Casextreme Shipping Cases

[jazzman13]

Hi All,

I'm looking into shipping a mandolin (on a ship) from the USA to Australia and I'm looking into all my options in terms of cases etc. etc.

I'm thinking about putting the mando in a Travelite case and putting the Travelite into a Casextreme (http://www.casextreme.com/) shipping case.

Does anyone have any experience with the Casextreme cases? They seem pretty good and I haven't come across any threads that deal with them in detail yet.

Thanks in advance!

[Kip Carter]

The only time I ever experienced shipping something on a ship was from USA to Sierra Leone West Africa and back again a few years later. Actually wasn't 'me' doing the shipping but rather my parents who were missionaries. But, where I was going here was that the mission had us get 55 gallon drums and pack things in those with the removable tops that were bendable to be locked and secured. The drums are a common means of shipping goods so they are easily managed by the handlers and provide a significant level of protection to the goods inside (especially when padded with energy absorbing materials like blankets and such). Ironically though this is a good deal larger than you might need I think the cost of shipping the drum would be less than a fancy case and provide a great deal better level of protection.

There are smaller drums of the same time that a mandolin case would fit in with no trouble as well. I'm not sure how standard they are, but one thing the mission told my folks was that the drums were the best bet for shipping our things there because they (the shipping company) didn't have to deal with something outside the norm for them.

Might want to check into it.
Regards,
Kip...

[houseworker]

I find it hard to understand why you would want to incur the considerable expense of shipping by sea rather than air, assuming you will not be travelling with the mandolin (in which case the Travelite case will be fine on its own).

Unaccompanied freight sent by sea risks being carried on deck, where damage from temperature and humidity fluctuation is pretty much a given with a wooden instrument.

What mandolin are you planning to ship?

[AlanN]

Maybe it's a

Lloyd Oar
Old Wave
Vessel
Row-ver


Happy New Year!

[bfriedman]

I think I'm missing something. Unless you are shipping bulk, why bother?

[Big Joe]

We have shipped quite a bit internationally. We just put it in the case (travelite is likely the best) and then put it in a box. We pack the instrument inside the case so it cannot move, then pack the case inside the box with some bubble wrap all around the case. Tape the box securely so it won't just break open. Then ship in whatever manner you wish. Standard international will go air and will likely be no more than trying to ship by sea. Usually going by sea they want a certain quantity... like a container full. That can cost more than air and take much longer with more people handling the instrument. I don't think I would go to the extra expense of anything better than what I 've described. Stuff is shipped every day just in the box and gets here in pretty good shape.

[Tim2723]

I worked for a couple of decades for a company that shipped manufactured goods all over the world, and many of those things were far more fragile than a mandolin. The experts there always said it's not the distance that matters, but how any times a package is man-handled that counts. Shipping by sea always seemed to involve more man-handling than air shipment. Shipping companies don't make their living by destroying products, although we hear about the tragedies more often than the successes. Insurance is important. Don't forget that expense.

[Charlieshafer]

What Big Joe said. I've shipped several accordions to Australia, and have had three shipped to me, all with no problem. Use air. Also, the travelite case plus bubble wrap is perfectly fine. Nice tight fit into the shipping box (cardboard) with about an inch of bubble wrap all around the travelite and you're good to go. The key with international is to keep it as small and light as possible.

[jazzman13]

Thanks for all the advice, guys.

The reason I'm shipping in this manner is because my uncle ships lots of containers and it's no problem for him to have my mando put in one of his containers - that way, I don't pay for the shipping or the import tax. Quite a saving for me in this case.

I appreciate all the advice given, but could we possibly set aside the manner of shipping and steer this thread back to its original topic, which was Casextreme cases?

I don't mean to knock anyone down - all of the suggestions so far have been valid.

If not just for my benefit, it would no doubt be useful to have a thread with some information about these cases on the Cafe.

[Big Joe]

I am not familiar with the case, but as I indicated in my earlier post, it is not necessary. Packing as I mentioned will give adequate protection unless he puts it in the bottom of his container and piles tons of stuff on it. If he packs it reasonable you will be fine with just a case (travelite is the best) and a box.

[MikeEdgerton]

I don't know what your uncle ships but I was involved in shipping internationally and domestically for several years. Your biggest problem isn't going to be that case keeping it from being damaged by some sort of shock, your bigger problem will be temperature extremes and humidity. You can't really account for that. That container gets placed in the right spot or set aside in the wrong spot and you'll see huge temperature shifts.

[Charlieshafer]

Yeah, agree with both of the above. While you may not have heard any feedback on the casextreme cases, it's because they're not necessary. With the savings from not buying the case that is indeed unnecessary, you can easily ship the mandolin by air twice, if not three times, to Australia. And, as everyone has stated, air is the safe way. Temperature extremes kill instruments of all kinds, period.

[jazzman13]

Yeah, agree with both of the above. While you may not have heard any feedback on the casextreme cases, it's because they're not necessary. With the savings from not buying the case that is indeed unnecessary, you can easily ship the mandolin by air twice, if not three times, to Australia. And, as everyone has stated, air is the safe way. Temperature extremes kill instruments of all kinds, period.

Fair enough - it's a good point (although the casextreme is only about $200 and I don't think I could ship a mandolin to Australia by air for that much).

Would it be fair to say also that an instrument would be subjected to a similarly extreme temperature change in the hold of a plane? (I think it gets down well below zero in the cargo)...

[Charlieshafer]

I think I spent about $100 for each button box, which when packed was roughly the same size as a mandolin, but considerably heavier. I've no real idea about temperatures reached in holds of planes, (I'm assuming there must be some conditioning, as plants and animals are shipped) but the big difference is that the amount of time that instrument is exposed is far shorter. The bubble wrap makes a great insulator. If something were in a container for a couple of weeks at temperature, the hide glue could literally melt off the joints of instruments, the wax off the reeds of accordions, and so on.

[Tim2723]

They make a theorbo case. How many of those get shipped? How many of them can there even be? Talk about unusual instruments!