Advice For Buying A Case

I have purchased numerous style/brand cases to protect and porte my ukuleles of various sizes.

One of them is my very first ukulele, a Lehua concert. Most of my cases are hard foam style bags, but I still worry about transporting them on a plane and stowing in the overhead bin. It was a $300 instrument. I'm not going to buy a Ameritage. But it will be nice to have one more sturdy case to take on an airline (that also has backpack style straps). My first case for it was Uke Crazy case, and the zippers have all fallen off. As I have a few concert ukuleles, it might be nice to have one that I can feel safe with.

I find wood-cased hard cases very heavy for toting. I have a Reunion Blues Continental case. It's quite sturdy on all sides, even the front, but I'm not sure it'd be impervious to a heavy impact on the front. Still, it's really quite an impressive design. I have my KoAloha concert in it. But my Lehua is a pretty small bodied concert, and it swims inside. Even the Koaloha doesn't fit snugly, but the Lehua is perhaps 6" across at its widest, leaving an inch or so on each side.

I got an Urban Fusion tenor/concert bag to try (returnable). I like its customizable sizing inside so I can get the Lehua to fit snugly. But the protection on the top side is not all that much. The Fusion bags provide protection of you drop it on one of its sides or even the back, but not on the front. I'm actually surprised that they haven't come up with protection on the front panel that would be equivalent to RB's Continental design.

I'm looking into fiberglass cases. They can look wicked gorgeous, but I read that they scratch easily. They're also known for the surface to chip. That means they'll quickly lose their looks. Not the worst thing in the world, I suppose. The Crossrock 1000 case has an extra optional pad for smaller ukes. I still have no idea of whether the Lehua will be a good fit without ordering one (which I have via Amazon - easy return if not). It also has 4 total latches - 3 in front and 1 in back.

I see that Hawaii Music Supply has their new Oahu leather covered fiberglass cases. I'm guessing that a leather cover is more robust in terms of keeping its looks. It has 3 latches - 2 in front and 1 in back. I don't see that it has any additional customizable inserts. I have no idea how a smaller instrument might fit.

Any advice/suggestions? Is a fiberglass case overkill? Am I overly worrying? I'd almost consider just using the RB, but the Lehua just swims in it, and there's only the loose inside neck velcro strap holding it down. (Fusion's neck support design is better, I think).

I don't think a fiberglass case is any stronger than a run-of-the-mill hard case. But they are often much lighter and more compact/easy to carry.

Sounds like the Oahu leather one would get you stoked. But unless someone has a Lehua and the same case to chime in, sizing is a stab in the dark.

EDIT: You're also probably worrying too much. As far as I'm concerned, the only possibly-plane-proof case is an Ameritage. Very few pros I know make that effort and choose to carry their very valuable, one-of-a-kind ukes in sturdy gig bags, FWIW.

Hippie Guy said:

I don't think a fiberglass case is any stronger than a run-of-the-mill hard case. But they are often much lighter and more compact/easy to carry.

Sounds like the Oahu leather one would get you stoked. But unless someone has a Lehua and the same case to chime in, sizing is a stab in the dark.

EDIT: You're also probably worrying too much. As far as I'm concerned, the only possibly-plane-proof case is an Ameritage. Very few pros I know make that effort and choose to carry their very valuable, one-of-a-kind ukes in sturdy gig bags, FWIW.

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Yeah, good advice. Any nice hard case is good. A guitar is bigger and the sides of the case that provide support are further apart. I really worry when I fly with my guitar. But, the ukulele is fine. Case is small and sturdy with good close bracing. I toss my $2200 Martin anywhere, as long as it's in the hard case. It's fine.

Are you all saying that a case such as an Urban Fusion, which has pretty impact resistant sides, but has a somewhat soft front, should be as sufficient as a fiberglass one for all intents and purposes? They're both similarly priced. The Fusion gives you lots of pockets and comfortable straps. The fiberglass cases give you just a small internal pocket (and does have external straps), but I was assuming you were getting better protection in exchange for the lack of pockets.