegasus are sturdier and provide superior protection, in my opinion, especially against crushing-type loads (as opposed to shock-type). Also, a Travelite case provides excellent -- but not superior -- protection, but for far less weight.

You've got to be joking surely? The guitar cases are 500kg and mandolin cases are 700kg crush resistent (at 7.7lbs weight according to the label on mine)
http://www.hiscoxcases.com/liteflite-construction.htm I reckon their only disadvantage is the size for utility, as in they're not shaped so come up bulky for a minamilist traveller. Mine came with the custom made Davidson mandolin so I just went with it, but I'm very impressed by comparison with the I was going to get.

[Ivan Kelsall]

Hiscox cases,like others,are fine 'up to a point'. They're not damage proof by any means. Standing on a case ultimately means nothing in the real world,unless you're into standing on mandolin cases ?. A case with a 'softer' outer covering such as the Travelite case,is more impact absorbent than a hard shell case,& as long as it's well cushioned on the inside as well,a mandolin will be fine,
Ivan

[Beanzy]

I was taking issue with the unfounded assertion that the others mentioned provide better crush protection.
I can't see how the travelite is more impact absorbent without a definition of that term and the tests done to underpin it.
I use a travelite for my fiddle and I'm sure it would split if dropped from a height or subjected to the impact causing the damage in your photo. So I'm not sure how it would be more impact resistent than the one shown?

[Austin Bob]

I'm starting to think about what case I want to protect my new mandolin that is on order. To me, there are three things to consider:

• Drop protection - probably the most common event
• Crush protection
• Heat/cold protection

I've not read of a lot of failures against drop protection, except for some early model Calton cases that did not have enough headstock room. Of course this is not real data, but without real tests, it's all we have.

Crush protection is a far less likely event for me. I don't put my mandolin in the hold of an airplane, and it's never been ran over by a forklift, or had people stand on the case. I do, however, routinely stuff it in the car and pile stuff on top of it. Again, I think that most cases would also suffice in this area.

Thermal protection, this is where it gets interesting, depending upon where you live. I live in Texas, and the likelihood of my mandolin being exposed to high temperatures and being damaged, is greater than the other two scenarios.

Not everyone needs the same protection, and no one case is always the best. I own a Hoffee with Thinsulate and a thermal cover, but for others a Travelite or Hiscox would be the better investment, especially for the price.

Think about what you want/need, then buy the case that works best for you.

[Tavy]

To be honest they're all pretty good.

Bare in mind that no case can avoid the instrument being subject to extreme g-forces if it's dropped from a great height (think broken headstock regardless of whether the case itself breaks).

[Bob Clark]

Think about what you want/need, then buy the case that works best for you.

Amen, Brother.

[Ivan Kelsall]

Eoin - It's the old adage about ''if it's bending,it's not breaking'. A Travelite case with it's tough but softer outer shell,will deform under impact,but as the pic.of the Hiscox shows,that type of case breaks. Any 'cushioned impact' has far less effect on whatever impacts it,that's why all impact resistant materials made to protect anything 'fragile',are soft, or will deform under impact.
I think that it was last year (or the year before) that a Cafe member reported that his Travelite case had fallen off his motor cycle while he was riding it. Both the case & mandolin were undamaged.

To address Tavy's point - the force with which an object hits the ground depends in part on it's weight (Mass (weight) x Velocity) we know that. So - the heavier the weight = more force (impact). Therefor,a mandolin in a lighter case will impact with less force than one in a heavier case. It's the 'combined weight' we need to consider.

Have a look at this page. http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/flobi.html At the bottom,it shows that if the object impacting the ground,penetrates the ground,then the impact force is less. Harder ground = more impact force. Substitute a 'softer' case for softer ground & you'll get the same effect - impact absorbtion.

I argued this same point in another thread a while back. It's ''impact absorbtion'' that's important,not the case itself. If you surround the mandolin with a good thickness of Polystyrene
'chips' (or whatever you call 'em),you could put it in a concrete case & it would come out un-damaged. That's why mega-buck value pieces of vintage porcelain etc. are shipped in large containers filled with PS chips or similar. The outer case material is almost irrelevant,
Ivan

[almeriastrings]

I argued this same point in another thread a while back. It's ''impact absorbtion'' that's important,not the case itself.

Unless...

There was a really powerful crushing force....or...

a powerful, sharp, penetrating type incident.

So it all depends what type of trauma occurs, and the difficulty there is that you don't know in advance. Hence, a good "all rounder" is probably your best option. It is all about compromises. With the Hiscox, yes - the case was damaged, but it did its job. The mandolin was unharmed.

