Travel Cases

[MadMarine]

I have a modest investment in a Breedlove mando. I find I need to travel from time to time. If I need to check "Blondie", what kind of case do I need? I have a Canadian (wood), but suspect it won't survive a baggage handler. Any advice besides a Calton?

Thanks, Mad

[Nick Royal]

It's just a mandolin, you should be able to carry it on the airplane. Then you don't need a super case.
Nick Royal

[EdSherry]

You can travel safely checking a mandolin inside a regular HSC if you pack the case inside a well-padded shipping box. #Check out Frank Ford's instructions at Frets.com, and be sure to look at the "More" (second) page:

http://www.frets.com/FRETSPa....g1.html

It's bulkier than just the case by itself, but not appreciably so. #Of course, nothing will protect the instrument against a forklift being driven through the side of the case, but ...

[BluegrassGirl26]

It's just a mandolin, you should be able to carry it on the airplane. #Then you don't need a super case.
Nick Royal

I've also seen people in airports playing their mandolins while waitng for their next plane. It's a great way to use your time and get in some practice.

[JEStanek]

Be sure not to keep string clippers or odd electronic devices in your case (and with today's news no fluids) that might get confiscated. A shaped case will fit in an overhead or even beneath your feet if push comes to shove. Don't let them force you to check it. Ask politely and explain the value of the instrument (in MSRP terms) and ask as a last resort if it may go in the crew closet (coat rack).

I doubt if much less than a flight case (Calton, pegasus, etc) will offer you the security and safety you're after. I won't check mine even in the Eastman fiberglass case (which isn't advertised as a flight case).

Jamie

[8_stringer]

I agree with the carry on theory. I have carried on a mondo many times. Never once had a problem with that. I like the fact that it is with me and not the baggage handlers. I have a simple gig bag that I also use for my cd player and anything else I might want to carry on. I have also been known to pick a few tunes while sitting in near the boarding area. It's also a good conversation starter. I've meet some pretty cool people due to the fact that I have a mando on my back.
As for flight cases my buddy has one made by a company called "Calzone". This thing is the bomb. You could jump up and down on it and everything inside would be very comfy. I beleive you could also get a locking one. His is a 2 mando model. I am sure the are pricey though. He got into his through a trade. Hope this helps you out.

[8_stringer]

Check out this site.

www.apgcases.com/calzone_cases.htm

[EdSherry]

Anvil and others (e.g., Calzone) will make you an ATA approved flight case, but it'll be far heavier and bulkier than a Calton (and probably more expensive), and will have to be checked.

If you pack it in a shipping carton, you WILL have to check it.

As I understood Mad's original question, the problem he was facing was: #how do you deal with the situation where (for whatever reason) you DO have to check your instrument?

Most of the replies have been of the "you don't need to check it; just carry it on" school. #I fully agree that carrying it on is the way to go IF you can, but I've been in situations in which I can't (e.g., turboprops with no overhead space to speak of).

I've also been in situations where the gate agent MADE me check my instrument, despite my pleas. #

I haven't checked in a while, but my recollection is that most mandos in HSCs don't physically fit into the "sizing bins" that the airlines use; they're too long. #[Somebody out there may know better than my hazy recollection.] #Of course, mandos DO fit just fine in the overhead bins; but they may not "officially" qualify.

I know people who intentionally carry their instruments in gig bags (rather than HSCs) because they are less likely to be told "you'll have to check that" if the instrument is in a gig bag. #Of course, the instrument has less protection before and after you get on the plane in a gig bag than it does in a HSC, so it's a toughie ...

[JEStanek]

Even if I were to try the gig bag ploy to keep my mando from getting checked, I have real reservations about that one. #For me a gig bag is for on my body or alone in a safe space (i.e., nothing else near it) in my car. #They way people jam stuff into an overhead or if things should shift... I wouldn't gig bag even my Johnson (much less a prized Breedlove) on a flight b/c I would still like to have a mando to play when I reached my destination.

