Cross rock case question

I have two Crossrock textured ABS cases and one smooth one. All with latches. Not with zippers. They are pretty rugged cases. I'd trust my tenors in any of these.

One of the textured cases I bought from Amazon was absolutely reeking of glue, foam and material. It took a year for the smell to totally go away. I could not have it in an indoor room without it triggering my asthma. (Not a full-on attack, but, I'd start wheezing.)

The other textured case has a slight odor to it but quickly went away. The smooth one was fine from the dealer. No odor at all. It came with a used Kanile'a K1-T I bought.

I also have a Kala textured hard case that had no odor to it. It seems to be slightly better quality than the Crossrock.

You shouldn't have any trouble with the Clara absorbing the odor. Since it is carbon fiber. But you might not want to share a hotel room with it if it's newly made.

I guess this is another thing to cross my fingers about. That the Clara fits the case & that it doesn't reek of chemicals. I do have a regular Crossrock ABS case with latches. My LN soprano came in it. No smell. Sturdy case, but not my favorite because of the way it doesn't open up fully to take the uke in & out. Something about the hinge design that you have to physically hold it open or push it hard to stay open or it slams shut.

I'll get the case 2 months in advance of the trip, so I should have a good idea about the smell. If I like the case, I'll invest a few bucks and get some decent clip on backpack straps for it.
 
I seem to recall that the Amazon price varied a lot depending on colour?

Right now on Amazon, they are all within about $10 in price depending on color. All of them are $70- $80. I went with the turquoise blue. Bright enough to stand out, but not as bright as the neon green or purple.

So fingers cross that ......A. The Clara fits the case. B. The case doesn't reek of chemicals. C.The case seems to be a step up in protection from my Gator bag. I will report back once it arrives.
 
So fingers cross that ......A. The Clara fits the case. B. The case doesn't reek of chemicals. C.The case seems to be a step up in protection from my Gator bag. I will report back once it arrives.

I have several Crossrock cases, and they've all been fine - no smell.
 
No dice on the Cross Rock zipper ABS case. My Clara doesn't even come close to fitting. I measured the Clara, and went by the dimensions listed on Amazon, but they were way off from the case I received. And before you ask.....Yes, it's a concert case. For reference, my KoAloha concert uke barely fits the case, and my Moon Bird concert does not fit at all. On the positive side, the case didn't reek of chemicals! Oh well. I'm off to the UPS store to drop it off for return to Amazon. It looks like the padded Gator Bag will have to do for the flight.
 
A friend has one, and I sent her an email asking about a case.

What I'm looking for is lighter weight than a standard hard case, with attachment points for backpack straps. The Clara easily fits in the concert hard case I have my KoAloha concert in, so I already have that. I thought about adding stick on attachment points on it, but I'd rather have something lighter in weight. The CrossRock case looks perfect, but the inner dimensions they list on Amazon & their website don't match those of the actual case.
 
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What I'm looking for is lighter weight than a standard hard case, with attachment points for backpack straps. The Clara easily fits in concert hardcore I have my KoAloha concert in, so I already have that. I thought about adding stick on attachment points on it, but I'd rather have something lighter in weight. The CrossRock case looks perfect, but the inner dimensions they list on Amazon & their website don't match those of the actual case.

Understood. If and when I hear from my friend, I'll pass it along.
 
If you do some rafting you probably have some dry bags. Take a look at the available backpack style dry bags made out of ripstop nylon and silcone. They are very light and may be big enough for a hard concert case. In Australia the main brand is Sea to Summit for this type of product.
Also if you are crafty or know someone who can sew, the design of a simple silicone nylon back is very simple and the fabric is not expensive in the USA. You make a simple sack to fit the concert case, not unlike a pillow case pattern, and sew D rings on each of the 8 corners. Attach the shoulder straps to the D rings. For a closure, lace some para cord through the D rings on the top, and or fit some eyelets in the top seam. The bag should weigh less than a few ounces and will scrunch up into a small space for storage. Being ripstop nylon, it will also be very strong and resistant to tearing. Note that I use D rings and eyelets a lot to avoid the weight and effort of sewing zips and hook loop closures. The uke is already in a hard case so you only need enough closure to stop it falling out of the sack.
If you want a "professional" kit format, check out Ray Jardines website. His back pack kit will take an experience sewer maybe two hours or less to make, and it weighs around 800gms. The kit I made will hold a concert hard case easily with room for stuff like a water bottle, music, etc.. Note that you can look at the design of the kit and leave the outer mesh off, and a good sewer will be able to make small adjustments, so that the backpack is aeroplane locker and security friendly. Or you can make it exactly as designed and get some good use out of it as a day pack or hiking pack.
I also put hard cases in "normal" 50 litre dry bags on wet days. They have a shoulder strap and room for other stuff.

Thanks for the ideas Bill1. I do have a lot of lightweight dry bags, rucksacks, and light backpacks. I've tried putting the hard case inside one of those to see how it would work. One lightweight backpack in particular was a good fit, but overall it was still heavy and a bit wonky.

I went back and read through a lot of past threads regarding the "deluxe" travel bags. The Fusion Urban, Mono M80, and Reunion Blues Continental were the three top vote getters. They all seem to be a step up in protection level, and got great reviews by UU folks who used them for flying/travel. The Mono bag is offered by Blackbird as an upgrade option when ordering a Clara. It runs about $150, but it doesn't have two backpack straps, just one cross body strap. The Fusion Urban got rave reviews and it looks outstanding. The downside is the $200 price, and it's overall size. It's a concert/tenor bag, so it's almost 31 inches long. That worries me for airline size restrictions, although some UU members have traveled with it a lot with no problems. I've decided to try out a Reunion Blues Continental case. It's 2 inches longer than my Gator bag, but looks to have excellent padding & protection, plus a large outside pocket. UU members gave it great reviews for sturdiness & easy to use backpack straps that stow away when not in use. Amazon for $86.

Once again, I'll report back when it arrives.
 
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