I received a Tura yesterday. I have had a Canadian Calton, Smaller Austin Calton, and the newer larger Calton. While they have great protection they are less than practical when I am traveling with my family or going to gigs. So a lighter case with strong protection appealed to me. I was a little apprehensive as the Recurve 1.0 disappointed me. They felt cheap and not very protective. I have a Travelite that I prefer to the Recurve as it feels more solid for less money. But, with good reviews coming in and the fact that I am a straight up gear junkie I pulled the trigger. I fly with my instruments all the time and maybe have checked it once if that. But, I do have 2 young kids and their mountains of crap to deal with when traveling, so the few extra pounds and slightly smaller size were a big draw.
It is noticeably smaller to the Calton line and lighter. The shell seems solid. I will be curious how it responds to drops and knocks. The inside has some nice padding similar to the Caltons, but understandably less padding. It also opens to a V to accommodate A styles and 2 points. This is nice, but on the contrary an F5 feels a little more snug in a Calton with the case open, which I prefer. There are 2 pieces of padding in the top over the tail piece and strings which I assume secure the mandolin when the top is closed. The latches seem solid enough. I think it would be pretty unlikely they they would accidentally all get knocked open, but I am still just messing around with it, so will know more once it gets more use.
My general opinion it is a good strong case. It is definitely lighter, with less padding and less tough than a Calton. But that is what you sacrifice when you shave off pounds. So, it is understandable that it may be a little less expensive than other options. I don't have enough experience with Hoffee to really comment but they seem larger and stuffed with padding so guessing a similar situation. For my situation, traveling with kids and a bunch of stuff, needing lighter weight, keeping with me when flying in the overhead or under seat and going to jams/festivals/local gigs I think this will be a great option to increase protection with having to feel like I am lugging around a heavy case. (Lucky I don't play much guitar I guess) If I were touring extensively in planes/trains/automobiles with a nice instrument I would probably want to stick with a Calton for the extra toughness/padding.
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