The best route when being forced to check (turbo prop they may even work with you for in the cabin someplace) is to be embarassingly polite, but stick to your guns (perhaps a bad word for airports). #On large jet planes it really shouldn't be an issue. #But put on your best polite face. And see if they'll keep it on the plane. #I've seen umbrella strollers routinely stowed on board (not in baggage) your mando should get the same treatment.

Jamie

[John Flynn]

As for flight cases my buddy has one made by a company called "Calzone". #This thing is the bomb. - 8 stringer

You may not want to explain it quite that way to TSA personnel!

[Paul Hostetter]

Since we appear to be heading into the era of NO CARRYON LUGGAGE OR ITEM OF ANY TYPE, the subject of "What if" takes on more importance. I am a complete believer in Calton cases. But I never considered them essential for air travel and mandolins until today, listening to the news, because I never thought I'd ever have to check a mandolin. I wouldn't check a guitar in anything but.

[MadMarine]

Thanks, folks, for all your fine posts. Ed and Paul hit the nail on the head. I wouldn't check my mando unless I had to. I am concerned about not having that option in the future. So, I was looking for a solution that would provide me the security of a Calton without a Calton price. $800 mando in a $500 case? Would an Eastman do it? Will a Breedlove A fit in it? Other options other than using a packing box a la UPS?

Thanks, Mad

[JEStanek]

Those Eastman cases aren't billed as flight cases. I have one, and love the way it looks (i.e., the $120 Calton!) But the top flexes a bit (probably just the fiberglass). I don't think Gordon Roberts even espoused them as flight case strong. Probably about as protective as a shaped archtop wooden case available. I'm afraid Paul is correct for at least a few weeks the ability to carry on almost anything is about gone.

Eastman Fiberglass search. The good info is a little deeper than page 1.

Jamie

[GBG]

In the near future I would like to hear a report from someone who has flown with a mandolin since the last bomb scare. We may be headed in the direction of no carry-ons.

[John Flynn]

I would also imagine these new restrictions on "no liquids" would mean that in-case humidifiers may get confiscated even if you can carry on your mando.

This is my personal plan if I have to check my mando:

1. I have a decent "beater" mandolin. It is the only one I will travel with. It is a great little mando, but if something happens to it, it won't be that big a deal. That's what beaters are for.

2. I will deal with what seems to me to be the two most vulnerable areas: The headstock and the bridge. I will pad out the headstock compartment with something so the headstock is fully supported. I will slack the strings and remove the bridge, so that a hit to that area of the case will not drive the bridge into the top.

3. I will put my hard shaped case into a $30 triple tennis racket case, which essentially becomes a case cover. It fits like a glove. It provides some padding for the case and almost totally protects the case from abrasion. A tennis racket case also seems to attract less attention in a airport than an instrument case.

Then I will check the mando and hope for the best. What does anyone think? Anything else I could do other than go the full flight case route?

Here's another thought: I have rented a mandolin from a music store in one city I traveled to. It's not a bad option in some situations.

[Ellie]

Things keep going the way they are, we'll all be putting on airline issued, government approved jumpsuits before boarding, and will have to ask to be unlocked from our seats to use the bathroom.
I've carried on my hardshell F style case quite a few times in the past, but sure dread the idea of not only trying to figure out how to take an instrument, but the whole process of getting onto a plane at this point.
I wish we had fast passenger trains in this country, I much prefer it as a way of traveling.

[Jim Hilburn]

I've been carrying my mando on in a Stew-Mac case that's much like a Travelite but even a bit smaller. Darryl Wolfe brought his Loar to Bakersfield in one and a guy had his Dude in one at the Symposium although I don't know for sure that he flew.
I've never had to check it yet, but if I did, I'd be pretty confident it would do the job. I've been of the opinion that these softer cases may actually put less stress on the instrument in a drop than a hard heavy case like a Calton.
I don't see this luggage ban lasting. I hope they've relaxed it by the next Loarfest.