[Beanzy]

Thanks for clarifying your take on it Ivan.
It seems a bit like cycle helmets,where they're ok up to 12-15mph in tests but once they get beyond that they actually transfer more energy through the object inside rather than around it due to the flimsy thin padding inside. That's the thing, do you need the shock absorbent padding to be exposed to be effective? Like you say you can pad internally to absorb sudden decelerations.
Anytime I look at photos of broken guitar necks in travel cases, I always want to ask "where are the socks and nickers?", excellent padding for the neck and any ill-fitting bits. I suppose you could make an insert, but the socks'n'jocks leave you more room in your main case.

Being realistic (travelling by train a lot) I need to be confident a case will survive a fall from above head height; in the event of someone shoving it off an overhead rack while stuffing their bag in futher along. It will also need to be able to take a holiday makers over-stuffed case falling onto it from a similar height rack as they take it down. I reckon the Hiscox & the light foam one could probably take the drop too but my violin would get mushed in the second scenario. I'd need some more padding in my GoldenGate one to feel confident about a drop from above head height too.

[Ivan Kelsall]

Eoin - It's the inside of the majority of instrument cases that gets the least attention - or so it seems to me. That's why i like the Travelite cases so much. I don't know what sort of padding is used inside,but there's a good thickness of it all around the instrument. Plus - the outer case has it's own exterior padding. Ok,it's not much,but it's there & will help to cushion a fall to a small degree.

Almeria is perfectly correct. You could design a 'whatever' to withstand most accidental damage,but i'd bet that somewhere along the line,an unforseen circumstance would show up to damage it.

Being a non driver,i also use public transport - buses / trains,but my mandolin in it's case stays with me. I'm pretty sure that my mandolin in it's ''playing out' case,the Travelite, would survive the fall from the luggage rack,but i'm far more concerned about it being stolen when i'm not looking.

Ultimately,it's up to us to prevent any damage occuring,simply by being careful with our instruments regardless of what type / make / shape of case they're in,
Ivan

[pops1]

I have a shaped TKL for my A style, have for decades. It holds strings, strap, tuner, many little tools, picks, pliers, notes and polishing cloth. I have my banjo in a similar case. Years ago when I played a 20's tubaphone the back latch came open and the banjo slid out onto the highway at highway speed. The case did not end over end, thank God, but was not damaged beyond some small repair and the banjo was fine. While I don't plan to drop my mandolin, or run over it, I know things happen. A few years ago we were very full going to a gig, it was winter and the mandolin got put in the rear window, the sun warmed it enough that the neck moved slightly. It went back the builder who said it took two days to get off, seems it was still tight even tho it moved. By dropping the bridge I could have been fine, but wanted to be sure. The travelite would have been a better case in this scenario, but you can't plan for what might happen, just try and take care of your instrument, and in 50 years of playing if this is the worst that happens I will be a happy camper(mandolin player)

[Groundcoat]

Well, I ended up purchasing two Gator cases in lieu of the Hiscox Mandolin case. Both Gator cases exhibit the ABS plastic outer shell and aluminum molding strips. One is for my Lakewood guitar and one is for my Eastman Mandolin. My 20 year old Hiscox guitar case literally fell apart and died. The new Hiscox cases are nice but beyond my budget for two instruments. I chose these particular Gators because they had two features that I liked about the old Hiscox (ABS outer shell & aluminum strips). I'm not a pro musician traveling through airports or from gig to gig. I take my guitar to jams occasionally and to church twice a week. The Gator cases are plenty good for how I transport instruments. My guitar will likely never see an airport. If you are considering good affordable protection for your instruments, the Gator cases will fill the bill.

[tburcham]

My Hiscox is my go to case.

[HoGo]

Have you seen the new shaped Prucha cases?
http://en.pruchabanjos.cz/part.php?part=mandolin-cases
They are made by Schuster cases but with many improved features (handle, latches, padding inside etc.) when compared to old style Schuster (I have no idea what current Schuster case looks like, his website is really old and without updates for many years). They are also molded ABS but much more rigid than the Gator case due to the arched shape versus flattop shape of the Gator- I have both in my shop.

[tnranger]

Tim, I noticed you have a Northfield Big Mon. Have you (or anybody) compared your Hiscox to Northfield's Airloom case?

[Ivan Kelsall]

Adrian - I saw those cases several years ago. They were being sold under the name ''Matchbox'' by the German store ''Streichholtzschactel' (Matchbox). Jiri Lebeda used those as a standard case for his mandolins when he was building regularly.

When i was looking for a new case for my Weber after i'd given my Hiscox case away,i tried contacting StreichholtzS,but without any luck. that's how i came to buy my own 'Gator' case. I wish i'd know that you stocked them at the time,they look to be a terrific case & they're long enough to fit a larger than standard mandolin such as a Lebeda - my Lebeda overhangs the Gator headstock area by nearly 2" !,
Ivan