Traveling with a hard or soft case?

[eastendgirl]

So just a general post.
What are peoples preferences for traveling with an instrument.
Pros and cons of a hard case vs a soft case?
Different experiences fitting them on trains?
(Mainly in terms of guitar/banjo)

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[crow]

friend of mine traveled with a soft case for his guitar for 2 years and had no problem on the trains. you can also reinforce with cardboard.

hard cases can be heavy and cumbersome.

plus with softies, you can always sew on new pouches

 

[Deleted member 2626]

age verification? ive used soft and just strapping a guitar to my pack with bungee cords. someway or day soft case or bare youll be tossing it around and maybe break it. I never rode a train with an instrument but have hitched a good bit with a few different guitars. even tied a flannel to full size to hitch a few hundred miles and it was fine. consciousness of it and not forgetfulness.

 

[eastendgirl]

age verification? ive used soft and just strapping a guitar to my pack with bungee cords. someway or day soft case or bare youll be tossing it around and maybe break it. I never rode a train with an instrument but have hitched a good bit with a few different guitars. even tied a flannel to full size to hitch a few hundred miles and it was fine. consciousness of it and not forgetfulness.

Im 18... (Im assuming thats what youre asking)
Ive got hard and soft cases but i just cant decide what id prefer.


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[Coywolf]

I will never travel with a hard case again, unless I'm carrying around a $3000 guitar or something. That shit is way too heavy and cumbersome. They also make a hybrid hard/soft case reinforced with foam. Way lighter, more expensive, super durable. I'm going to trade my hard case for a soft case for my bouzouki ASAP.

 

[dumpster harpy]

Maybe make one out of cardboard?

I'm sure there's a tutorial somewhere.

 

[Benji91]

I bought a cheap acoustic and soft case when I was in NOLA in 2015 - it survived a road trip up to DC, numerous trains (granted, they weren't freighters), a few flights, a car accident and a very drunk me. Never thought I'd love that guitar as much as I do!
Even around home base when I'm gigging I mainly use soft cases, unless it's the rare time I'm flying out for a show with the one nice guee-tar I have (my baby...Fender Blacktop Jag), then I borrow a hard case.

All comes down to what you have and how precious your instrument is to you. Soft cases are my usual preference - cheaper, lighter, easier to get around and there are plenty of ways to add extra padding/enforcement if you're travelling rough or worried.

 

[void gaze]

I would like to hear more about this, I’ve done beater guitars with a cardboard case and with nothing. I have a banjo now I’m considering making a fabric case for the only thing stopping me from just strapping it to the outside of a pack is the white and metal doesn’t seem very stealth? Or might just stick the head in an old bookbag or something...only really afraid about needing to dismount on the fly

 

[void gaze]

Yeah I’m thinking just strap it to the back of pack? If it’s too fast to drop the pack without it flipping it might be too fast to get off period. I can’t say I have found it worth to get off a moving train many times anyway! So maybe not too worth worrying about. I agree with whoever said hard cases are just way too heavy unless you’re rubber tramping