[Joe Dodson]

I've had my mandlin for less than a month, and part of the motivation for getting it was I was going on a vacation where I didn't want the hassle of traveling with a guitar. (Worked out great, by the way.)

In addition to all of the above, if it has to be checked I would try to have it gate-checked rather than turned over at the ticket counter. At the very least, that would cut out a dangerous journey on conveyor belts to and from the plane. It's the last thing on and first thing off the plane, and gets a little special treatment on the way in. Not at all a perfect solution, but these days, what is?

[Jim M.]

I think these look pretty interesting if you have to check your ax:



Case Extreme

[Paul Hostetter]

Beyond the issue of ramp theft, the main problem for any baggage in the hold of a plane is load shift. Tons of bags are packed loose into a holding space without any real restraints. When a plane hits turbulent air, stuff goes flying. When it lands and hits the brakes, the whole load violently slides forward down there. When the wheels touch, the entire load often gets jounced and goes flying every whichway. There's no styrofoam case that can withstand that. All it takes is one 75# Samsonite, a rough bounce on runway touchdown, and the brace in the fusilage and the styrofoam (Travelite) case and contents are sheared in half or mashed flat.

In more than 40 years of repairing instruments, the single most important development in my workload was the almost total drop in airline damage that came about after Caltons came on the market. Few professional traveling musicians use anything else, and it's not because any of them are getting endoresement deals on the cases!

I use a Travelite for few instruments including mandolins, but would never dream of putting one in baggage. They do, however, float - a feature that might come in handy.

[Jim Hilburn]

With all due respect, Paul, Travelites and the like have not been out there long enough to make such a judgment on them. There's more to them than an instrument shaped styrofoam cooler like you used to get at 7-11 to put some beer in. Joe at Gibson says they routinely ship mandolins in them and I've sent out a few myself with no problem.
Now just judging by the condition my soft Samsonite is in after many flights in the hold and what I see emerging on the carosels, there's not as much of a risk as you make it sound, even though it is a risk. I worry more about the handlers than the cargo shift.
I'd also make a guess that many of the damaged instruments you've dealt with over the years have to do with poor interior fit of instrument to case. That's something that seems to be engineered into new cases more than in the past.
But it would be nice to have Consumer Reports do a torture test on mandolin cases. Wonder what the chances of that happening are.
And by the way, I thought you were going to stop by the builder workshop at the Symposium.

[Paul Hostetter]

I have had several instruments in my shop now that were smashed while in styrofoam cases. This alone is enough being "out there long enough" for me, and these cases have been on the market for ten years or so now. Last spring, a neck broken off a Blueridge guitar body in its supplied Travelite case in the back of a van that went around a corner causing other instruments to shift. The case was really no help. Last week, an 80-pound kid tripped and fell on her Travelite and the bridge and soundpost went right through the top, and the neck snapped off. That's just not good enough. They're a good light-duty case, good thermal insulation, good for flotation, but definitely inferior to a good hardshell case for basic protection, and definitely not up to being checked in baggage.

I don't trust Consumer Reports on much of anything. Look at all the garbage they greenlight!

I was at the Symposium every night for the concerts, but having just gotten back from 5 weeks of traveling, I had (have) a horrendous backlog of work in my shop and so I stayed focused on work during the days. I live about 7 miles uphill from UCSC, and did try to come by once during the day but could never find a place to park within a mile of the Baskin studios and finally bagged it. But I had some nice hits with Mike Kemnitzer anyway, and he seemed to think the whole thing went really well.

[David Horovitz]

having just gotten back from 5 weeks of traveling, I had (have) a horrendous backlog of work in my shop

How's my new bridge installation coming Paul?

Just kidding, take all the time you need as long as it's done by next Sunday

[Paul Hostetter]

Not to worry, it'll be done!

[glauber]

I think these look pretty interesting if you have to check your ax:



Case Extreme

Initeresting idea... pack a travelite or Carlton inside one of these babies. They didn't have mandolin-size in their Web site, though.