tuff-lite bass trunks..

[prelims222]

Has anyone on here had any experience with the Tuff-Lite bass Trunks? They are supposedly lighter than the other guys and considerably less expensive. I don't know what the trade-offs are with the trunks, but I'm curious to find out more information.

Thanks.

[jazzbassnerd]

I have a tuff-lite. I find it to be a very good case, especially for the cost. It basically IS the Stevenson case. When I got the case I did put some more foam on the bottom as well as used some of the extra blocks that were in the case. I don't think the extra foam was a necessity, especially because I fly the bass in the soft case, but it makes me more comfortable.

I don't think it is lighter than other comparable cases unless you get the carbon fiber one (I didn't). That said, it is unquestionably more maneuverable and lighter than the Kolstein, and about the same weight or slightly lighter as well as different but just as easy or easier to move than the Gage. (Sorry that is a terrible sentence)

If you are looking into buying a flight case, I can definitely suggest the Tuff-Lite. I feel just as safe with my bass in it as I do with my bass in the Gage or Kolstein. And it's about half the cost. The other plus is that it isn't counter-intuitive to open...i.e. the TSA people don't have think that hard and that makes them much happier (and I don't blame them).

PS. I have no affiliation with the making or selling of this case. I'm just a really satisfied customer.

[prelims222]

Thanks for your response - have you had to travel very much with it?
What made you choose the tuff lite case?
i noticed it doesn't have the 'airbags' that a lot of the cases seem to come with. I don't know if that really makes a big difference to me or not. I've shipped a bass in one of the old OLD kolstein trunks and that seems to do the job pretty well as long as the bass is secured.

The whole 'carbon fiber' thing - is it really worth an extra 1K?

I'd love to hear any thoughts from people who own other cases and have seen the tuff-lite website and see any serious design flaws/strengths in that particular trunk.

Thanks.

[jazzbassnerd]

I choose the tuff lite mainly because of the money issue and because I had a few people that I respected very much say that case would be just fine (Jon Peterson the owner of World of Strings and my teacher when I was home Christoph Luty). It doesn't have the airbags like the Kolstein or gage, but it came with some foam blocks that you can slip in around the edges. Once again, I did add some foam on the bottom and under the neck, but this only took maybe a hour and 10 bucks from a hardware store or something like that.

I have only flown in the tuff lite once. But I have flown with the Kolstein twice and the Gage twice. I had no problem with the tuff lite, and I think that the latching system of the tuff-lite beat the gage and the Kolstein hands down.

I don't have any info on the carbon fiber as I've never seen one.

Hope this helps