Travel mandolin seem to have issues with sound or not having something called "a bottom end".
Should someone want to take a rugged or cheap mandolin with them where-ever their path goes, they want something that plays well for its price range.
As such, no one in their right mind would strap a $500+ mandolin on their MTB bicycle, and go riding along on rough gravelly roads. Then too no one in their right mind would trek into the hills, beating brush, and subjecting their beloved mandolin to the extremes of what comes.
A didgeridoo on the other hand could go anywhere. I'd not take a $1500 one through some of those places when a $75 version would be a wiser choice, or even a cheap PVC one for $20. Least with $75 one it could be used as a club, funnel, or firewood.
While most may think $300 is chump change, that is not the same for everyone. That could be half a month's paycheck or a month's pension check.
As such, $300 seems to be a fair dinkum amount for a "beater" mandolin. Anything more than $300 is redundant, and borderline MAS. And let's also assume the person already has a quality mandolin that they want to leave at home, pampered, where it rests in its case while it's double is out in the field doing the stunt work.
So... with a $300 limitation for a beater mando_____ what would you suggest? ~o)