Options for cases in EU/UK

[seankeegan]

Hi all,

I read with great interest the recent post about A stye cases. I've recently had to look for f style cases in Europe, so thought I'd share my experience...

Two things brought me to this point. I bought my first F style mandolin. All previous mandos had been a style, so I didn't have a case for the new member of the herd. The mando was shipped in an oblong case that had no padding at all. Just full of paper and bubblewrap for the postal journey. And it was falling apart, so was quickly disposed of at the local recycling facility. The other factor was getting to meet and become friends with a guy here in Ireland who has a serious mando collection, and both a modern Calton and Hoffee mando case. A bit of case envy creeped in. I think the Hoffee is the best case I've seen, but it has a serious price tag to go with it. I already have a circa '97 Calton, which my main mando lives in, so couldn't justify spending that sort of cash on another case, especially if paying shipping and import duties to EU. And while I love the Calton, it's very limited for storage. So I wanted a case(s) that could fit any mando I owned (not counting bowlbacks, just a and f) and would have a decent amount of storage.

When I got the F5 it needed a lot of work. I contacted the maker and agreed to ship it back for the repair, and I would fly over to collect it in person. So I needed something lightweight for postage, but half decent level of protection. And then could carry back on the plane (the flight was with Ryanair, so an extra seat was purchased for it). I decided on the Gator foam case, from Thomann. It cost €60.

https://www.thomann.de/ie/gator_gl_m...hoCE1EQAvD_BwE

To me, this seems like a better case than the Travelite. More compact. Some might argue that is a negative, and offers less protection, but I don't think of these as particularly 'protective' cases. Both would fail if put under serious stress, it's more about convenience and weight. This thing weighs next to nothing. And sits nicely open when there's a mando sat in it (tends to rock if no instrument in the case). There's a small amount of storage under the neck, you can get a set of strings under the peghead no problem. And the front of the case has a generous size pocket. You'd get an iPad in there. I managed to squeeze in a pair of my wife's shoes (UK 5)! I doubt my size 13's would fit, but you get the idea. There's give in the pocket, so can squeeze in quite a lot. one issue is the felt getting caught in the zip as you close it. I just went over the edge of the felt with my electric beard trimmer and job sorted. Here's a few photos of the case:



This case is great for what it is, but not brilliant for protection. I'd be paranoid about throwing this in the back of the car with other equipment/instruments on top of it. When the mando was shipped back to the maker in this case, I put a lot of bubblewrap around it as well. So I wanted a case that would take any mando, offer really good protection, and carry a lot of extra stuff. I decided to go with the Hiscox oblong mando case. I ordered it from Eagle Music in the UK; price was £140:

https://www.eaglemusicshop.com/hisco...-mandolin-case

This thing is great. Really solid and will take any of my mandos. It weighs about the same as my Calton (approx. 3.5kg according to our bathroom weighing scale). But the storage is brilliant! It can hold so much. Honestly, I could load this up with a few essentials, throw in a pair of jocks and socks and go to a weekend festival with nothing but this case!



The only thing negative about it is the size. It is bulky compared to the other cases. I regularly take the bus from here to Dublin, and I could see the bus driver giving you grief about bringing it onboard instead of stowing underneath. Here are some photos for scale/reference. The Hiscox, the Calton, the Gator foam case and a Superior Fibreglass.



But I'm happy with the extra size. If you're used to carrying fiddle or banjo cases like I am, it doesn't feel that bulky. And short of the Calton, it offers the best protection of all the cases I have.

Hopefully this might be of interest/help to anyone on this side of the pond looking for a case that will take both f5 and teen oval mandolins.