A potentially silly idea involving tennis bags

[BigJackBrass]

I'm not exaggerating when I tell you that my last tennis racquet was made of wood and the tennis balls were white. It's not a sport I've exactly kept up with.

However, I've noticed some of the racquet bags recently which carry like rucksacks and I'm wondering if they might work for carrying a couple of ukuleles. Would a couple of soprano ukes in basic padded gig bags comfortably fit in a racquet bag, making it easy to carry them both? Ukuleles and padded gig bags I have, but apart from trying to judge the fit from website measurements I have no way of testing the idea on a racquet bag. Any sporty ukulele players out there who could try, or maybe already have tried, this notion?

 

[baconsalad]

Tennis? I've seen that term printed on signs where people play pickle ball. But yeah boomer, two soprano bags, a portable music stand, and a tablet would probably fit great in a 28" tennis bag.

 

[don_b]

Probably can fit like 20 ukes in a hockey bag.

 

[kkimura]

Probably can fit like 20 ukes in a hockey bag.

Or, one uke and a smallish uke player.

 

[Knows Picker]

My first instrument was a tennis racquet!!

 

[TaoCat]

Tennis racquet bags have been used for mandolin case covers for carrying two mandolins, so I suppose it's possible.

 

[badhabits]

If it's not the duffle type bag with double racquet compartment, but the backpack type where the neck and handle stick up, I would think a concert would fit as well, maybe even a tenor? Not sure 2 ukes would fit either type given their thickness compared to a tennis racquet. Also not sure if there would be a huge advantage to using a racquet pack instead of a large backpack.

 

[Spieler]

The flip side being, the Rebel gig bags make (... are?!) fitting Badminton totes.

~ S.

 

[Oldscruggsfan]

Racquet bags sound like a great idea for ukes. I've been eyeing my 27-y-o daughter's tenor sax case which she hasn't opened since high school marching band. At least from the outside, it looks almost perfect for a soprano uke. I'll obviously need to tinker with the interior profile / padding but one of the things I like is that the handle is along the narrow side and I'd want the uke headstock on the handle end. Has anyone tried that exact conversion before? Maybe the better question is whether I'll do more damage to the resale value of the sax without a case than it's worth to acquire a hardshell case for my lousy, low-end uke, LOL.

 

[Joe Strummer]

And I could use my fly fishing bag with with built in ukulele string spools, retractors to keep track of string winders/clippers/tuner, and a water bottle to stay hydrated while playing.

 

[BigJackBrass]

If it's not the duffle type bag with double racquet compartment, but the backpack type where the neck and handle stick up, I would think a concert would fit as well, maybe even a tenor? Not sure 2 ukes would fit either type given their thickness compared to a tennis racquet. Also not sure if there would be a huge advantage to using a racquet pack instead of a large backpack.

Yes, I could use a large rucksack—I do have a lot of camping gear—but I was thinking this might be a more elegant, less bulky solution. Although I've seen a double gig bag for tenor ukes it was comparatively expensive and I don't recall seeing an equivalent for sopranos.

For clarity, the sort of racquet bag I'm thinking of looks like this, a couple of mostly unpadded compartments with backpack straps:



Suspect I'll have to wait until I can get to town and take a uke along to check at the shop.

 

[badhabits]

Oh that's def more elegant ... Might be thin if it's 1 racquet on each side.

I was thinking of this kind of bag

 

[pmorey]

Just checked with my Yonex badminton bag - could definitely fit two tenors.

And yeah, that’s right, I’m the guy that plays both ukulele and badminton! I’m surprised my wife hasn’t gone blind by now with all the vigorous eye rolls!

 

[bbkobabe]

I was watching a pro tennis match at my dad's house a while ago... the bags they carry?

You could put 4 thinline tenors, a laptop and an ipad, a folding music stand and a Blue Snowball, an analog metronome, snacks and beer, and a week's worth dirty laundry into one of those things...

 

[kkimura]

What do these bags cost?

 

[BigJackBrass]

The ones I've seen so far start around £25, but the more heavily branded sort are easily three or four times that. The idea only works for me if I can find a fairly cheap one. It does seem that one of the models stocked by Decathlon might be big enough to take the hard case I have, which would be very handy since that case has one handle and no strap.

 

[kkimura]

The ones I've seen so far start around £25, but the more heavily branded sort are easily three or four times that. The idea only works for me if I can find a fairly cheap one. It does seem that one of the models stocked by Decathlon might be big enough to take the hard case I have, which would be very handy since that case has one handle and no strap.

About $30 US? That's not unreasonable.

 

[Stoneyrun]

How about a 48 inch rifle case?

 

[BigJackBrass]

How about a 48 inch rifle case?

Doesn't really look that easy to carry comfortably or conveniently, putting aside the availability issue for the UK.

 

[Stoneyrun]

Doesn't really look that easy to carry comfortably or conveniently, putting aside the availability issue for the UK.

Might be cool to wield ukes in a gun case. I'm reminded of the old gangster movies where a violin case held a tommy gun.